Home Salads and snacks Culinary recipes for beetroot dishes. Useful properties and uses of beet tops

Salads and snacks

Culinary recipes for beetroot dishes. Useful properties and uses of beet tops

You know, I haven’t liked beets since childhood! Remember, in kindergarten and school they gave several round beets in a plate, brrr, what disgusting it was! Of course, the understanding that beet dishes are good for the heart, liver, eyes and that it contains fiber, vitamin C, copper, phosphorus, magnesium and sugar comes at a fairly late age. Well, who thinks about this in childhood or youth, right?

I consciously fell in love with beets after it became my favorite salad. Oh, I could (and still can) eat only it. On some holiday or birthday, I always chose a place closer to the plate with this salad and enjoyed the taste. By the way, beets go perfectly with herring, you can’t imagine anything better!

What other recipes for salads with beets do you know (I’m even trying to include them all in a separate article for convenience)? No less traditional and simple beet salad with garlic and mayonnaise is a classic of the genre. Well, although to be honest, before I started working on this site, I didn’t try it, but then suddenly it became interesting how it was beets and prunes, but I must admit, I liked it! You can also add nuts and chicken to this salad.

It’s clear with salads, I’ll move on to soups. This is not borscht for me! And the secret to preparing delicious borscht is that frying should be done together with cooking the meat. On a small, small fire, immediately add beets, onions, carrots and tomato paste (it is recommended to cook beets this way with some sourness, you can pour a little apple cider vinegar so that they retain their color). - this is absolutely fantastic.
This year I tried it for the first time. I was impressed by the taste, a soup like okroshka, only with beets. You can make it vegetarian, without meat, or you can add chicken. Very light, you can eat it cold in the summer with half an egg and sour cream, just yum-yum :)

Over the course of the year, I have collected a whole collection of new recipes for beet dishes that I have not tried yet, the most delicious and memorable dishes:

This recipe seemed very unusual to me, because inside it is still the same herring, which goes well with beets.

The result is a festive salad that is convenient to eat by placing one of these beetroot balls on a plate.

It's simple to make: beets are mixed with cheese, yolks and mayonnaise and only then balls are rolled out of this mass.

I made it like this in a mold, it turned out to be a festive version and, most importantly, it’s very tasty!

I was surprised to find that here is the link for the salad recipe. It is simple, but quite tasty and interesting.

Beets are often combined with garlic or wild garlic in appetizers, and in desserts with raisins, honey and nuts. Beetroot dishes are very tasty!

We use it as a side dish and make salads from it. How did beets gain their popularity? Delicate taste and great benefits that it brings to our body. And also with its rich red color. When autumn sheds all its bright colors, when it is replaced by a gray, cold winter, then we need colorful mood lifters like nothing else. This is where beets come to the rescue, saturate the body with vitamins and delight the eye with their color.

Beets go well with many foods, which is probably why it has received recognition from most housewives. However, its main value is in its composition. Beets contain fiber, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, vitamins C, B1, B5, B6, PP, E, folic acid, provitamin A, as well as malic, citric, oxalic, tartaric and lactic organic acids, essential to digest food. Thanks to the coloring substances to which beets owe their rich color, blood pressure decreases, capillary strength increases and hematopoietic function improves.

It is believed that beet dishes promote the removal of radionuclides, improve liver function and prevent the development of sclerosis. Beets are very useful for diabetics, since the zinc contained in beets increases the duration of action of insulin. In addition, this root vegetable removes toxins from the body and stimulates the immune system, so in winter beets should be on every table. In addition, it has anti-aging properties and promotes healthy bones, arteries and skin. And most importantly, unlike many other vegetables, beets retain their basic beneficial properties when heated! Today we will tell you what dishes can be prepared from this irreplaceable root vegetable.

The bright, bitterly sour taste of beet salad with orange juice will not only remind you of sunny summer, but will also help the body in the fight against vitamin deficiency. After all, apples, beets, and oranges contain a fairly large amount of vitamins, and the vegetable oil included in the salad will facilitate their absorption.

Beet salad with orange juice

Ingredients:
4-5 beets,
2 sour apples,
3 tbsp. orange juice,
vegetable oil,
sugar,
salt,
pepper.

