Beet Carrot Smoothie with Cashews and Parsley (vegetarian, gluten-free)

Beets are a beautiful thing.  Besides the brilliant color, depth, and patterns found within them they are a beautiful thing for our bodies. 

Beets are a good source of vitamin c, iron and magnesium, and a very good source of dietary fiber, folate, potassium and manganese. They are also chocked full of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant elements.  Eat them and you will feel good.

Now that its getting warmer I want to continue to eat lots and lots of beets but don't want to turn on the oven to roast them.  I did some research and saw that they are also delicious raw and can be incorporated as such in salads, juices and my personal favorite, smoothies.  

I wanted to kick up the nutritional variety in this smoothie so I also added carrot, parsley, yogurt, almond milk, and soaked raw cashews.  You can replace the almond milk with rice or coconut milk and the cashews with another soaked nut if you wish. Ground flax seed or hemp seeds work well as additions. Also try adding more veggies.  Celery might be nice.  



Recipe:
1 medium sized beet
1 large carrot
1/2 c. chopped parsley
1/2 c. soaked raw cashews
1/2 c. yogurt
1/2 c. almond milk
6 ice cubes


Method:
1. Remove the skin from the beet with a vegetable peeler.
2. Wash all the grit from your parsley and carrot.
2. Chop the parley
3. Cut the beet and carrot into manageable pieces for your blender.
4. Puree all ingredients in a blender until you have a bright magenta smoothie.


ENJOY!