Banana Beet Smoothie

Easiest method: Peel the beet, chop it in quarters. Add beet and all other ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth.

Steaming the beet first actually enhances its nutritional value, brings out the natural sugars and softens it up. I also enjoy my smoothies very cold, so here is my preferred methodology: Peel the bananas, cut them in half, put them in a zip-lock bag and stick them in the freezer. Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Wash beet well, cut it in half, add to the boiling water and steam for 5 minutes, peel on.

Put beet in a tupperware container and freeze it with the bananas. Keep bananas and beet in the freezer for 2 hours (or more if desired). If you would like, peel the beet once it comes out of the freezer. I left most of the peel on my beet because I knew my blender is capable of emulsifying it to the point that I wouldn’t be able to detect the peel texture. Also, the beet peel has a good deal of nutrients, so I wanted to take advantage of that.

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add extra liquid as necessary. I like my smoothies thick so 1 cup of soymilk was just fine for me.