Beet Roasting

I had an "ah ha" moment last night.  (It was more of an "I'm an idiot" moment, but hey, Ah Ha has a better ring to it.)

I love roasted beets.  I've mentioned that a time or too here.  But I hate the process you have to go through to get the end product of the roasted beets.  Specifically I hate trying to get the skin off the beets after they've been roasted (every recipe I've read said you should peel the beets AFTER you cook them).  So I tend to just order beets whenever I'm at a restaurant rather than make them at home.

But it's Vegetarian Week in my house.  So of course this meant I was going to have some beets.  I even bought red AND golden beets for the occasion. (Fancy, I know.)  And last night I roasted them for an hour, let them cool for 10 minutes and then set about the task of removing the skin.  I was mid-way through de-skinning the beet with a knife, the way I've always done it, (and cursing along the way) when a light bulb went off.

Use the vegetable peeler.  Dummy.

Duh.

For some unexplainable reason, I assumed you could only use the peeler on uncooked vegetables.  I have no idea why I had this thought, I just did. 

But lo and behold, the vegetable peeler worked wonderfully on my post-roasting roasted beets. 

So in the event you hadn't realized this either, I figured I'd share my new-found knowledge about beet peeling.

On another note, half way through today and I've already had 8 fruits and veggies for the day!  Here's my list:

Acai
Banana
Blueberries
Strawberries
Apple
Arugula
Sweet Potato
Cranberry Relish

And for dinner I'll add spaghetti squash, beets and maybe even cauliflower.  I'm not sure I've ever had this many vegetables in one day.

I've also noticed that one good/healthy decision makes the next healthy decision a little easier to make and eventually after a few healthy choices in a row, you're on a roll.  I even walked the dog for 15 minutes before work today - something I've done two times before in her life.  And taken two 20 minute walks during the work day this week around town.  I might even hit up a yoga class tonight.

I'm also on day 4 of no coffee.  Which perhaps you could tell if you talk to me before 10AM, but here's to hoping not.

I must say I'm happy with these unexpected effects of veg week.

But last night I was thinking about what it'd be like to dive into full on vegetarianism for good.  And I realized I'd miss prosciutto and bacon.  And skirt steak.  So I don't think I'm going to stop eating meat.  I'll be a flexitarian instead.  Yes, it's a real word. 

Is that sad that the one meat I'd miss the most is bacon?  I'm not sure what that says about me.  Mmmmmm, bacon.  Is it Sunday yet?