Preparation:
Boil the beets, cool them and peel them. Peel the apples. Grate the beets and apples on a coarse grater, add orange juice, salt, sugar, pepper and vegetable oil. Mix thoroughly and serve.

You can make an unusual bright sauce from beets. Somewhat unexpected, but most importantly - simple, fast, beautiful and very tasty! Beetroot dip is a sauce with a consistency reminiscent of thick sour cream, intended for dipping any food that seems tasty to you, be it chips or fresh vegetables. We recommend serving the dip with vegetable dishes or crackers; try it, maybe you’ll like this dish so much that you’ll want to eat it just like that!

Ingredients:
150 grams of boiled beets,
1 clove of garlic,
2 tbsp. lemon juice,
2 tbsp. sesame,
1 tbsp. walnuts
2 tbsp. natural yogurt or sour cream,
ground pepper,
salt.

Preparation:
Boil and cool the beets, peel them and cut into cubes. Also peel and chop the garlic clove. 2 tbsp. sesame seeds and 1 tbsp. Grind walnuts in a coffee grinder. Mix all ingredients and grind with a blender. Dip is ready!

In addition to vinaigrette, there are a huge number of salads with the addition of beets. One of them is a salad with beets, chickpeas and pomegranate. A slightly unusual combination, however, the taste will not disappoint you. Thanks to the protein contained in chickpeas, the salad turns out to be very filling, so you can feed it to your beloved man with a clear conscience. This dish will also appeal to many women, since the salad is low-calorie and virtually fat-free, and the pomegranate it contains promotes digestion and strengthens the immune system.

Salad with chickpeas, pomegranate and beets

Ingredients:
1 cup boiled chickpeas,
150-200 grams of boiled beets,
1 cup pomegranate seeds,
1 tbsp. olive oil,
1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice,
greenery,
pepper

Preparation:
Before cooking chickpeas, soak them in cold water for 10 hours, then pour the chickpeas into a saucepan, add fresh water, bring to a boil and cook for about an hour over medium heat. Boil the beets and grate them on a coarse grater or finely chop them. Mix all ingredients and garnish with herbs.

Beets, like meat, go well with red wine. If you like experiments, try stewing beets in wine. So that the taste does not disappoint you, you should take a responsible approach to the choice of wine; remember, if you think that for one reason or another it is better not to drink it, then you should not cook with it. Sekla, stewed in wine, acquires an original taste, and the dish turns out to be a very rich burgundy color. Just what you need to surprise your friends! Continuing the beetroot and wine theme, try making wine borscht. The dish turns out very tasty and bright, and the originality is not even worth mentioning.

Beetroot in French

Ingredients:
400 g beets,
20 grams of vegetable oil,
100 grams of red wine,
2 cloves of garlic,
ground black pepper,
salt

Preparation:
Peel the beets and cut them into slices, fry a little in vegetable oil, then pour in wine, add salt, pepper and garlic pressed through a press. Simmer until done.

Baked beet borscht with wine

Ingredients:
Fillet of beef,
carrot,
a bottle of red wine,
vegetable oil,
fresh greens,
lemon,
salt,
pepper.

Preparation:
Wash the beets and carrots thoroughly, wrap them separately in foil and bake in the oven. While the vegetables are roasting, work on the meat. Salt and pepper it, cut into small pieces and fry in oil over medium heat so that only the top layer is fried. Then transfer the meat to the pan. Tie the greens with a rope and lower them into the pan, with the end of the rope extending beyond the edge of the pan. Pour wine over the meat and place on low heat, cover with a lid and cook for an hour. Then remove the greens and add a little boiling water. Peel the baked beets and carrots and cut them into small pieces, then add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper, add lemon juice and serve.

Nowadays, there is probably no such person who would not try risotto. We are used to eating risotto with meat, mushrooms, fish and seafood, herbs and even chocolate, but few can boast of having eaten risotto with beets. It's time to catch up!

Beetroot and risotto with red wine

Ingredients:
ham,
2 beets,
2 heads of garlic,
1 red onion,
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar,
1 tbsp. rice for risotto,
3 tbsp. broth,
1 glass of red wine
ground black pepper,
butter,
parsley,
Parmesan,
salt.

