Awatif’s Sick Beet Salad with special guest Awatif Stivers
Intro: Courtney…Courtney Uncooked. I’m Courtney Uncooked cause that’s how I like my food. The vitamins and the minerals, you know they all get through. Absorbed into the body so that nothing gets lost when you start eating raw of your health you’ll be the boss. Raw vegan for my health and you know that health is wealth. To help you stay your best, we will welcome special guests. So let’s go make a recipe and have lots
of fun, your healthy living journey has just begun cause I’m Courtney…Courtney Uncooked. Courtney…Courtney Uncooked.
Courtney: Hi, I’m Courtney Uncooked and I am so excited because I just found this amazing genie bottle and I get one wish. Whew. Okay. All right. What am I going to wish for? Okay. This is really important, just one wish. Okay. I wish for a sexy Moroccan named Awatif, to help me make a golden beet salad, teach me how to belly dance, maybe some yoga, and be my best friend forever. Oh my God. Yes. What’s up girl?
Awatif: Oh my God. I’ve been quarantined in a bottle.
Courtney: Come on out.
Awatif: Your wish is my command.
Courtney: Yes. Well, I would like to make a golden beet salad with you if you don’t mind.
Awatif: Well, I’m so glad you asked. So today we’re going to be making this sick beet salad.
Courtney: Oh, okay, okay.
Awatif: So sick. My son thinks that things that are super cool and awesome he likes to call them sick. So, that’s why we call this the sick beet salad. Now, traditionally..
Courtney: So why are we using golden beets?
Awatif: Okay. So, the golden beads, traditionally, we’re used to seeing red beets or these beautiful candy cane beets also known as Chioggia Beets.
Courtney: They’re pretty.
Awatif: They’re very beautiful and colorful, but today we’re going to use golden beets, they’re a little milder in flavor. So, for those of you who’ve never had beets, the experience of trying beets, this is a really nice way to…
Courtney: Give me a beat.
Awatif: Ease your way into it. We got the beets.
Courtney: We’ve got the beets; we’ve got the beets.
Awatif: So, Courtney, there are so many benefits to beets.
Courtney: Yes.
Awatif: I can’t even begin to explain, but it’s loaded in vitamin A and C. It’s got a lot of fiber; it’s got great detoxifying benefits. Beets traditionally, the red beets we’ve used.
Courtney: Why do you really like beets Awatif?
Awatif: Well, it’s really good for the libido.
Courtney: That’s what I thought you were going to say.
Awatif: The blood flow.
Courtney: I know you.
Awatif: So, beets contain a compound called boron, which really helps increase your sex hormones. If you’ve ever heard that term red as a beet that comes from women staining their cheeks and their lips with these beautiful red beets.
Courtney: Cool.
Awatif: So, there are a lot of benefits. Now, athletes, I personally like the beets because it’s great for athletic performance. So, for those of you who are trying to sustain a high-intensity workout for a longer amount of time, beets have been proven to benefit you.
Courtney: And you say everyone in Morocco eats beets all the time.
Awatif: We grew up… every dinner we’ve always had a plate of beet salad amongst other salads on our plates, but yes, I grew up eating beets from a very young age.
Courtney: Awesome. All right, what else are we going to put in here?
Awatif: Okay so, we’re going to start with these golden beets, beautiful golden beets, we’re going to do about a third of an onion and as you can see, Courtney’s using this guard to protect her fingers. Because you don’t want to lose any fingers in the process here…
Courtney: Look at that. I love this thing.
Awatif: These beautiful onions.
Courtney: Love it. My mandolin!
Awatif: So, we’re just going to use a little bit of these onions to put it here so I would say about a third of a cup you can dump in there. Beautiful.
Courtney: Yup.
Awatif: The other thing we want…
Courtney: Should we leave them in rings?
Awatif: You know, you could probably.
Courtney: It’s pretty cute.
Awatif: It’s really cute that’s a nice circle. We’re going to go with circles today. So, we’re going to add some almonds, which traditionally we use a lot in Mediterranean cooking. Almonds are loaded with good fats, very beneficial, lots of vitamins and it’s really good that we incorporate good fats into what we eat here. We’re also going to add some pomegranates. This will add a nice shot of color, it adds a nice little tart sweetness to your salad as well.
Courtney: Beautiful. Wow.
Awatif: We’re going to do a little orange zest, which we had zested ahead of time.
Courtney: This like matches your outfit.
Awatif: Yes. So, we’re going to add some orange zest. This is just going to add another layer of flavor here and citrus is beautiful. It always gives us that nice pop of brightness…
Courtney: Yup, that’s beautiful.
Awatif: To our food. Now we’re going to place a little apple cider vinegar, Apple cider vinegar lends itself very well to this mild beet flavor.
