Sautéed Green Beans and Tomatoes

I’m so excited to be receiving a weekly vegetable basket from The Greenhouse! It’s like Christmas every week for me – a bag full of fresh and local veggies (what more could a holistic nutritionist ask for?!) The baskets offer a wide variety of vegetables, some of which are completely new to me. This is the most exciting part of all, as it gives me the opportunity to get creative in the kitchen and try new dishes (or old ones, vamped up with new ingredients!)

I have received an abundance of green beans and tomatoes lately, so I decided to make a side dish combining the two. Green beans are a great source of fibre, iron and vitamin C. Tomatoes are also a great source of vitamin C as well as a phytonutrient called lycopene. Lycopene is an antioxidant, and while some of it is available to our bodies when the tomato is raw, the cooking process releases all of this lovely phytonutrient so your body can benefit to the max!

Looking for a nourishing delicious side dish? Try out my recipe:

Sautéed Green Beans and Tomatoes

Yields: 2 servings

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons water

1 ½ cup green beans, trimmed

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

22 grape tomatoes

¼ teaspoon sea salt

A pinch of pepper

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

Directions:

1. Put the water and beans in a sauté pan over medium heat and cover. Cook for 5 minutes or until water is absorbed.

2. Uncover and add oil, tomatoes, herbs and spices to beans and combine well.

3. Cook for another 3 minutes or until tomatoes soften and skins begin to wrinkle.

Source:

Balch, Phyllis A. Prescription for Dietary Wellness. New York: Avery, 2003. Print.