I stopped at the farmer's market this morning and several booths had beets for sale. I debated about buying some to make a borscht. (Which I love, but I was quite certain it would be a complete miss with my son.) According to Planet Green, I should have just tried juicing beets.

Researchers have found that drinking 500ml of beet root juice daily can have a positive impact on blood pressure. Not only is beet root high in antioxidants, it also contains dietary nitrates which benefit blood pressure. Researchers found that the blood pressure of study subjects dropped just one hour after drinking beet root juice, with the most benefit showing three to four hours after drinking the juice.

Want another idea on what to do with beets? Debra has some ideas for cooking beets with the greens.

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Yep, we're crazy about belonging to a CSA Farm. Fresh, local veggies every week fit our healthy lifestyle, and we look forward to choosing fun recipes to use each week's harvest.

Lately, we've been getting red and golden beets, complete with rich, green beet greens still attached. Want to know our favorite easy recipes to use every part of the beet?

Beet Greens with Tamari
Simply saute your coarsely chopped beet greens and a clove or two of minced garlic in your favorite cooking oil, over medium heat until they turn bright green (about two minutes). Then, sprinkle tamari (or soy sauce or Bragg's) in the pan, about two teaspoons or so. Cook through, remove from heat, and serve.

We all know fruits and veggies that are bold and bright in color keep us healthy. But what colors are best? Red, for one. Health.com says we can't go wrong with these three red foods.

Red cabbage
It has has deep-red (almost purple) pigments containing 36 plant chemicals. Researchers say these may be useful for guarding against cancer, boosting brain function, and promoting heart health.

Beet juice
It has a chemical your body may convert into a compound capable of expanding blood vessels and lowering blood pressure, say British scientists. If this doesn't sound appetizing on its own, try mixing it into a smoothie.

Tomatoes
They have lycopene and beta-carotene -- antioxidants that can keep your heart young by lowering your cholesterol.

Of course, red isn't the only color you'll need to eat to stay healthy. It's important to incorporate other colors into your diet too.

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If you're interested in lowering blood pressure, you may want to consider trying to enjoy beetroot juice from now on. Researchers out of London have some compelling evidence which suggests a healthy dose of the reddish extract could help beat high blood pressure.

Half a liter was shown to reduce pressure within an hour! Test subjects were asked to drink water, or beetroot juice -- and all volunteers were healthy to begin with. The results point to nitrate being the cause of this drastic lowering of blood pressure, but spinach and lettuce also contain this compound.

Chemical reactions between nitrate and mouth bacteria caused the blood vessels to dilate. This had the effect of increasing blood flow, which in turn decreased pressure. Looks like it is time to pick up another healthy habit, but I wonder if nitrate supplements would have the same results?

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