Preparation:
Finely chop the onion and ham. Peel the beets and grate them on a medium grater. Sauté onions, ham and beets, add balsamic vinegar and rice. Bring the broth to a boil and add 1 cup to the rice and beets. Wait until the rice has absorbed the broth and add 1 more cup, adding the remaining broth within 15 minutes. Simmer everything over low heat, stirring constantly. When the rice is almost ready, pour in the wine, then add the butter, chopped parsley and cheese. Fry thin slices of ham in a frying pan without oil, decorate the risotto with them and serve the dish.

Beetroot dishes are not only tasty but also very healthy. A lot of beetroot dishes have been invented, which means it’s time to diversify all our borscht and vinaigrettes. Summer and autumn are the times when an incredible amount of fresh vegetables appear, and we simply do not have the right to miss the chance to pamper ourselves and those around us with delicious, healthy and original dishes. Cook with beets and delight your loved ones with new tastes! And with us you can always find new recipes and cooking ideas.

Alena Karamzina

Boiled beet salads are an integral dish on both the festive and everyday tables. A variety of recipes are easy and simple to prepare, the salads are tasty, bright, nutritious and healthy.

0.2 kg boiled beets;
0.2 kg of oranges;
red sweet onion – 1 pc.;
spinach or arugula;
1 tbsp. l. wine vinegar;
1 tsp. mustard;
2 tbsp. l. olive oil;
1 tsp. liquid honey;
freshly squeezed orange juice;
a mixture of peppers and extra salt.

Boil the beets in the usual way, and then cool them.

Peel the root vegetables and cut into thin slices.

We peel the oranges and also cut them into equal circles. Don't forget to remove the seeds.

To prepare the gravy, take a deep bowl and put mustard in it. Add liquid honey, olive oil, freshly squeezed orange juice to taste and table wine vinegar to the bowl. Mix everything well.

Take a flat plate and lay out chopped beets and orange slices in layers. To taste, sprinkle chopped spinach leaves, arugula and onion rings on top of the salad.

Pour the prepared spicy sauce over the salad, add a little salt and a mixture of peppers.

Recipe 2: salad of boiled beets and garlic (with photos step by step)

Boiled beet salad with garlic is suitable not only for adherents of a vegetarian lifestyle, but also for those who love healthy food. Sour cream adds nutrition to the dish, and garlic and mustard make it spicy. Overall, the result is a tasty and tender salad with a small amount of the necessary ingredients.

boiled beets – 2 pcs. (medium size);
sour cream – 100 ml;
garlic – 2 cloves;
mustard – 2 tsp.

First prepare the dressing. To do this, mix sour cream with mustard.

Instead of sour cream, you can use mayonnaise (preferably homemade).

Grate the boiled beets on a coarse grater.

Pass the garlic through a press.

Mix all the necessary ingredients evenly. You can add spices if desired. Salad ready.

Recipe 3: Boiled Beet and Carrot Salad with Celery

A simple, but at the same time very tasty, affordable and vitamin-packed salad made from beets, carrots and celery. The salad is prepared quite easily and simply and can diversify your daily menu.

mustard - 1 tbsp.
onion - 1 piece
carrots - 1 pc.
beets - 1 piece
table vinegar - 2 tbsp.
celery root - 0.5 pcs.
olive oil - 3 tbsp.
walnuts - 1 tbsp.
salt - a pinch

Recipe 4: delicious boiled beet salad with pear

fresh pear – 100 gr
Sunflower oil - 3 tbsp.
beets - 70 gr
salt - 2 pinches
savoy cabbage – 15 g
ground black pepper - 1 pinch
lemon juice - 1 tbsp.
Brie cheese - 35 gr

Recipe 5: salad with boiled beets and apples (with photo)

boiled beets - 2 pcs.
raw carrots - 1 pc.
apple - 1 pc.
garlic - 3 cloves
walnuts or almonds - a handful
mayonnaise or sour cream for dressing

I boiled the beets and grated them on a coarse grater. I grated the carrots raw.
Peeled the apple and cut it into cubes. I chopped the nuts with a knife.

>I grated the garlic on a fine grater and put in a little mayonnaise.

That's all, the salad is ready. Instead of mayonnaise, you can season the salad with sour cream and add a little salt.

