heart skips a beet.

that's right. something that can turn your pee red is actually really, really good for you. really.

i feel like there's no way to go about this without sounding like an over zealous bragging mother, but beets are a sort of wonder food and the list of their health benefits is extensive. beets have nutrients that help protect against coronary artery disease and stroke, birth defects, and certain cancers (particularly colon cancer), lower cholesterol levels, promote nervous system health (especially for the eyes), have anti-aging benefits, and, to top it all off, are excellent detoxifiers. the betalin pigments in beets trigger "hook up" activity in the body's phase 2 detoxification process. this is the metabolic step in which our body "hooks up" toxic substances with small nutrient groups so that they become neutralized, water-soluble & get excreted in our urine. what makes beets so special is that most of their health benefits are unique, in terms of the nutrients from the beet that deliver or contribute to the health benefit. there is more than one way to skin a cat, but many vegetables skin their cats the same way. beets, those ingenious little buggers, have their own cat skinning tricks. most vegetables give us antioxidants through beta-carotene, but beets contain two different antioxidant careotenoids that are not nearly as common in other vegetables, called lutein and zeaxanthin. similarly, their red color comes not from anthocyanins, as is the case for most distinctly red vegetables, but from unique phytonutrients called betalains. and variety, it is said, is the spice of life. so, the more types of antioxidants and nutrients we can get, the better for our bodies. each of them interacts with our bodies and our cells in a different way, no matter how slight, and that will affect exactly what they do and how, and, in turn, the way it benefits our health.

and the red pee thing has a name: beeturia. it is nothing to be alarmed about, it's simply a sign of the genetic inability to break down the beta-cyanin pigment in the beet. roughly 10-15% of the population fall into that category.

okay, so the early bird has laid the case that beets are a must have for low calorie high fiber detoxifying super cardiovascular nutrition. but i think many of us have yet to embrace the beet because they seem cumbersome and dirty when bought fresh or we have antiquated notions of them pickled in jars, on our grandparents' plates, or in some soup called borscht. hesitate no longer. they are super delicious and super easy. all you need is a little bit of time, the effort is minimal, the skill level low. get some beets and roast them.

easy peasy beet roasting. 101.

preheat oven to 375, make sure rack is in the middle of the oven.

if the beets still have greens attached, cut off the greens, clean them and set them aside. they have their own amazing nutritional value and are absolutely edible.

wash the beets.

wrap them in aluminum foil (you can wrap them together in a single foil packet with all the beets or you can wrap them individually).

place them in the oven, on a baking sheet if you have it, or directly on the rack if you don't.

roasting will take anywhere from 45-90 minutes, depending on the size and the beet itself. to test, poke them with a fork (you don't remove the foil), they are done when the fork goes into the beet without any resistance.

when beets are done, remove from oven.

unwrap the beets and peel them as you rinse them under cold water. the roasting loosens the skin enough that it slips off easily and the water from the faucet cools the beets and helps keep the red staining on the hands to a minimum.

and there you have it - roasted beets.

so roast those beets and keep being naughty, no one is really making a list or checking it twice, and the beets will detoxify all your sins.