One of the best ways to eat green beans is in a mayonnaise-based salad. These light and savory salads are perfect for any time of year and provide a delicious way to increase your intake of green beans. To make your favorite dishes healthy, try cutting down on fat and salt. The easiest approach to do this is to decrease the quantity of fat and salt while increasing the amount of vitamins, minerals, and protein.
Making small changes like using low-fat or non-fat milk instead of whole milk, switching from regular butter or margarine to a lower-fat version, cutting back on salt, replacing some mayonnaise with non-fat plain yogurt, and reducing the amount of bacon you add can all help you cut back on fat and sodium while maintaining taste.
What You Need To Make A Simple Green Bean Salad?
When making a green bean salad, you want to keep things simple so that the green beans’ flavor shines through. You can do this by using ingredients that complement the flavor of the green beans, not overwhelm them. Start with fresh or frozen green beans, along with any other fresh ingredients you want to add to the salad, such as sliced tomatoes, sliced or chopped cucumbers, or croutons. You can also add cooked chicken or shrimp to make the salad more filling. Add a simple vinegar and oil dressing with some chopped herbs for flavoring.
A Healthy Dressing For Your Green Bean Salad
If you want to reduce the fat and sodium in your green bean salad, make your own dressing instead of buying a commercial one. A homemade dressing is simple to prepare, and you can control the amount of fat and sodium it contains. Green bean salad recipes often call for using a combination of vinegar, oil, and chopped herbs. Choose vinegar that are low in sodium, such as balsamic, red wine, or rice vinegar. Extra virgin olive oil is also a healthy choice. Add herbs such as chives, parsley, basil, or tarragon to your dressing. If you wish, replace some of the oil with non-fat plain yogurt to make a creamy dressing.
Lightly Steamed Green Beans
Prepare the green beans by steaming them lightly since you don’t want them to lose their nutrients. This delicious and simple salad is perfect for health-conscious people who want to add more green beans to their diet. Many green bean salad recipes call for blanching the beans before mixing them with the rest of the ingredients. However, this increases the loss of nutrients and, therefore, is not recommended. Instead, you can lightly steam the beans in a colander placed in a pot with about 1/2-inch of simmering water below the colander. Cover the pot and steam the beans until they are just tender, about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of the beans.
Add Protein And More Vitamins And Minerals
Green beans are low in calories and a good source of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, and fiber. They also contain some protein. For a healthier green bean salad, add some cooked chicken or shrimp to the salad, either cooked or sliced raw, and tossed with a little bit of dressing. Or add sliced or chopped hard-boiled eggs, which are also a good source of protein. Adding some toasted walnuts, almonds, or sunflower seeds will boost the amount of vitamin E and minerals in the salad. Or add some feta cheese which is also a good source of protein and minerals.
Combine The Dressing With The Rest Of The Ingredients
If you want to avoid the oil in the dressing, mix the vinegar and herbs with non-fat plain yogurt. Then add the dressing to the rest of the ingredients and toss lightly. Add the steamed green beans and other ingredients to the bowl and drizzle the dressing over the salad. Toss lightly and serve immediately.
Delicious, Nutrient-Rich, And Simple Green Bean Salads
These salads are delicious, simple, and very healthy. They are perfect for health-conscious people who want to add more green beans to their diet. If you want to make a salad with boiled green beans, mix the salad with the beans while they are still warm. Otherwise, chill the salad ingredients before mixing them with the warm beans. These simple green bean salad recipes offer delicious ways to enjoy green beans as part of a healthy diet. By reducing the amount of fat and sodium in your favorite recipes, you can make them healthier without sacrificing taste.
Feature Image: Pixabay
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