5 Sweet Uses for Beetroot

Helen Best-Shaw whizzes up this smoothie as a nutritious start to her day. You may be surprised that Helen calls this a green smoothie, but that's because she adds kale. It's a super-healthy smoothie that contains your five-a-day in one colourful glassful, and it's sweetened with apple juice and banana so the kale and beetroot don't overpower.

Find this recipe at Fuss Free Flavours

Ren Behan tried out these beetroot and chocolate cupcakes filled with a vanilla and black-pepper scented whipped cream. Her husband, who can always detect anything unusual added to a dish, couldn't tell there was any beetroot involved. The beetroot makes the cupcakes moist and turns them into a healthy treat. Ren was testing the recipe for blogger and author Vanessa Kimbell.

Find this recipe at Ren Behan

Katherine Hackworthy’s blog is all about adding vegetables to puddings and sweet treats. She certainly delivers with these Beet Nut Butter Cups, a twist on the popular American candy peanut butter cups. First Katherine made a beetroot peanut butter, then she encased spoonfuls of it in smooth chocolate.

Find this recipe at Veggie Desserts

Katherine also whizzed up some beetroot to make this chocolatey drink. A beetroot and chocolate milkshake sweetened up with banana and honey. They would be lovely served with Ren's Chocolate and whipped cream cupcakes for a real chocolate hit.

Find the recipe at Veggie Desserts

The last recipe I'd like to recommend is by Great British Bake Off baker Urvashi Roe. Urvashi wanted to use up some of her leftover cooked beetroot to make a pudding and came up with these velvet smooth chocolate truffles. A simple sweet treat of beetroot purée mixed with melted chocolate.

Find this recipe at The Botanical Baker

Hopefully, we've inspired you to see beetroot in a completely different light. If you liked this, check out our five tasty savoury beetroot recipes. Remember, beetroot isn't just a pickle!

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum is a freelance food writer and recipe developer. Jacqueline blogs at Tinned Tomatoes. You can follow Jacqueline on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

Reference: BBC Good Food – The Health Benefits of Beetroot

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