How to Make Roasted Beets in a Balsamic Glaze

SERVINGS: 3

PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 120 MINUTES

SKILL LEVEL: EASY

MEAL: LUNCH-DINNER

STYLE: WESTERN

PREPARATION: BOILED, BAKED

EAT IN: SPRING

FOR OCCASION: CLEANSE

How Does This Ayurvedic Recipe Improve Wellness?

CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW

Earthy, sweet blood red beets brighten the cloudy days of early spring with their vibrancy. Smooth texture with light oil, the rich sour flavor of balsamic glaze awakens your senses just as the nearing sun awakens nature in early springtime.

An uncanny craving for beets usually strikes our fancy in February. Aptly described as "the most intense of vegetables" by Tom Robbins in Jitterbug Perfume, beets are full of earthy mystery. When roasted and drizzled with sharply rich balsamic vinegar beets become a sweet, juicy wonder.

Liver Cleansing in the Spring

Beets with balsamic vinegar is a perfect addition to an early spring diet. They offer a healthy remedy to a congested liver that creates heavy blood. Both are cholagogues, releasing bile from the liver into the digestive tract. Release of bile siphons fats from the blood, reducing triglyceride levels. Bile is also a major pathway of cholesterol metabolism. The beta-carotene in beets is an excellent liver tonic. The mild laxative qualities of beets and vinegar help clean the digestive tract as well. Cooking beets transforms the starches into sweet sugars that are cool down the blood. They nourish the liver, clean the blood and improve the eyesight. Beets are good for anemia.

Liver Bitterness

February comes at the bitter end of winter, the time of ashes. The natural environment offers slim pickings this time of year and the pantry is nearly bare. Early spring is the hardest month for animals in the wild. Anxiously awaiting the hope and promise of spring, lovers will make a last ditch effort on Valentine's Day to resurrect the dying embers of affection.

You may experience waves of bitterness, discouragement and a sense of failure in February. Try not to take these 'liver' emotions too seriously. Instead, these emotions offer an important cue.

Rich Blood

As soon as temperatures start to rise in early February, the body begins to metabolize some of the winter fats. The blood becomes rich and congested with these fats. It becomes thick and hard to circulate. Fatty blood makes February heart attack month. The fatty blood congests the liver as well. Much like a stuffed goose, your stuffed liver start to look as fatty as foie gras. You may have even noticed a week or two of dark, loose stools.

These important cues are signs your body is ready for cleansing. Ayurvedically, it is a critical time to cleanse the liver and jumpstart the body's fat metabolism.

AYURVEDA'S GUIDE TO VITALITY & WHOLESOME NOURISHMENT

Your Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body and your specific imbalances. With an Ayurvedic diet you feel joy and satisfaction because what you are eating truly nourishes and balances you. Disease results from diets and lifestyles that are incompatible with your nature. By eating a personalized diet matched to your body, you experience optimal health. See How it Works.

See a complete list of all biocharacteristics.

