Tulare County Office of Education

Network for a Healthy California

Beets

Reasons to Eat Beets

You can eat the root and the

green leafy top.

A ½ cup of cooked beet greens is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin C and vitamin A.

A ½ cup of beets is a good source of folate, manganese, and riboflavin.

What is Riboflavin?

• Riboflavin is also known as vitamin B2.

• It is important for building healthy blood cells.

• Riboflavin is water soluble, which means it is not stored in the body.

What is Riboflavin?

•Riboflavin works with other B vitamins to help your body grow and release energy from the carbohydrates you eat.

•Riboflavin is found in whole grain cereals, almonds, eggs, spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, and lowfat yogurt.

How Do Beets Grow?

• Beets are a cool season crop.• They are frost hardy, but cannot

endure extreme heat.• Growing beets adds minerals to the

soil.• Beets do well when planted with

onions, radishes, and garlic.

A Slice of Beet History

A Slice of Beet History

• The leaves were used for medicine and then later as a potherb.

• What is a potherb? It was a term widely used in the 16th to

19th centuries to refer to any plant with stalks and leaves that could be boiled as greens or used in soups.

A Slice of Beet History

• Romans were the first to grow and develop beets for their roots and used them to feed their animals.

• The Greeks were the first to eat both roots and leaves.

A Slice of Beet History

• The sugar beet (white beet) was developed in the 18th century.

• In the early 1800s, the French began extracting the sugar.

• What famous French aristocrat was reported to have said “Let them eat cake” when told the peasants were starving?

Marie Antoinette 1755-1793Queen of France from 1774 to 1792

The phrase was probably “Let them eat brioche.” Brioche is a sweet bread, eaten by royalty and nobility in France.

Unfortunately, there is no evidence she said anything like this.

• The color of beet root can range from dark purple to bright red, yellow, and white.

• When cut transversely, the roots

show light and dark rings.

Just the Facts

Just the Facts

• The Chioggia beet is red and white-striped, and nicknamed the “candy cane” beet.

Just the Facts

• Beet juice is widely used as a natural dye to give pink or red color to processed foods.

• Beets have the highest sugar content of any vegetable.

Beets are GREAT in a fresh, green salad.

1. Do not eat the green leafy tops of the beet.

You can eat them. They are very good for you.

2. Riboflavin is known as vitamin _____.

B2

3. What are the four solid colors of beet roots.

Dark purple, red, white, and yellow

4. Why was the Chioggia beet nicknamed the “candy cane”

beet?

Because it is red and white striped

5. Beets have the highest ________content of any vegetable.

Sugar

Test Your Knowledge

Tasting TrioCheesy Beet Bites

Ingredients:2 cans (15oz) pickled beets1 block (10oz) part-skim Panela

cheese1 bag (18oz) whole-wheat pita chips Preparation:1. Dice the cheese into ¼”

squares.2. Using hand gloves, dice up the

beets.3. Gently mix the beets and

cheese together.4. Place one tablespoon of beets

and cheese on top of a chip.  

HOW I FELT ABOUT THIS RECIPE

Loved it It was okay Didn’t like it

You are AWESOME!

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•California Department of Public Healthealth