Confession: I hate beets. To me they taste slightly sweet, somewhat slimy and very earthy. And by “earthy” I mean dirt-like. I do appreciate the nutritional value of the beetroot and I admire its beauty. It’s the taste and texture I can’t get past. For these reasons, I’ve been on a mission to come up with ways to consume, but not taste, beets.

We can all have a good laugh at my attempt at Candy Cane Beet Sundaes. That was a mess. But as promised, I have come up with a winner. Chocolate Beet Muffins probably sound a little strange but I swear they taste great.

Using the recipe analyzer at caloriecount.com, I found out that  each one of these muffins provides a whopping 17% of your daily fiber recommendation and 9% of your daily iron (based on a 2000 calorie diet). Yay beets!

Chocolate Beet Muffins

• 4 medium-small beets
• 1/2 C dried, pitted dates
• 1 1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 C raw sugar
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 4 T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 C vegetable oil
• 1/2 C non-dairy milk – unsweetened (I used coconut milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 C chopped walnuts
• 3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips (Trader Joe’s brand happens to be vegan)

1. in a 350 degree oven, roast the beets (wrap whole, washed beets in tinfoil) until tender, about 1 hour
2. once beets are cooled, peel and add to food processor
3. add dates to food processor and process until mixture is completely smooth – you will have to scrape down the sides several times
4.  in a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and use a whisk to get rid of any clumps
5. add the wet ingredients, including the beet and date puree and stir until combined
6. fold the walnuts and chocolate chips into the batter
7. line a 12-muffin pan with wrappers and spray each one with a little PAM
8. divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin wrappers
9. bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean