Roasted Beet and Feta Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

When skiing last week in Sun Valley my husband and I splurged on lunch at the Seattle Ridge lodge.  It’s become a tradition each time we ski there (BIG PLUG:  Sun Valley is one of my favorite mountains to ski in all the west).  We chose to split a fabulous fresh salad, made to order with fresh beets, feta, toasted walnuts on top of power greens with a luscious sweet honey mustard dressing.

I knew I had to come home and remake this beautiful and nourishing salad.  I love roasted beets but hadn’t done them myself before, so I checked it out and discovered it wasn’t very hard at all.  If you purchase whole beets at the store, cut off the greens and save them for chopping into salads or cook them like you would spinach or other greens.

Scrub the beets and rub them with some olive oil.  Place them on a piece of heavy-duty foil and wrap securely.  Then place them on a baking sheet and roast in a 400 degree F oven for 35-40 minutes or until they can be pierced with a fork.

Allow to cool and then peel the outside skin; it comes off fairly easily but admittedly the purple beets turn your hands pink so you may want to wear gloves; however it rinses off easily with soap and water.  There you have it.  Roasted beets done easy.

The salad is fresh, simple and oh so nutritious.  Power greens add loads of nutritional value as does the feta cheese and nuts and seeds.  I use avocado or olive oil for the dressing which provides additional omega-3 fatty acids.  So good for you!

Beets are loaded with iron, folic acid, vitamin C and magnesium.  The fiber content is high and they provide super high amounts of heart-healthy, liver-protective and cancer preventing anti-oxidant and phytonutrient content.  I’ve been drinking beet juice regularly each week and now that I know how to roast beets I’ll be adding them to my salads much more often.

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