Recipe 6: simple boiled beet salad (step-by-step photos)

Beets – 2-3 pcs.
Pickled cucumbers – 2-3 pcs.
Sugar - 0.5 tsp.
Garlic - 1 clove
Cranberries or lingonberries (optional) - 1 handful
Salt, spices and herbs - to taste
Vegetable oil - for dressing

Boil the beets, grate them on a coarse grater or cut them into slices. For cooking, it is better to take medium-sized beets: they cook faster and, as a rule, are juicier and sweeter.

Cut the pickled cucumbers into thin slices, mix with beets and add crushed garlic.

Salt and pepper the salad, add sugar and season with vegetable oil. The amount of oil is determined by the size of the constituent ingredients and personal preference.

Finally add cranberries and fresh herbs. The berry can be fresh or defrosted - this does not affect the taste of the salad in any way.

And now the salad with beets, garlic and pickles is ready.

Recipe 7: dietary salad of boiled beets with nuts

A simple and delicious boiled beet salad.

boiled beets - 4 pcs.
walnuts - ¼ cup
salt, black pepper
olive oil - 1 tbsp.
garlic - 1 clove
lemon juice - 1 tsp.

Dry the nuts in a frying pan or in the oven for 4-6 minutes.

The beets need to be boiled. Cool the beets, peel and grate on a coarse grater.

Add garlic pressed through a press to the beets (if you like it spicy, you can add a couple of cloves). Season with salt and pepper, add olive oil and lemon juice, mix well.

Form the salad in a way convenient for you.

Peel the nuts and chop them with a knife.

Sprinkle the salad with chopped nuts and serve immediately.

Recipe 8: Boiled Beet Salad with Potatoes

Beetroot - 3-5 pieces
Potatoes - 3-4 pieces
Pickled cucumbers - 7-10 pieces
Green peas - 350 grams
Carrots - 350 Grams
Red onion - 2 pieces
Olive oil - 150 Milliliters
Wine vinegar - 50 Milliliters
Salt and pepper - To taste

Wash the beets, potatoes, and carrots thoroughly, then place them in a large saucepan and fill with cold water. I cook the vegetables until tender (carrots and potatoes - 20-30 minutes, beets - 1-1.5 hours). I boil green peas. I cool and peel the vegetables.

For the dressing: pour olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper into a bowl and mix well.

I chop potatoes, carrots, onions into cubes and add boiled green peas and mix.

I chop the beets finely and place them in a bowl, season with 1/3 of the prepared dressing.

I chop the pickled cucumbers finely.

I add the cucumbers to the bowl with the beets and stir.

Pour the remaining dressing over the contents of the second bowl (with potatoes, carrots and onions).

I mix the contents of two bowls and put the salad in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. It tastes best the next day.

Recipe 9: boiled beet salad with prunes

4-5 small beets cooked in advance
50 g shelled walnuts
50 g dried prunes
30 g raisins
2-3 cloves of garlic
salt, mayonnaise

Pour boiling water over the raisins for 10 minutes, and finely chop the prunes.

Pour the walnuts into a dry, hot frying pan and fry them for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, as they fry very quickly.

Cool the roasted nuts and chop them finely, simultaneously peeling them.

We clean the beets and grate them on a coarse grater.

Add steamed raisins, prunes, and some nuts to the plate with beets (reserve a few for decoration).

Pass the garlic through a press or chop it finely and then add it to the salad.

Salt to taste and season with mayonnaise. Place the finished salad in a beautiful salad bowl, decorate with the remaining nuts and herbs and serve.

Recipe 10: salad with boiled beets, cucumbers and prunes

beets – 350 gr
prunes - 100 gr
walnuts – 100 gr
canned cucumbers – 100 gr
garlic - 2-3 cloves
mayonnaise - 100 gr

The recipe for beet salad with nuts, prunes and garlic begins with preparing the vegetable. Cook the beets in the usual way. Cool and peel.

Grate on a fine grater.

Pre-soak prunes in boiled water.

Rub into thin strips.

Peel or use peeled walnuts. Wash, dry and fry in a dry frying pan so that after cooking the beets with nuts have a more pronounced spicy aroma.

Peel the garlic and chop on a fine grater.

