It’s World Vegetarian Day! Who knew. I guess it’s fair to give the veggies their special day because every other day of the year is basically carnivore day. I’m totally okay with that. But much love to my veggie friends. My best friend of 21+ years (holy sh*t we’re old) has been a veg her entire life (except for maybe that one time she ate McDonalds chicken nuggets when we were super little. But I don’t think those really count as meat anyway) and we still get along just fine. And make REALLY good food, if I do say so myself. I just feel bad for anyone who’s having us over and asks us what they could make for party appetizers that we can both eat between a vegetarian and paleo-eater. “So, no meat, gluten, grains, dairy, beans…what the hell can you eat??” Lots of guacamole, salsa, eggs, veggies, and our newest love – plantain chips. It’s easiest for everyone if we just bring our own food. Which no one complains about because we’ve gotten a reputation over the years for making some pretty inventive/delicious concoctions in the kitchen.
Except that one time we tried to make cheez-its. From the ingredient list on the back of the box. In the microwave. I don’t know about you, but we didn’t have any of those chemical sh*t storm ingredients in my kitchen. Let’s just say they didn’t turn out too well were up there with the grossest sh*t I’ve ever tasted in my life.
It’s also funny that there’s this huge stigma between a lot of paleo people and vegetarians. I mean, yes, we do eat a lot of meat in the paleo world. But we also eat a TON more veggies than your average person. I wish I could bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and everyone would eat and be happy! (Thanks again Mean Girls for your ever appropriate quotes for any occasion.)
(Singing) All my veggies love me. All my, all my veggies love me.
Yeah, I just went there. let me just stuff these beets in my mouth before it opens and I embarrass myself more. Good thing they’re DELICIOUS. You can make this a couple hours in advance of when you want to serve so the flavors intensify.
- 2 bunches organic LOVE beets*
- 2 large honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored, and cut into bite-sized chunks (substitute gala, jonagold or golden delicious - use granny smith for 21DSD)
- juice of ½ orange
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- ¼ tsp of each: coriander, cinnamon, and nutmeg
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
- black pepper, to taste (start with a pinch)**
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Toss the apples in a little bit of coconut oil in a cast iron skillet and pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes, to soften.
- Meanwhile, cut your beets to about the same size as the apples.
- In a small bowl, mix together the orange juice, vinegar, spices, onion and garlic powder, sea salt and pepper. Add the olive oil gradually as you keep whisking. Set the dressing aside.
- When the apples are done, transfer them to a bowl and stick it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to chill them. Or if you’re super lazy and impatient like me, pop them in the freezer for 5 minutes.
- When the apples are cooled, toss them with the beets in a medium sized bowl. Add the dressing and mix with a wooden spoon to combine. Add the scallions and mix to distribute them evenly. Season with extra salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, or chill it to serve later. Either way it’s unexpectedly delicious.
**AIP omit black pepper.
