Introduction
If you’re looking for a healthy way to eat your veggies, string beans are the way to go! They’re easy to prepare, tasty and good for you. Here’s a super simple recipe that’ll have your family raving about these “stringy” green veggies:
[image of broccoli]
Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable that contains many essential nutrients. It is high in vitamin C, fiber, folate and vitamin K. Broccoli also has an abundance of potassium, vitamin A and calcium.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add the string beans. Blanch the string beans for 4 minutes and then drain the water and transfer to a bowl of ice-cold water. (This stops the cooking process, keeps the bright green color and keeps the beans crisp.)
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Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add another 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to skillet, and then add the garlic, salt and pepper. Saute for 30 seconds until garlic is fragrant.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add another 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to skillet, and then add the garlic, salt and pepper. Saute for 30 seconds until garlic is fragrant.
Add string beans to pan and toss together with onion mixture until warmed through (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat, sprinkle with red pepper flakes and serve immediately!
[image of string bean with onion]
You can prepare string beans in many different ways. One of my favorite ways to eat them is as a substitute for broccoli, because they are just as nutritious and have a lower calorie count. They also contain many important vitamins, including vitamin C and A. Bean varieties with red or purple hues usually have higher levels of phytonutrients than green beans (1).
A cup of chopped string beans contains 6 grams of fiber, 7 grams of protein, 5 mg sodium and only 90 calories (2). This makes them an excellent low-calorie option for those looking to lose weight or maintain their current body weight.
Add the blanched string beans to pan and toss well to coat with garlic-olive oil mixture. Remove from heat, sprinkle with red pepper flakes and serve!
In a large frying pan, add the olive oil and garlic over medium-high heat. Once the garlic has become fragrant, add in your blanched string beans along with salt and black pepper to taste. Toss well to coat with garlic-olive oil mixture. Remove from heat, sprinkle with red pepper flakes and serve!
String beans are a great alternative to traditional green veggies like broccoli.
You might be asking yourself, “Why would I eat string beans when I could have broccoli?” Well, string beans are actually a good source of fiber. Additionally, they have more protein than broccoli and other green vegetables. A cup of cooked string beans has about 8 grams of protein (about half what is found in an egg). String beans are also rich in iron—a cup has 4% DV (daily value) of iron—and their high vitamin content makes them a great addition to any diet.
In addition to being nutritious and delicious, string beans cook quickly and can be used as a healthy alternative for many recipes that call for traditional vegetables. When choosing which variety to use in your next recipe, consider the cooking time required by each type: long pods take longer than short ones; yellow pods require less time than green ones; purple-ish or red-ish pods contain more sugar than plain green.
Conclusion
It’s time to start eating more vegetables, especially if you want to be healthy! With so many different varieties out there, it can be hard to know where to start. But don’t worry: we’re here for you. We want everyone to feel good about themselves and their choices, so check out this blog post for some great ideas on how to cook string beans. We hope that by sharing our knowledge and experience with others we can help make this world a kinder place!
Anns is a contributor at RGardening. We are committed to providing well-researched, accurate, and valuable content to our readers.
