You've probably heard that First Lady Michelle Obama has planted a vegetable garden at the White House. And while it contains 55 different varieties of produce, it does not contain any beets. Because President Obama doesn't like them.

Apparently, this has set off a slew of pro-beet blog posts, according to the New York Times. Comments range from "Beets are sweet and delicious, and with a totally inoffensive flavor! Maybe he's only ever had those nasty canned beets or boiled beets" to "He can't very well expect his kids to reach across the aisle and try new foods, while practicing beet partisanship himself."

The comments to the Times' blog post are enlightening as well; it seems that there are a lot of people who agree with the President's dismissal of beets. Now, I personally adore beets. I always have, even though I grew up with those canned beets you see sitting on every sad salad buffet next to the limp lettuce and pale tomatoes. In fact, I loved adding those dark red slices to my salad (my family was big on AYCE salad bars in restaurants); they were juicy and sweet and gave the other veggies a big boost of flavor. And once I got older and started eating out in slightly nicer restaurants, I tasted all kinds of beets, usually roasted, and always loved their root-y, sweet flavor.

So about three years ago, I was shocked to find out that are actually people who don't like beets. And that there are a lot of them. I was at a work lunch with about eight other people, and someone (it may have been me, actually) said she was thinking about ordering the beet salad. There was a general chorus of "yuck" or "I hate beets" or "Beets are nasty" around the table. I was astounded. I think there were only a couple other beet-lovers present at the lunch; and what surprised me was the passion with which people criticized this innocent little vegetable (which, by the way, is full of antioxidants, potassium, folic acid and calcium). I mean, people *really* hated beets. Wow. There's absolutely no food out there that I hate that much; and actually, I don't think there are any foods out there that I hate at all.

Anyway, I'm not surprised that the President doesn't like beets, because it seems that the majority of Americans out there don't. It's a real shame though -- beets add beautiful color and loads of nutrients to any dish. If you haven't had some in awhile, go to a nice restaurant where they'll cook them properly and order yourself some; or try our simple recipe for roasted beets and goat cheese toasts. You might be pleasantly surprised.