February can be a difficult month. Many studies have shown that most people tend to give up on their new year’s resolutions when February kicks in.

In my practice, I have observed that many of my clients have a hard time eating enough vegetables at this time of the year. When I dig deeper into the reasons why this happens, they tell me that they get bored of eating green salads over and over again.

When setting health goals, it is very important to keep in the elements of fun and comfort if you want to maintain those habits. Green salads are not the only way to eat vegetables and they are certainly not the most comforting way to eat vegetables at this time of the year.

Instead of choosing green salads as your go-to vegetables during the winter, think more of seasonal root vegetables: carrots, squash, Brussel sprouts, beets, etc. You can roast them, use them in soups or make salads with them.

Going for root vegetables might give you the variety that you need to reignite your desire to eat vegetables. Here is a beet and orange salad that is appealing both to the eye and to the palate.

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Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes in a pressure cooker or 40 minutes roasted in the oven

Quantity: 4 portions

Ingredients

• 8 beets
• 2 oranges, cut in wedges
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 tbsp (45 ml) roasted walnuts
• Chopped coriander or other herbs for garnish

Dressing

• 3 tbsp (45 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) honey or maple syrup
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) orange juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Peel the beets and cut each beet in 4. Cook the beets either by roasting them in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 400 °F or by boiling them in a pressure cooker or instant pot for 15 minutes.
2. While the beets are cooking, prepare the salad dressing by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl (oil, vinegar, orange juice, honey, salt and pepper).
3. Once the beets are cooked, mix them with the orange wedges, walnuts and slice onions in a big bowl.
4. Add the salad dressing and mix well.

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