When I was little my dad, my sister, and I would make breakfast in bed for my mom on special holidays—usually the Mother's Day classic, always on birthdays, and every so often Valentine's Day! I will always remember our biggest breakfast in bed triumph; together we managed to sucessfully make my mom crepes. I felt like a Parisian chef!

On that note, I recently came across the concept of sneaking vegetables and fruits into regular recipes (mac and cheese, pancakes, and, believe it or not, crepes!) With that amazing idea in mind I put together a recipe for colorful beetroot crepes! It took a bit of fiddling with measurements and techniques (not to mention lots of research on what makes a good crepe!) but I finally settled on a recipe that makes my tummy very happy! *grin*

Now, let me tell you some of the wonderful things about beets and their great nutritional values!

• The vitamin C in beets is a great immune booster.
• The pigments that make beets a dark red color have been linked to detoxification benefits—meaning they can cleanse the blood and liver.
• There are some awesome compounds in beets: magnesium, potassium, iron, manganese, etc. Interestingly, pottasium helps with muscle and nerve function.
• Although beets have heaps of natural sugars (in fact, they have the highest sugar content of all vegetables), they are still low in calories.
• Beets can help boost stamina!
• Beets don't have any cholesterol. That and their dietary fibre are great for heart health! They can also reduce infalmation and protect internal organs.

photo by: liz west, CC BY 2.0

Some tips for making crepes:

1. Crepe batter should be as smooth as possible. When making crepes with beets you can strain the batter once before cooking. This helps get rid of any clumpy bits.
2. It is a good idea to let the crepe batter set for about a half hour before making the crepes. You can even make the crepe batter the night before and keep it in the fridge for up to two days!
3. When you heat the pan, go slowly; you want it hot enough that each side of the crepe browns in about a minute, but not so hot that the batter sets before you've managed to spread it around the pan.
4. FOR GLUTEN-FREE CREPES: You can substitute the plain flour for rice flour. It tastes the same, except the batter is slightly more grainy.

Finally, we all know that best part of a crepe breakfast is actually the toppings... So I have outlined some tasty treats to add to your beetroot crepes.

• Whipped Greek Yoghurt (whip some greek yoghurt together with a lemon–juiced and zested–and a tiny teaspoon of vanilla bean paste)
• Chocolate Spread
• Peanut Butter Marscapone
• Cream Cheese Whipped Cream
• Jam
• Maple Syrup
• Fresh Berries
• Poached Peaches and Pears
• Bananas
• Seeds and Nuts
• Chocolate Chips or Shavings

Visit our Sneaky–Nutrient Recipes section to find the full recipe for Colourful Beetroot Crepes.

Dr. Mercola. (2014, January 25). Six Amazing Health Benefits of Eating Beets. Retrieved February 07, 2018, from https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/01/25/beets-health-benefits.aspx