I've been having a hard time coming up with a food I don't like! But, as soon as beets were mentioned... Not that I dislike them, but they put me in the ER several years back. I had been working in the garden - and it was a great garden that year! I was into one of my "health kicks" and had been juicing regularly. I loved using beets in my juice - it's sweet and colorful and what could be better?
I had been waiting for the day I could use my homegrown beets in my juice. I was so excited - cucumbers from the garden, organic apples, and fresh beets. I drank it... yum... but my throat felt funny so I drank some more. Within minutes I was weak, trembling, couldn't talk, could barely swallow and was as sick as I had ever been in my life. I was bent over the kitchen sink trying to call DH and couldn't make anything more than a hoarse whisper. I struggled to just walk into the living room where he was.... couldn't call his name so I beat on the wall to get his attention. Off to the ER we went. I thought I was having an allergic reaction to the juice - but what it was causing my illness was all the oxalic acid in the really fresh beets. Oxalic acid is the same compound found in the houseplant Dumbcane. (guess how it got its name?)
Thankfully, by the time a 'fresh' beet makes it to the grocery store the levels have dropped significantly and there's no problem with them.
This is my WARNING! Be careful with raw fresh beets and beet greens!
Oh - and I haven't eaten another beet since that day!
