Sunday, April 3, 2016

Skinny Garlic Green Beans

Are you looking for a simple yet tasty vegetable side dish? This one might just become a favorite. I first tasted a similar recipe at a place in the LA area called Koo Koo Roo. It’s a casual chicken restaurant offering the most amazing skinless chicken and many wonderful, healthy side dishes, like this one.  These green beans are very popular there so I’ve remade them a little skinnier. Each skinny serving now has 48 calories, 2 grams of fat and only 1 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS. There’s so much flavor in such skinny facts!



Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh green beans

2 cups water

1 tablespoon fresh garlic cloves, minced

1½ tablespoons reduced-fat butter or Smart Balance Light

¼ teaspoon salt

Fresh ground pepper, to taste


Instructions:

1. In a medium saucepan, add beans and cover with water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for about 8-10 minutes until tender crisp.

2. Drain beans and set aside.

3. In a nonstick pan, saute garlic and 1 tablespoon butter over low heat just until light brown.  Add beans and toss to coat.

4. Remove beans from heat and place beans in a serving dish.  Add ½ tablespoon butter and let melt over beans.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper to taste.


Makes 4 servings (about ¾ cup each)


Food Fact
Green beans are unripe or immature pods obtained from the bean plant belonging to common fabaceae family. They’re referred to as “common beans,” probably because they all derived from a common bean ancestor that originated in Peru.


Healthy Benefit
Green beans are a very good source of vitamins, minerals, and plant derived micronutrients. They’re a very rich source of dietary fiber and contain excellent levels of vitamin A.


Prep Tip
There is nothing as bitter as burned garlic. It can literally ruin a dish. When a recipe calls for cooking garlic in olive oil do so over a very low heat and carefully watch the dish.


Weight Watchers (old points) 1
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 1

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