INCREASES Increases These Biocharacteristics (Gunas) Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics (gunas). Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance. By knowing which characteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick. Every characteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold). You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite characteristic. Learn More	HOT ABOUT HOT BIOCHARACTERISTIC Hot is identified by increased body temperature, metabolism, or inflammation. LEARN MORE ABOUT HOT CLEAR ABOUT CLEAR BIOCHARACTERISTIC Clear refers to anything that cleanses or flushes out wastes, or that digests ama. LEARN MORE ABOUT CLEAR LIQUEFIED ABOUT LIQUEFIED BIOCHARACTERISTIC Substances that thin fluids (lower viscosity of blood plasma). These may include blood thinners or mucolytic herbs. LEARN MORE ABOUT LIQUEFIED EASY ABOUT EASY BIOCHARACTERISTIC Easy refers to anything easy to digest, or digests quickly. LEARN MORE ABOUT EASY MOBILE ABOUT MOBILE BIOCHARACTERISTIC Mobile refers to anything that stimulates the nervous system, muscles, or activity. LEARN MORE ABOUT MOBILE
TASTES The 6 Tastes Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food. Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body. Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food. Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods. Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion. Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste. One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes. The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below? Learn More	PUNGENT ABOUT PUNGENT BIOCHARACTERISTIC Pungency is characterized by irritation, or sharp, spicy foods that irritate the mouth such as black pepper. LEARN MORE ABOUT PUNGENT
DOSHAS The Three Doshas / Body Types According to the biocharacteristic theory of medicine, people tend to get sick, over and over again, due to habitual causes and imbalances that are unique to the person. Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness. Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency. Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses. The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history. The 3 functional body types (doshas), are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha). Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy. They are easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry. Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy. They tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed. Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass. If they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion. Anabolic people tend to be stable and grounded. Learn More	PACIFIES AGGRAVATES
HERBAL ACTIONS (see all)	Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Roasted Beets in a Balsamic Glaze Experiences are Personal Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of herbal-actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition. Digestion: Warms Abdomen WARMS-ABDOMEN Warms the muscles and organs of the abdomen, stimulating digestion and metabolism. SEE ALL 'WARMS-ABDOMEN' FOODS / HERBS Cleanse & Detox: Internal Detoxicant INTERNAL-DETOXICANT Liquefies, dissolves, decongests or dislodges internal stagnant toxins. Decongests the lymphatic system. SEE ALL 'INTERNAL-DETOXICANT' FOODS / HERBS Mind, Stress & Sleep: Relaxes Eyes RELAXES-EYES Eases tension in eye muscles, so the eyes feel less strained, often by supporting the liver. SEE ALL 'RELAXES-EYES' FOODS / HERBS , Strengthens Resolve STRENGTHENS-RESOLVE Increases determination and courage by reducing stress and building strength. SEE ALL 'STRENGTHENS-RESOLVE' FOODS / HERBS , Nerve Relaxant Grounding NERVE-RELAXANT-GROUNDING Encourages feelings of stability and heaviness. Makes you feel settled, mentally relaxed. Mildly sedates the nervous system to ease stress. Can bring a spacey or anxious person back to earth. Reduces agitation, irritation, stress and racing thoughts. SEE ALL 'NERVE-RELAXANT-GROUNDING' FOODS / HERBS Energy Vitality: Stimulates Energy STIMULATES-ENERGY This category groups thyroid and adrenal stimulating herbs. SEE ALL 'STIMULATES-ENERGY' FOODS / HERBS , Satisfies Stomach SATISFIES-STOMACH Provides a sense of gratification and fullness in the stomach. SEE ALL 'SATISFIES-STOMACH' FOODS / HERBS Skin Care & Beauty: Diaphoretic DIAPHORETIC An herb that induces sweating, often by dilating blood vessels close to the skin. SEE ALL 'DIAPHORETIC' FOODS / HERBS Respiratory-Health: Flushes Sinuses FLUSHES-SINUSES An herb that relieves sinus congestion by flushing out mucus. SEE ALL 'FLUSHES-SINUSES' FOODS / HERBS , Soothes Throat SOOTHES-THROAT Soothes throat discomfort, including from a sore or ticklish throat. SEE ALL 'SOOTHES-THROAT' FOODS / HERBS Heart & Circulation: Cardiac Stimulant CARDIAC-STIMULANT Herbs that increase the heart rate. Useful in cardiovascular health, blood stagnation, and subjective feeling of heaviness in the chest area. SEE ALL 'CARDIAC-STIMULANT' FOODS / HERBS Kidney & Urinary: Irritates Kidney IRRITATES-KIDNEY Tight, sharp pain just below ribs in the back. SEE ALL 'IRRITATES-KIDNEY' FOODS / HERBS Liver & Gallbladder: Cholagogue CHOLAGOGUE Cholagogues stimulate the production & release of bile from the liver & gallbladder. This refreshes and cleanses these organs, as well as increases bile in the small intestines. SEE ALL 'CHOLAGOGUE' FOODS / HERBS Weight Loss: Hypolipidemic HYPOLIPIDEMIC Scrapes fats / cleanses blood vessels by 1) purging bile, 2) strengthening the liver's ability to metabolize fats, 3) by increasing uptake of cholesterol in the liver, and 4) by inhibiting fat cells. SEE ALL 'HYPOLIPIDEMIC' FOODS / HERBS Strength, Muscle Health: Muscle Relaxant MUSCLE-RELAXANT Herbs that relax muscles. Helpful for chronic pain or tension as well as healing from physical trauma. SEE ALL 'MUSCLE-RELAXANT' FOODS / HERBS Constituents: Iron IRON Iron is necessary for the transport of oxygen in red blood cells. SEE ALL 'IRON' FOODS / HERBS , Nitric Oxide NITRIC-OXIDE Improves circulation by dilating blood vessels. Protects blood vessels from damage. Improves athletic performance, libido, immunity, and brain health. SEE ALL 'NITRIC-OXIDE' FOODS / HERBS , Betaine BETAINE Used to reduce homocysteine in the blood, which supports proper liver function and prevents fatigue and blood clots. Improves muscle stamina and weight loss. SEE ALL 'BETAINE' FOODS / HERBS , Saponins SAPONINS Can be used to make soap. Saponins stimulate mucus membrane secretion, liquefying mucus for easy removal (expectorant). SEE ALL 'SAPONINS' FOODS / HERBS , Sodium, Soluble Fiber, Potassium, Beta Carotene, Folate, Carbohydrate, Manganese

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Joyful Belly is a recognized school of biocharacteristics medicine.