Growing up, my mom was always good at making sure we got our vegetables in. There was a salad at every meal (usually at the end of the meal) and she often made beets with thinly sliced onion and a homemade vinaigrette. It’s hard to get kids to like beets, but my mom did it! I love this healthy salad recipe because I get to add the beets right into the salad. I love the combination of golden beets and red beets here because they make the end product so colorful and tantalizing. My mother never added fruit to a salad, but I think she’d approve of this one. Chocked full of flavor, yet beautifully balanced, I bet this one will be a winner at your house, too.

Beets, greens, and goat cheese are a tried and true combination. The savory, creamy flavor of chevre is the undeniably perfect complement to a sweet, earthy beet. But if you thought it couldn’t get any better, think again. The pickled cherries in my recipe offer an unexpected smack of deliciousness. You’ll use dried Montmorency sour cherries and quick-pickle them in red wine vinegar, ground fennel, and a touch of honey. You’ll never go back, I swear!

When you’re using red beets and Montmorency sour cherries, chances are some other things are going to turn red in the process. That’s just the way it is! To try and mitigate their tendency to dye everything in their wake, here’s the most important thing you can do: Make sure to roast the beets separately from one another. If you roast them together, the red beets are sure to stain the golden ones. Just one last little note regarding the fennel: If you only have whole fennel seeds on hand, that’s fine. Just make sure you grind them with a mortar and pestle or in a small spice grinder before using them in this recipe.