Not So Southern-Style Green Beans

Posted on Aug 18th 2010 1:00PM by Tanya Zuckerbrot

Filed Under: Recipe Rehab with Tanya Zuckerbrot, Nutrition & Supplements

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Southern foods are known for being robust and filling, and the traditional recipe for Southern-style green beans is no different. Usually seasoned with fatback, bacon or ham hocks, the beans are boiled until they are tender and have a dark green color and a salty taste. One of our readers wrote us with a request to make over his mother's green bean recipe so that the calories represent a reasonable side dish rather than an entree.

Fatback and ham hocks add quite a bit of sodium to the green beans, not to mention unwanted calories. But there is no question that they add a lot of flavor, which green beans on their own tend to lack. I will spice up the green beans with onions, garlic, black pepper and crushed red pepper to add flavor without extra calories. Cooking vegetables in large amounts of water until the color runs out leaches nutrients, which are then lost when the water is discarded. Other nutrients, like vitamin C and folic acid, are completely destroyed in the cooking process because they are not heat stable. It is best to cook veggies on a griddle or steam them. I am actually going to stir-fry the beans in a little bit of olive oil to help absorb the fat-soluble vitamins and intensify the flavors of the dish.

Now this rehab may be a step away from your mother's Southern cooking, but it is a delicious low-calorie way to spice up green beans.

Ingredients:
•1 tablespoon olive oil
•1 medium onion, sliced
•3 cloves garlic
•1 pound green beans (frozen or fresh)
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
•1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are tender.
2. Add the green beans and cover to keep in the steam. Cook for about 3 minutes. It may be necessary to add a little bit of water (1 to 2 tablespoons), especially if using fresh green beans.
3. Turn the green beans and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the cover of the pan and add the spices. Finish cooking with the cover off until the green beans are slightly tender but still crunchy.

Serves: 4

Nutrition Content (per serving):
80 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 11 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 3 g protein, 154 mg sodium

Spice up another side dish vegetable: Try my Brussels sprouts!

Readers, I would love to hear from you! Please send me your favorite fattening recipes that need a RECIPE REAHB! Everything from your mom's meatloaf to your kid's favorite dessert -- let me lighten it up.

Celebrity dietitian and motivational life coach Tanya Zuckerbrot, author of www.ffactordiet.com and founder of www.skinnyandthecity.com and www.theskinnyondietitians.com, has helped thousands of people lose weight and keep it off with her program. Her philosophy? Tanya believes you should never sacrifice taste, even when you're eating healthy foods. Have a recipe in need of rehab? Send us your recipe!

30 Comment

Tags: side dish, southern green beans, SouthernGreenBeans, stir fry, string beans, tanya-zuckerbrot, vegetables

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

lindaloo 8-18-2010 @ 4:11PM

Hi, I was interested in this recipe makeover but for a different reason. My mother-in-law is originally from Tennessee (we are in Michigan) and when she makes a pot of green beans, she puts it on at 6 am and cooks them ALL DAY. That is the reason they are totally tasteless. Fresh green beans taste wonderful cooked but they need to cook like 5 or 6 minutes to be tasty! (As your recipe has one do). Why would those skinny little green beans need to cook for 8 hours or more??? They wouldn't need to put bacon fat in them if they just steam them for a few minutes. How to ruin a perfectly good veggie! In fact, I often eat them raw!

GT 8-22-2010 @ 12:06PM

My grandmother and I myself have cooked green beans a long time, but it depends on the bean. True, the little skinny ones don't need much, but if you are cooking Kentucky Wonders you will not be able to eat them if they don't get a couple of hours. The bush beans can be stir fried or steamed, but not the KY Wonder pole beans.

lynne 8-22-2010 @ 7:14AM

I'm from TN. and the only way to cook green beans is exactly as someone's MIL does it. If I want raw green beans I'll eat them that way; raw! I don't put a lot of fat in mine but I do put some! Olive oil? GAG! Where's the taste in olive oil? If you just want grease for the sake of grease, may I suggest WD40? Not many calories there.

