Ingredients:
4 medium sized beets roasted, peeled and cut into cubes
½ cup walnut pieces
½ crumbled goat feta
Dressing:
3tbs Olive oil
1 tsp maple syrup
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper (or even try it will a bit of cayenne pepper) to taste
Directions:
Roast beets covered in oven at 325 until you can pierce them easily with a fork (about 40 mins but depends on the size of beets). Peel and cube beets into small 1″ cubes. Toss in dressing and sprinkle walnuts and goat feta on top.
What’s great about this salad?
Beets are great for the liver system which shows up in spring time. They are also a little bit sweet which can help strengthen the digestive system and they also build the blood so particularly great for women who need to build their blood after their monthly cycle. Beets also help to move the Qi energy and are slightly warm in property. Spring is considered a transition season as we’re easing into the summer/hot months so having slightly warm foods and still lightly cooking our foods is important instead of heading right for the raw foods. The beets that are grown over the winter months have a slightly sweeter flavor which aids in digestion and because the soil is richer after the long hibernation, they are often more nutrient dense as well.
In the spring time we really want to ‘move’ our energy after the sedentary winter months and vinegars are great at doing just that! They also help to break down fatty foods or congestion in the body which is particularly helpful after the heavier foods of winter. Moving the energy is great for people who feel a bit stressed out or irritable or for women who are prone to pms. Try to get an unfiltered pure apple cider vinegar when possible, but any vinegar will have similar properties.
Walnuts also have a moving energy and are great for supporting the Kidney system in TCM which basically equates to our ‘bank’ of energy our our reserved energy.