Recipes with beets with photos are on the website for those who want to immediately see the finished dish. In beet recipes, such as appetizers or salads, the root vegetables are first boiled or baked. It is believed that dishes with baked beets are tastier. The tops and roots of beets are equally good. Tasty and healthy tops are prepared from young tops. Borscht is made from ripe root vegetables. Beets are added to salads, and not only to vinaigrettes and herring under a fur coat. It is worth remembering that if the recipe calls for boiled beets, then it is better not to boil the root vegetables, but to bake them: rinse, brush with vegetable oil, wrap in foil and place in a hot oven for 20-60 minutes. Baking time depends on the size of the beets. Young beets are stuffed, stewed and fried in a frying pan, cutlets are prepared from it, and chicken and duck are stuffed with it.

A recipe for a light salad of baked vegetables with the addition of salty cheese can be served as a side dish for meat or fish. For salad dressing, mix vegetable oil (olive or sunflower) with soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Such a sauce

chapter: Vegetable salads

Herring under a fur coat is prepared according to a variety of recipes, each time coming up with new design options. For example, herring can be served not only under a fur coat, but also with rubies. Moreover, the ruby coat is quite edible, because it is prepared from salted

chapter: Layered salads

A recipe for lentil salad with beets can be an alternative to the traditional vinaigrette. In general, this Lenten salad can be prepared at any time of the year, but in my opinion it is especially good for winter. For the salad dressing I used balsamic vinegar.

chapter: Lentil salads

To prepare liver cake, chicken liver is passed through a meat grinder, mixed with eggs and a small amount of flour. It is easy to bake cakes from this “dough” that do not stick to the pan at all. When the liver cakes have cooled, fold them

chapter: Liver cakes

Usually jam or sauces are made from feijoa, but we suggest making a light salad with the addition of baked beets and walnuts. For spiciness, you can add sweet salad onions and season with balsamic vinegar. Salad dressing oil is suitable l

chapter: Beet salads

If you have a bread machine, then you can easily bake unusual rye sourdough bread with beets using this recipe. Not only will it be healthy, tasty, but also beautiful. Bread with beets can also be baked with regular yeast. In this with

chapter: Bread machine recipes

To cook turkey legs in the oven, you will need a roasting bag. The meat will be baked in it along with vegetables. Thanks to the abundance of beets, the vegetable side dish turns out bright. Everything regarding the proportions of vegetables in the recipe, select them according to your own

chapter: Turkey dishes

Recipes for snacks for shortcrust pastry tartlets with vegetable filling. Bright boiled beets, walnuts, garlic, mayonnaise and pomegranate seeds are perfect for the filling, which add juiciness and sweet notes to the dish. To add cheese to the appetizer

chapter: Tartlets

Borscht is cooked according to hundreds of different recipes. For example, borscht with dumplings is prepared like regular borscht with cabbage and beetroot-tomato dressing, but dumplings are added at the end of cooking. Of course, ideally, homemade dumplings are made for such a soup. But if so far

chapter: Ukrainian food

Grated table horseradish gives a piquant pungency, and sour cream softens the taste of horseradish. Fresh dill adds flavor. In general, the beetroot salad prepared according to this recipe turned out to be very satisfying due to the cheese and eggs. By the way, cooking beets has its own challenges.

chapter: Vegetable salads

You can make several snacks from a pack of crackers at once, changing the fillings to suit your taste. In this recipe, slightly sweet beets (boiled or baked) are complemented with sautéed onions and a slice of brie. This whole composition is laid on a saltine cracker

chapter: Snacks on crackers

This appetizer roll recipe is another nod to the traditional holiday salad, herring under a fur coat. We thought that it would be nice to make delicious sandwiches or something like that with the taste of fish salad, and as a result we started a “sele

chapter: Lavash rolls

Verrines are a type of layered salads that are collected in transparent bowls or small salad bowls. This recipe makes it easy to prepare verrines with lightly salted or smoked fish (salmon, salmon, etc.). Delicate, fragrant and very beautiful

chapter: Verrines

Stuffed eggs can be prepared with any filling of your choice. That recipe describes how to prepare the “herring under a fur coat” filling, or rather its simplified version. The result is a snack cream from a mixture of grated boiled beets and salted fillet

chapter: Stuffed eggs

The recipe for layered salad of beets, seaweed and sprat is distinguished by its original taste and ease of preparation. The recipe specifies dry seaweed, which is more convenient and easier to replace with ready-made canned one. This salad turns out pretty cal

chapter: Beet salads

Another unusual version of the usual vinaigrette. This time, in addition to the usual set of vegetables for this salad, I added canned fish to the vinaigrette recipe. With mustard dressing it turned out very appetizing.