Charlotte Jones 8-22-2010 @ 2:48PM

I fell the same way I want them to be done no raw ones for me . And I cooked in a Restuant for 41 years

vicvod 8-22-2010 @ 7:53AM

Report spam! Don't Just give it a negative vote,REPORT IT!

Barbara Loden 8-22-2010 @ 9:03AM

I just reported the spammers. Always do but does not help. Some other sites remove it the minute you report them. AOL should do that.

douglas 8-22-2010 @ 9:58AM

People who are not born and bred of the south will never fully understand the magic of foods prepared in the south and based on a history of making things taste absolutely wonderful. Cooking greenbeans as the MIL from Tenn. is traditional southern style greenbeans which hold up quite well and taste absolutely wonderful. Healthy or not...taste is important too. Besides, most vegetables lose a large amount of their nutrients once cooked, regardless of length of time. The greenbeans are still an excellent source of iron and perfect for expecting mothers or women in general who need iron (men too). Greenbeans are at their absolute best when cooked in a pot of water, for hours, with some fat-back meat or bacon. I usually rinse off my fat-back if real salty on the outside to cut back on the excess salt. Nothing else needs to be added during the cooking process. Once served you can either add salt/pepper for additional taste if needed. Another great addition to family get-togethers or special holidays is to add corn (usually white shoepeg corn is the best) to the greenbeans, ending up with a dish of greenbeans and corn. I have known some people to cook the greenbeans similar as above, but adding in a tablespoon of sugar too, adding a nice touch to it all. Health is important...and eating healthy is important...but enjoying good food(s) is an enjoyment in life as well. I support this method of cooking greenbeans as it truly is a southern tradition. It doesn't mean that I don't like steamed greenbeans or greenbeans sauteed, etc. There are many many ways to enjoy the same type of foods prepared in many different ways. But don't knock the southern style (tenn. MIL) of preparing greenbeans. In the end, these greenbeans prepared as the MIL does from Tenn., are much more better for you than the processed foods on the grocery shelves that many many shoppers gravitate to because they're in a can or box and can be prepared in 5-20 minutes.

pigsrule1969 8-22-2010 @ 11:10AM

i found using a little chicken broth, fresh ground garlic pepper and a little cornstarch to thicken the broth, you can eliminate the need for salt and the beans are delicious

Connie 8-22-2010 @ 11:58AM

Not so southern is right on this recipe...I am sure the reader is disappointed by the recipe "remake." Instead of using salt pork, ham hocks or other animal fat, try a vegetable fat, like canola oil. I use canola oil all the time to cook mine and no one knows the difference. Cook them the same amount of time for regular southern style green beans, but do not salt until they are done. The key to good southern style beans is to have an ACTUAL BEAN in the bean. All southern style beans do. Garlic and olive oil are not southern staples.

Sandy 8-22-2010 @ 12:18PM

How about something IN BETWEEN cooking all day and sauteeing? I've tasted the steamed and sauteed versions and can't abide either. I grew up on Southern Style green beans and love them. I use a combination of bacon (center cut- less calories), a combination of chicken broth and water, some salt (to taste) and cook for about an hour. One of the reviewers is correct; pole beans steamed would be inedible (in my opinion).

Vegusguy 8-22-2010 @ 12:24PM

I grew up in rural KY. My grandmother's cooked on wood burning stoves. Because of the lower heat, they slow cooked their beans for several hours, flavored with ham, salt pork, or bacon. Perhaps not as healthy, but delicious!

