Caramelized Beet & Mozzarella Salad with Toasted Walnuts

2 golden beets
3 cups baby red Russian kale
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
1 tbsp olive oil
1.5 oz fresh mozzarella

Slice beets into three medallions each. Over medium-low heat, warm oil in frying pan and caramelize the beets.

While beets caramelize, slice fresh mozzarella into four slices. When beets are done, lay kale in bowl. Place large beet medallion on kale and then a cheese slice. Repeat. Top with final medallion.

Toast walnuts in pan and top each salad with toasted nuts.

Makes two servings: 247 calories/16 grams of fat/5 grams of fiber/10 grams of protein

Cocoa-Merlot Chicken with Golden Greens

Serves Four

2 cups GOOD Merlot
2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp cocoa nibs
4 oz trumpet royale mushrooms (or mushroom of your choice)
1 lb boneless skinless chicken tenders
1-2 bunches golden beet greens

Bring Merlot, chicken broth and cocoa nibs to a boil and continue to reduce until liquid is halved.

Meanwhile, grill one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders (the tenders are quicker to cook!) sprinkled with just a little salt and pepper. You can add healthy oil to the mix by cooking the chicken in 1 tbsp of oil (add in the calories/fat/etc).

After removing chicken from pan, add mushrooms and sauce and cook, scrapping pan, until sauce has reduced again.

Serve with steamed golden beet greens. To make, just chop fresh beet greens and steam in a steamer or micro for a couple minutes.

Nutritional Information is for 1/4 of the sauce, 3 oz of chicken, and 1/2 cup of steamed beet greens.

311 calories / 9 grams of fat / 6 grams of fiber / 31 grams of protein

Beet Chips

Two beets, mandolined into chips
Cooking spray
Seasoning Salt

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. (I use unfiltered olive oil in a misto bottle). Lay bet slives out and sprinkle with seasoning salt. Bake for 40 minutes or until desired texture, flipping every 15 minutes or so.

You can do this with most root vegetables. Tonight I also made rutabaga and turnip chips. Mine vary between being leathery and burnt crisp based on temperature and cook time. You can speed up cook time by upping the temperature but you want to check more frequently so they don't burn!

Make sure to count the points for the respective serving size if you munch on a higher calorie root veggie or each a number of beets :-)

Apple-Beet Sauce

This is perfect to mix into steel cut oats or yogurt!

6 small apples, cored and quartered
3 small beets, scrubbed and chopped
Ancho Chili Powder, to taste
Cinnamon, to taste (usually 3x the chili powder)

Mix beets and apples together. I do a very light dusting of chili powder and a heavier dusting of cinnamon over the top.

Cook on low for 5-8 hours, stir every 3-5 hours. Length of time will determine a chunkier or saucier consistency.

1/6 of the recipe is only 1 Point!