[Food Tip: Are fresh vegetables more nutritious than canned or frozen? It depends on how fresh is fresh. Fresh tastes best, but if your produce was picked before ripe, held in storage, transported over long distances, and displayed at the store for days prior to purchase, then you might be better off nutrition-wise with frozen plain vegetables that were processed immediately after picking. Canned is better than not eating vegetables at all, just make sure you drink the liquids in the can, since many vitamins have migrated from the vegetable into this juice. ]
Serve beans hot as a side dish to Grilled Asian Flank Steak or cold as a salad.
Ingredients:
4 cups water
1 pound fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 shallots, minced (approximately 2 tablespoons)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red onion, minced
2 tablespoons Feta cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1) In a large, heavy skillet pan, bring 4 cups water to a boil over high heat. Add beans and cook covered, until tender crisp, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and pour into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking process. Drain, set aside.
2) In the same skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, shallots, and garlic. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, or until shallots are tender.
3) Add green beans to skillet and toss to coat with shallot mixture. Simmer for 1 minute to reheat beans.
4) Place green beans on a platter, sprinkle with red onion and Feta cheese. Serve hot or at room temperature. Makes 4 servings.
Nutritional Analysis per serving: 97 Calories; 44 percent fat (4.7 grams); 1.6 grams saturated fat; 13 percent protein; 43 percent carbohydrate; 3.8 grams fiber.
