Even though we celebrated Easter at the beginning of April, it felt more like May. Spring had decided to make an early dynamic appearance, so dynamic that it felt more like the beginnings of summer! The days go by with a warm, bright sunshine and everything blooming around us. I don’t want to get my hopes high about this early summer, as we are accustomed to sudden and unpredictable weather changes, which in recent years are more and more common. Fortunately in the nature of man is to accept, to adapt and to be flexible with these changes.

After almost two months of fasting, I must admit that we outdid our Easter celebration. I love meat but if I were to choose between meat and vegetables, I would definitely choose the second. Meat comes second or even fifth on our menu list but it does not make it less tasty. I feel that if I eat meat one day it keeps me full for a long time. It seems like a natural defense that our body tells us what and how much we have to eat. I think that if we listen and respect our inner voice, we will learn and do so much for our health.

As we are still in the “phase” that we have overdone it with meat, let’s find our balance again with our beloved vegetables which are so many, so colorful and we never get bored or have enough of them.

I said colorful and what a coincidence - today I gathered beautiful, fresh, delicious, red beetroots. My first thoughts are to take my camera and play with my veggies trying to capture their liveliness,  freshness, and their deep red color before I cook them.

Beetroots flirt very often with our meals. They are definitely on our weekly menu in some form. We have been planting them in our garden for years and so they are plenty. I think this deep red root is one of the most nutritious vegetables that have multiple benefits for our health. Known from ancient, times it is said that the beetroot was offered as a precious gift to God Apollo while they also believed that goddess Aphrodite owed her beauty to the many beetroots that she ate. So precious and nutritious with low calories, beetroots are a dietary gem with a uniquely, delicious taste and many beneficial ingredients.

Apart from their roots, what I love most are their green leaves when they are fresh and alive. They are considered particularly nutritious, beneficial and very similar to those of spinach. Even the water that we boil our beets and leaves in is an excellent source of valuable ingredients.  After I boil my roots, I gather their red juice in the end and I drink it during the day. Two or three glasses, something like a detox day! Beetroots definitely belong to the category of super – superfoods.

We prefer them boiled - in salads in different versions. One of our favorites is the one with yogurt and walnuts. Today I will make our salad a little more refined because I will serve it at dinner for friends tonight. To make It more delicious, I will add to it strained yogurt,  a soft goat light cheese, katiki, which I adore and use a lot.

As I photograph, I feel impressed with how beautiful and photogenic my beetroots look through my lens. It is the reflection of light in the deep red color, and the lively green fresh leaves..... absolutely stunning!