Using the Power of the Beet to Beat Breast Cancer
This year 50,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Although a frightening figure, it’s sometimes the smaller numbers that carry the biggest punch. The fact that one in eight of us will get breast cancer at some stage in our lives really hits home. Whether it’s our own diagnosis or one of a friend, sister, mother or daughter, that statistic means that we are genuinely all connected by cancer.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month gives us a chance to pull breast cancer to front of our minds. It gives us the chance to show respect and celebrate all the wonderful work that’s been done to help fight the disease. The donations we make to both Breast Cancer Now and Breast Cancer Research contribute to the critical research required to find a prevention of the UK’s most common cancer.
In honour of all things pink, I’ve baked several batches of these beautiful beetroot muffins to share with girl friends over the past week. On the back of a collective thumbs up I’m sharing them with you today.
Ok, so pink they may not be bright pink, but at least they are pink-ish. Using natural flavours and colourings, these moist little muffins are incredibly healthy and most importantly they taste great. They’re perfect for breakfast, lunch box snacks or a guilt free fix any time of the day.
The power of the beet
The champion of this bake is the brilliant beetroot. Beetroots are exceptional vegetables, armed with vitamins, minerals and packed with anti-oxidants that help in the fight for well-being. Beetroots are often used in treatments for liver disorders due to the way they encourage the liver to detoxify more efficiently, in addition to helping lower cholesterol and helping to maintain a healthy digestive system.
The glorious rich colour in beetroot comes from betacyanins, natural compounds that researchers believe to be powerful cancer-fighting agents. The relationship between betacyanins and cancer prevention is an area of huge interest for researchers, with beetroot juice often being actively used alongside other treatments for the disease.
Putting all this to one side for a moment, let’s not forget that beetroots also taste amazing. For a hard looking little root vegetable, they’re unbelievably sweet and juicy. Maybe it’s time to replace an apple a day with a little shot of fresh beetroot juice? It tastes great and works wonders for energy, body function and all round well-being.
They’re a doddle to make:
(Note from The Editor: Laura O’Shaughnessy writer regularly for The Glass House Girls – you can find more of her work here. Check out her personal blog for more recipes or visit her on Facebook.)
To make 12 (at a squeeze 13) of these delicious muffins you will need:
- 200g rolled oats
- 2 mashed bananas
- 1 beetroot grated finely
- 50 grams of raisins
- 50g dried cranberries
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons of honey
- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of ginger
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (365 degrees F).
- Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl using a wooden spoon or spatula. Make sure everything is thoroughly mixed together so you don’t end up with an uneven distribution of fruit and oats.
- Spoon the mixture evenly into silicone muffin cases. It is important to use silicone ones because the low fat content means they will stick to paper cake cases.
- Pop them in the oven for around 20 – 25 minutes. They will deepen in colour during this time and lose the fluid content. They’re fairly hardy, so you can open the oven and give a little prod to check.
- Set them aside and let them fully cool down for before you take them from the cases or test them. This is important too, the ingredients need to settle down and firm up before eating.
- Then it’s a case of simply sharing and enjoying. They’ll keep for 2 or 3 days if kept in an airtight container. Fingers crossed they won’t last that long.
