Just BEET It.

Some of you may know about my love for beets. Some of you may not. Some of you may also know that during the formative weeks of my blog, I was contemplating naming what ended up becoming The Fitness Gourmet "Tulika Eats Beets."

Seriously.

Beets are my fav! That's why I'm really excited for this week. It's about time I feature beets.

Today was a surprisingly warm day. As a result, I was really looking to drink a refreshing smoothie. I usually I only drink smoothies in the form of protein shakes. But today was different!

I wanted to use the beets ASAP. So I cooked two of them quickly by boiling for 20 minutes. Side note: leave a bit of the stems on the beets while cooking them, and then cut and peel afterwards.

One thing to remember about peeling and cutting beets is that the process is incredibly messy.

The red juice goes everywhere. This is also why I wore my new apron during the process.

After the beets had cooked, I finally made my refreshing and hydrating treat.

Beet Smoothie

I blended coconut water, a handful of fresh spinach, some cucumber, and one small, cooked beet together.

For more hydration I added chia seeds.

And since I hadn't waited long enough, I figured I'd let the smoothie chill in the fridge for 10 minutes to allow the chia seeds to plump up.

This was exactly what I was looking for! Actually, if I were to do it again, I would strain it after blending the veggies for a more uniform consistency. But taste-wise it was perfect and didn't even need any additional sweeteners or flavors.

Lately, I've been seeing all kinds of bloggers making foods involving coconut butter. Remember the time I attempted to make coconut butter and failed miserably?

Well, I thought I'd give it another try. Why not?!

Homemade Coconut Butter

I put 1/2 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut in the food processor and blended away.

And scraped the sides every now and then. And continued to blend for at least 15 minutes.

Check it out!!!

It actually worked....right before my eyes! The solid coconut became butter!

Wow, I cannot wait to use this. I think I know why this failed the first time--the coconut must not be sweetened, and last time I used sweetened coconut. I think the sugar may inhibit some oil release in the process. In any case, this is so exciting, especially because coconut butter is expensive.

Stay tuned for this week's exciting beet recipes!