Fiber Rich Songs and Brotherly Love: Sesame Green Beans

When I went home for Thanksgiving, my two brothers (twins) kept singing this song- “green beans, potato, tomato…” while alternately twerking and pumping their fists.  Truth is- these things don’t phase me– they are always doing or saying something that is totally foreign to me- perhaps because they are boys and/or 12 years younger than I am?  Whether Nathaniel is telling me a story about a classmate who is “such a HERB” (H is not silent here) and no, he wasn’t calling him a parsley leaf, or my brother Zachary describes an occurrence as being “LIT”, there is always something to be learned with these two.  The “green beans…” song, praising plant foods, clearly peaked my interest- so much so that one month later, the song is still stuck in my head…  So it’s no surprise I’ve been making a lot of… well… green beans.

Switching gears now from green beans and twerking to Dietary Guidelines– our nation’s source for evidenced based nutrition advice…  As per the most recent Dietary Guidelines, one key nutrient Americans continue to under-consume is FIBER.  Boring, yes, but true? YES.  Fiber is the indigestible part of the plant cell- so it’s interesting that we are concerned about a nutrient that we don’t absorb, but rather passes through us…  Some key benefits of this ghost nutrient include blood sugar control, gut health and weight management (fiber rich foods are generally bulkier for fewer calories- so we end up consuming less kcals overall).  If we want to get technical, we can talk about a general recommendation of  25-35 g of fiber per day, but when I counsel clients I sneakily help them achieve this by encouraging 1 cup of fruits or vegetables with each meals and by swapping refined (white) carbohydrates for whole grains.  Another way (and currently, my preferred method) to meet fiber needs is by… 1- playing the green beans song while 2- eating 1 cup of these green beans (providing 17 g of the 25-35 g needed daily)…

Recipe: Sesame Green Beans

Prep time: 5 minutes                       Cook time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4, 1 cup each

Ingredients:

• 4 cups (or 1 package Green Line’s) trimmed green beans
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds + more for garnish
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional but highly recommended)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional, if desired after cooking)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Add to a baking sheet: green beans, soy sauce, canola oil, sesame oil, sesame seeds, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes
• Toss green beans until all seasonings are evenly distributed
• Bake for 10 minutes, toss green beans to ensure even browning; bake for another 10 minutes until  beans are slightly shriveled and with some brown spots
• Taste end product- add salt if desired and top with a sprinkle sesame seeds for garnish