chapter: Canned tuna salads

We offer an unusual way to decorate puff salad. You can choose the salad recipe according to your taste. Ours is vegetable with pickled mushrooms. The last layer is decorated with cut pancake rolls, which are colored with a delicious dye - beets.

chapter: Layered salads

Beet salad will appeal to all lovers of simple, original recipes, when ordinary products discover their taste in a new way. Usually for vegetable salads it is enough to prepare an unusual dressing. Here the main role is played by the spice - cumin. Before adding

chapter: Vegetable salads

Rich ruby-colored borscht can be prepared not only with fresh cabbage, but also with sauerkraut. Of course, the taste of the soup will differ from the traditional one, but this borscht recipe has the right to be. If the cabbage is too sour, before adding it to the pan,

Almost every dacha and every garden grows beets. This is one of the most useful vegetables, and the point is not only in the root vegetables themselves, but also in their green part - beet tops. Many people give these large rounded leaves with a red-violet petiole as food for pets, and few people know that these tops can and should be added to vegetable salads and even prepared as first courses.

Composition and calorie content

Beet tops appear in our beds even before cabbage and other vegetables grow on them. At the same time, it can easily replace all these crops and significantly enrich the daily diet with healthy vitamin dishes.

The leaf of the young tops is characterized by a rich green color with burgundy-purple veins and petioles; it has an appetizing appearance and exceptional taste characteristics.

The tops contain vitamins necessary for the human body, as well as macro- and microelements. This greenery contains a high content of minerals such as Ca, Al, Na, Mg, Cu, D. Its leaves contain a lot of sulfur, phosphorus and iodine, which is so necessary for all residents of large cities.

It is very important that beet greens have a reduced calorie content. 100 g of greens contains only 28 kilocalories, with protein accounting for 1.2%, fat – 0.1% and carbohydrates – 6%.

Tops are considered an excellent source of plant fiber, as well as organic acids and monosaccharides.

What's the benefit?

Judging by the presented composition of beet greens, it can be considered a truly nutritious and dietary dish or a biologically active food supplement. That is why its use is recommended for the prevention of a wide variety of diseases of the internal systems of the human body.

Beet tops are indispensable for people with heart and vascular diseases, as well as those suffering from endocrine disorders, especially diabetes.
With daily consumption of beets, metabolic processes are normalized, the condition of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract is significantly improved, for example, the tops are recommended to be included in the complex treatment of gastritis and peptic ulcers in the chronic stage.
Due to the presence of dietary fiber, beet tops are used to cleanse the intestines, remove waste, toxins, and prevent the accumulation of pathogenic microflora, which often leads to serious disruptions in the functioning of the digestive system.
Together with other vegetables in light salads, beet tops reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis and normalize the process of hematopoiesis.
Thanks to the presence of choline, which is contained in green tops, the liver tissue is protected from pathological degeneration and dangerous fat deposition.
The antioxidants contained in the leaves have a mild antitumor and good cleansing effect.

Mature people need to include beet tops in their daily diet to prevent the development of osteoporosis.

Vitamin K, along with iron, helps get rid of anemia and anemia, and also helps the heart cope with increased stress.
Vitamins K and HH reduce to zero the risks of developing pathological conditions in the walls of blood vessels, and are also considered good for preventing bleeding and bleeding disorders.
Scientists have proven the effectiveness of beet leaves for such a dangerous disease as diabetes - they help keep blood sugar at a normal level.
The anthocyanins contained in the petioles are considered an antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent, which also has a slight rejuvenating effect.
It has been repeatedly noted that the use of tops significantly improves the condition of the skin, hair and nails, and also regulates visual acuity.
Thanks to the presence of ascorbic acid, the body is saturated with energy, and in addition, its resistance to colds and viral infections increases.
B vitamins are essential for maintaining the normal functioning of nerve fibers and the brain.