Courtney: So, when I first asked my genie here if she’d be on the show, I was telling you let’s make the beets raw, and you’d never tried that before.
Awatif: We’ve never had raw. I had to call my mother, and tell her, guess what? I’m making a raw beet salad. My mother was shocked of course.
Courtney: And then you made it and what do you think?
Awatif: It is amazing. So…
Courtney: Yeah.
Awatif: Courtney, I really appreciate you throwing that out there and allowing me to think outside the box.
Courtney: Yeah.
Awatif: And that’s something we need to consider more in the kitchen, play around, you know, go out on a limb.
Courtney: Totally.
Awatif: So, and by keeping these beets raw, we’re retaining all the benefits of the beets…
Courtney: So, we just are putting it in…
Awatif: We’re not losing any nutrients. So, this is olive oil. Again, good fat. We need fat in here so that our body’s can assimilate all the beautiful nutrients and vitamins that we’re taking in. I’m going to add just a little dash of salt because salt really helps pull out a little bit of that natural sweetener.
Courtney: You just said the word fat, which was a trigger word for me Awatif.
Awatif: Okay, fat is not a bad word.
Courtney: Here’s what I want to know. Here’s what everyone wants to know. How during the COVID-19, which means you gained 19 pounds, do you stay looking like that my friend? That’s what we want to know.
Awatif: Consistency, consistency, always.
Courtney: Consistent what are you doing?
Awatif: Okay, so I consistently work out all the time. I consistently work out…
Courtney: So, do I. I work out with you.
Awatif: Yes, we do work out together.
Courtney: What else do you…
Awatif: I like to maintain a high intensity as I work out, thanks to the beets, it really allows me to keep my intensity level high.
Courtney: Mint.
Awatif: But more importantly, 80% fresh mint. This mint it’s going to add a nice brightness and flavor to our salad here. So, diet is 80% of it, and honestly, I eat predominantly a Mediterranean diet. It’s very vegetable-based, plant-based, lots of fruits, lots of nuts and seeds and good fats like the olive oils, the olives. Doesn’t it smell amazing? And the colors…
Courtney: Yes.
Awatif: The colors from the pomegranate.
Courtney: And then we added some fresh mint from my tower garden.
Awatif: Yes. Beautiful. So. That’s it, your salad is ready. I brought something for you Courtney.
Courtney: So, what did you bring me?
Awatif: I brought you a hip scarf.
Courtney: Oh, cool.
Awatif: So, a part of belly dancing is you want a little jiggle as you wiggle.
Courtney: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can’t wait!
Awatif: So now I can tie that on.
Courtney: I want to have my first bite while I’m belly dancing everybody.
Awatif: Yes, please. So, as we plate this up, I just want you to see all these beautiful, amazing, wonderful colors and flavors that play together. Here you go Courtney.
Courtney: That is the best genie bottle ever. This is the best day of my life.
Awatif: You can say that again. Beautiful salad.
Courtney: I’m just having so much fun.
Awatif: I’m going to put some music on.
Courtney: Oh, look at that. Okay. Yeah. What do I do?
Awatif: You take a bite.
Courtney: Okay.
Awatif: First you need to fuel yourself for your dance. I’m going to put some…
Courtney: Wow. I’ve never tasted anything like this.
Awatif: And traditionally in Morocco, after we’re done eating a big meal. We tend to get up and dance and play a little music. So, the first thing that we went through is we keep our knees slightly bent.
Courtney: Okay.
Awatif: We’re just going to start with the little hip circle here. Little hip circle and you can increase the speed and then you can circle it the other direction. There we go.
Courtney: Oh, I’m doing it.
Awatif: Now there’s another move here.
Courtney: I’m doing it.
Awatif: We call it the hip drop. So, if you turn yourself to the side, come high on your toe, like this. We’re going to start with our hip up and we’re just going to drop it and drop it and drop.
Courtney: Drop it like it’s hot. Drop it like it’s hot.
Awatif: Basic hip drop. So, you can do this side. You can switch it over Courtney.
Courtney: Ooooh this side is different. This side is broke, it’s not working.
Awatif: And then drop it, drop it, drop it, drop it. Don’t break anything now.
Courtney: You know what? I’m going to watch you belly dance and eat some of your salad.
Awatif: Smooth it out, smooth it out, smooth it out.
Courtney: This is… what a great day.Courtney: I’m making beet salad with my favorite Moroccan. The flavor’s amazing, it’s really popping. It will give you the confidence to take a chance. Try something new, maybe belly dance. This salad is so good you’ll want to share it with friends and everybody is gonna wanna dig in! No, you don’t need a stove or an oven to cook. Just a blender, dehydrator, and Courtney Uncooked.