Gregory Schwartz 8-22-2010 @ 12:38PM

Over the years, I've developed a technique for cooking green beans. Saute a few stips of bacon cut into small pieces with chopped onion. Add green beans. Add just enough water to keep them moist during cooking process. Add garlic and Teriyaki sauce and a hit of honey or brown sugar (white if you don't have brown). Simmer as long as it takes to get to the tenderness you desire. Optional: add a hit of butter.
I guarantee your friends will LOVE these green beans!
- gregg in Sarasota, FL

psdietcoke 8-22-2010 @ 12:45PM

I LOVE Southern style green beans and cook them several times a summer for my family. Originally from Knoxville, TN but living in the Great NW now.
I have adapted my recipe a bit by using a small amount of bacon ends and a little less salt ( don't add salt until the last hour or two or the beans may be tough) We also like them a bit firmer than my Mom used to make so I only simmer them on very low for 2-3 hours. What's better than a pot of fresh green beans and home made corn bread :)

MalindaAntonette 8-22-2010 @ 1:29PM

I buy few pounds of fresh green beens. Snap them and snap off both end parts. Rince them in cold water and put them in a big pot full of cold water with a bit of salt and pepper. Colorado you have to cook things longer, so I cook them about 2 hours. In a skillet I chop up Hillshire farm smoke sausage and brown them with some red finely diced up red bell peppers. Then add that to my beans and simmer for half hour.
That to me is YUMMMMMY.

Joan 8-22-2010 @ 3:06PM

We have a large vegetable garden and lots of green beans. I cook my beans until they are tender, about 20 minutes. I slice up bacon and chop onions from my garden and cook them until done and then I put the drained green beans and the onions and bacon together and add some cider vinagar and cook a few minutes. These are wonderful.I like other ways of cooking them too but this is our favorite. If I have a left over hot dog or a sausage left over a cut this up and add to the beans. This is good too.

Connie 8-22-2010 @ 3:52PM

Born and raised in North Carolina. My Mama would fry out fat back, aka salt pork for the grease to use when cooking fresh (or canned) green beans. And, she always added a pinch of sugar. But, she cooked in a pressure cooker which took little time and they were soooooo good! Fresh beans cooked under pressure for 10 - 15 minutes is enough

Married a career military man and moved around the country for 30 years. Had green beans cooked by others every way imaginable. I learned to use vegetable oil when cooking my beans, and now Canola oil, a beef bouillon cube, a little pepper and that little pinch of sugar per Mama. Still use a pressure cooker....a small type cooker, not a pressure canner.
Yummy. And they were NOT salty tasting. The recipe on this site using olive oil and garlic....definitely ain't Southern at all!

Even canned green beans take on a just out of the Southern garden flavor when cooked this way. We love them.

Having a piece of that crispy fried out fat back to get the grease out of for cooking like Mama did was a huge treat for us to have. I still remember that. Wouldn't eat it now for love nor money.

No way am I ever going to put olive oil and garlic in my Southern style green beans! The bouillon cube adds just enough salt, not a salty flavor at all.

Frank 8-23-2010 @ 12:31AM

I'm from Alabama and I use a pressure cooker too. I've had mine for 25 years and it still works very well. I cook roasts in it and some veggies like string beans and pole beans....I also use it to cook greens...turnips, collards and mustard. Incidentally, young, tender rutabega tops are great too...I use either bacon or Goya Ham Seasoning.

Sandra 8-23-2010 @ 3:56AM

Busch makes a canned version that is "tolerable" for us hillbilly green beaners - the canned shelled beans are actually salvagable with a little bacon grease! Yes folks, I said bacon grease - everything in moderation. Y'all aint' gonna tell us southern folks how to eat our beans, but thank you for the suggestions lol :)

Stan 8-22-2010 @ 5:30PM

Growing up in Tennessee, I am quite familiar with the traditional recipe. But you can get as good a flavor, albeit slightly different than pork type seasonings, by dropping in a Knorrs chicken buillon cube, or a two teaspoons of "Better Than Buillon" chicken base, when you put your beans on to cook. Cook them real slow for a couple of hours and you'll have a southern tasting green bean without the fat and added calories of pork based seasonings.

makeda 8-22-2010 @ 9:40PM

Instead of pork products,use turkey necks,tails or the butt,use sea salt and some fresh garlic.

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