blood diseases– flavonoids present in the tops prevent atherosclerosis, reduce cholesterol levels and serve as a preventive measure against fibrous growths of the walls of blood vessels;
myocarditis– the nutritional components of beets help strengthen the heart muscle, optimize the strength and speed of its contractions;
low pressure– tops with red veins have pronounced hypertonic properties due to the ability to relieve vasospasm, which is why it is often used in the treatment of hypotension;
low hemoglobin– microelements in the tops stimulate the formation of hemoglobin and improve the qualitative composition of blood cells;
stomach disorders– organic acids contained in greens significantly improve the functioning of the stomach and intestines, and hydrochloric acid in its structure promotes better digestion of food and increases appetite;
pancreatitis and cholecystitis– for such problems, beet tops bring significant relief due to their anti-inflammatory properties;
diabetes– consumption of tops helps maintain the required blood sugar level, protects the patient from the need for sudden and strong insulin releases;
constipation, loose bowel syndrome– beet greens enhance peristalsis, thereby speeding up the digestion of food and the removal of food bolus;
myoma, fibromyoma, polycystic disease– these female diseases are widespread among all representatives of the fairer sex, especially those who have passed the 30-year mark; it is believed that the introduction of tops into the diet successfully reduces the threat of such pathologies and has a healing effect, due to which it is included in complex therapy.

Beetroot tops are used not only internally, but also externally - as an antiseptic and wound-healing agent, and in addition, it is widely used in cosmetology to reduce the brightness of freckles and get rid of age spots.

Contraindications

Like any other food product containing a huge number of vitamins and minerals, beet tops have their contraindications, and with some diagnoses they can cause harm to the body.

The leaves contain oxalic acid in high concentration - 0.7 mg per 100 g of product. When interacting with calcium and phosphorus, it forms salts that are quite difficult to remove from the body, which often leads to the formation of stones. Therefore, people with chronic and acute pathologies of the urinary system and gall bladder should limit the consumption of beet leaves - it should be minimal and must be accompanied by plenty of water.

Beet tops are contraindicated for people who take anticoagulants, since the vitamin K it contains and its already elevated concentration in the blood increases even more.

For any diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in the acute stage, you should consult your doctor before consuming beet tops.

How to store?

After the beets ripen, they are dug up along with the tops, after which the leaves are cut off, otherwise they will continue to suck the juices from the root crop, and it will wither rather quickly. However, many market sellers know about the nutritional value of beet leaves, so they sell their root crop along with the green part - this is exactly the kind of beet that should be purchased.

When purchasing, you should pay special attention to the foliage - its color and condition: if they are fresh, hold their shape well and play with bright colors, then you can safely buy such tops.

According to folk medicine, fresh tops picked directly from the garden have the most healing effects, since they contain maximum concentrations of vitamins and nutrients, which means they can have a restorative and health-improving effect on humans. Doctors recommend consuming leaves throughout the season - from May to October, only in this case the product will strengthen the immune system, normalize digestive processes in the body and speed up metabolism.

Unfortunately, with the onset of cold weather, it becomes impossible to obtain tops from the garden, therefore, in order not to deprive themselves of such a source of vitamins, many resort to freezing.

Collection

For freezing, you should use only freshly harvested tops; any storage of them in the refrigerator before freezing is undesirable, since this will lose a significant part of the nutritional elements. When collecting leaves, you should cut them off at the very surface of the soil along with the petioles: in this case, the plant will produce new greenery, and after some time it will be possible to replenish its vitamin pantry.

Treatment

Before freezing, green leaves and petioles should be washed in cool running water, and each leaf should be rubbed with your fingers to completely remove any remaining sand, soil and dust. Then the petioles are cut off from the bottom by 2-3 cm - this part should be thrown away, since nitrates and other harmful substances contained in the soil and atmosphere accumulate in it.

Preparation

In order to freeze beet leaves, they must first be crushed - cut into thin ribbons approximately 0.7-10 mm wide. The petioles are chopped into small cubes, after which both components of the workpiece are thoroughly mixed in a dish and poured with boiling water for 5-10 minutes.

After this treatment, the greens are placed in a colander so that excess liquid can drain, and then sent for drying. Please note that to speed up the drying process, you should not use any heat sources - the process should be as natural as possible.

