I do not accept that you won’t buy beets because of the mess they make. Think of painting, gardening, surgery, and feeding a two year old. Life is not neat.

Think of a beet like a messy potato. Sure it might stain your fingers for a few minutes, but it all comes out in the wash, you get massive health benefits like Vitamin C (in particular the top greens), Iron, Folate, fiber and Manganese and glycine betaine (great for your blood vessels.) Plus, you don’t even have to cook it.

Grate a beet on the large holes of a hand grater or by using the grating attachment of your food processor. Make a dressing of a dash of red wine vinegar or balsamic, a good squeeze of lemon, a pinch of salt, freshly ground pepper, a spill of maple syrup, a teeny ween bit of dijon and a good pour of olive oil. Shake in a jar. Add to the beet, some capers, paper thin sliced radish, a few chopped flat leaf parsely leaves, a few chopped arugula leaves, and chic peas. Pour the dressing over and taste for salt.