Blushing Beet Salad

Did you know that the high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents found in beets have actually been proven to reduce your risk of cancer? What’s more is that they’ve been shown to support the detoxification process in the body and improve blood flow.

This vibrant salad chock-full of healthy beets is clean, nutritious and full of flavor. Plus your guests will feel the love when they see their delicious greens topped with bright red hearts! Top with my clean and flavorful balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Ingredients

• 6 cups of fresh arugula

• ½ c fresh parsley (chopped)

• 6-7 medium sized beets cooked (see tip below!)

• ½ cup chopped walnuts

• ½ c Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing
  

Instructions

Dice your beets into bite sized pieces. Be festive and cut some of the beets with this heart-shaped fondant tool or a very small heart shaped cookie cutter. Put the heart shaped pieces aside. Combine the remaining beets, arugula, parsley and walnuts.

Just prior to serving, dress the salad with the vinaigrette and then top with the heart shaped beets. Serves six.

TIP: You can buy wonderful precooked beets or cook your own. Start by trimming and scrubbing the beets then place them in a ceramic baking dish. Drizzle the beets with olive oil. Cover and cook at 400° for 45–60 minutes until tender. Allow beets to cool and then peel them. Beets can be cooked up to 4 days ahead of time.