Greek Green Beans - Au Naturale!

Are you a green bean fan? I certainly am.  They're one of the easiest foods to cook, whether baked, steamed, grilled, or boiled. Green beans are great raw, too.  I have fond memories as a child of plucking them straight from my dad's garden and having a nice crunchy snack outside.  I'll often put a handful in a smoothie.  They're also nice to munch on as an appetizer while making dinner because they begin to satisfy your hunger in a nutritious way (a much better option than potato chips). Gotta love that sweet crunch! Green beans are great!

​Green beans are a wonderful source of antioxidants.  (Read my post about the importance of antioxidants.)  In addition to conventional antioxidant nutrients like vitamin C and beta-carotene, green beans contain important amounts of the antioxidant mineral manganese.  Green beans contain a wide variety of phytonutrients from the rich, green color: carotenoids (including lutein, beta-carotene, violaxanthin, and neoxanthin) and flavonoids (including quercetin, kaemferol, catechins, epicatechins, and procyanidins) that have all been shown to have health-supportive antioxidant properties. The strong carotenoid and flavonoid content of green beans also appears to give this vegetable some potentially unique anti-inflammatory benefits.

Green beans are also low on the glycemic index.  Plus, a 1 cup serving contains 16% of the daily recommendation of fiber.  Green beans may be a particularly helpful food for providing us with the mineral silicon. This mineral—while less well known that minerals like calcium and magnesium—is very important for bone health and for healthy formation of connective tissue. Remember, fresh is always best, but frozen beans are great, too. (source)

Are you getting tired of having your veggies the same way all the time?  
Try this easy recipe for Greek Green Beans!
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Oven Roasted Greek Green Beans

Ingredients:

• 12-16 oz fresh green beans (trimmed)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil  (Bariani is a great brand)
• 2 tsp Greek Seasoning (find a good brand here OR make your own)
• 2 tsp Balsamic vinegar (Optional- for a sharper flavor. Kids may not like this option.)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Mix all ingredients in a gallon size baggie until well combined.
• Place beans in one layer a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  
• Bake 15 minutes.
• Turn the beans easily by rolling them under a large spatula.
• Bake an additional 10 minutes.
• If you use the Balsamic vinegar, they should caramelize nicely.

Try pairing these beans with my Lamb Meatloaf recipe.

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