Thursday, November 12, 2009

Special Diet Recipe: Roasted Green Beans


On Monday night, my husband's parents joined us for dinner. We had one of my favorite meals -- Southwestern Chicken, Caesar salad, baked potatoes and green beans. I decided on green beans because I know that my diabetic mother-in-law Bonnie loves them. I figured that non-starchy vegetables like green beans were good for diabetics. What I did not know until Bonnie told me on Monday night is that green beans are particularly good for diabetics because they help lower your blood glucose. Bonnie told us that before insulin, chicken and green beans were the core of a diabetic's diet. Personally, she has seen a drop in her blood glucose numbers after she eats green beans. Inspired by our discussion, I decided to check out the website for the American Diabetes Association. Although I didn't find an article about green beans specifically, I did find some links to other green bean recipes that sounded tasty:
Personally, I've never prepared any of these recipes listed above, so I can't vouch for how they taste. And honestly, most often, I just cook a bag of frozen beans and call it a night. However, when I get fresh green beans, I do like to use an actually recipe. One that I have used and enjoyed in the past is "Roasted Green Beans" from Susan Branch's beautifully illustrated cookbook Vineyard Seasons. It's simple yet tasty and the beans can be eaten hot or cold.

Roasted Green Beans
Serves 4

1 pound fresh grean beans, trimmed
1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
fresh lemon juice
freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Spread the trimmed beans on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven for about 6 to 8 minutes or until they are tender. Turn them occasionally. Place roasted beans in a serving dish and squeeze lemon juice over them and season with pepper. Enjoy!
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1 comment:

FishMama said...

Very yummy! Great info, too.