Freezing

The prepared mixture is poured into special plastic containers or bags for freezing food. The leaves do not need to be compacted, since in this case they will be quite difficult to separate from each other in the future.

The tops prepared in this way can be consumed until the onset of next spring; they are added to salads, first and second courses, included in snacks and, if necessary, included in the structure of medicines.

Some housewives dry beet leaves - this method cannot be called very successful, since with this storage method a significant part of the nutrients is lost.

Another interesting way to prepare tops for the winter is to store them with salt. For this, the leaves are prepared according to the same procedure as for freezing, and then mixed, sprinkled with table salt and lightly ground. After the salt has completely dissolved, the resulting mixture is tightly placed in sterilized jars. This seasoning is used for salads and soups. The container with salted tops should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 6 months.

Popular recipes for storing tops also involve fermentation and pickling - such products do not provide any medicinal benefits, but they have an excellent taste and complement meat and vegetable dishes.

How can it be used?

Using beet green tops is quite simple - a small amount of fresh, well-chopped or frozen leaves is simply added to light salads, seasoned with side dishes and vegetable soups.

Even the smallest amount received daily is enough to effectively prevent cardiovascular diseases, as well as to maintain the normal functioning of the digestive system.

In addition, beet tops can be used externally for migraines, gynecological inflammatory processes, mastitis and mastopathy, as well as for psoriasis, dry skin and eczema. The healing effect of beet tops has been noticed in the treatment of wounds and burns.

For all of the above ailments, compresses in the form of a paste of crushed herbs on the site of inflammation help well. Such procedures are carried out 2-3 times a day for half an hour. The course of treatment is carried out until the symptoms of the disease disappear.

Beetroot tops can be consumed as an infusion - this remedy is good for gastritis, colitis and constipation. In addition, its therapeutic effect has been proven for metabolic disorders and gastrointestinal problems. An infusion of beet leaves helps normalize lymph flow and improves bile flow.

In order to prepare the medicine, pour a tablespoon of dry or fresh herbs into a liter of boiling water and keep in a water bath for 10-15 minutes. or just leave it to sit for half an hour. The medicine should be strained immediately after preparation and drink one glass 20-30 minutes before breakfast, lunch and dinner. The tops cope well with conjunctivitis of any etiology - to do this, the leaf should be “squeezed” and placed on closed eyelids for 15-20 minutes.

Cooking recipes

The use of beet tops is quite wide - you can make soups and main courses from it. It is added to salads and vegetable snacks. It is one of the main ingredients of the Ossetian pie, beloved by many, and in addition, the tops, along with nettles and sorrel, are often placed in green cabbage soup. Since ancient times, beet leaves have been taken in Rus' to prepare a national dish called botvinya, and the largest leaves are used to wrap cabbage rolls.

Finely chopped walnuts highlight the taste of beet tops very favorably - therefore, when preparing salads, it is best to combine both components.

Many housewives prepare cutlets from beet tops; they can be a good snack for a summer feast, and are also considered a good option for enriching the diet of children. The greens should be washed and chopped in a blender or meat grinder, mixed with an egg, added flour for viscosity, formed into cutlets, breaded and fried in sunflower or olive oil over moderate heat.

Green soup made from tops and chicken is considered a real storehouse of vitamins. To do this, cook the poultry broth, add potatoes, carrots, and onions to it when ready, and shortly before the end, add chopped tops, salt and seasonings, then boil for another 10 minutes, turn off the heat and leave to “simmer” for 15-20 minutes. . After this, the steamed greens should be removed with a spoon and the soup should be served. The dish goes well with homemade croutons and crumpets.

With this method of processing, the greens lose their color, but to avoid this, add a little dissolved citric acid or lemon juice to the prepared mixture.

If you have a steamer at home, you can steam beet leaves. However, you can do without such a unit - you can get steamed tops using a colander placed on a pan of water. As soon as the “water bath” boils, the leaves will be ready in 5-10 minutes.

A very original recipe for preparing beet tops is pureeing them. To do this, the leaves are mixed with other types of greens and any vegetables, the composition is crushed in a blender, and then rubbed through a sieve. The resulting mixture can be seasoned with oil and lemon juice and used instead of sauce for meat or fish.