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Editor's Note: This recipe has been updated. Old pictures of original post are below.
A green bean recipe is not a fancy one, but when I think of green beans I think of two things; Thanksgiving and mindfulness. Now I personally celebrate Thanksgiving during the Fall Equinox (Late September early October) we call it Mabon in honor of the great mother's seasonal cycles. But growing up like everyone we celebrated it around November. I have memories around the holidays, seeing my grandmother at the dining table with her mother and her sister, all of them snapping peas while exchanging old stories.
With her long nails, my young ears would hear her snap off the ends of each pea. My young eyes would see the gratitude, the peace, and the love the women were experiencing for one another. They were fully present in the moment they were in.
Benefits of Green Beans; A Moment of Gratitude
Green beans are plentiful during the late summer months as well and can be enjoyed during that time but as mentioned above I personally prefer them during the fall months. The benefits of greens beans that I am grateful for include:
- It's richness in fiber
- high amount of Vitamin K
- contains high amounts of minerals like iron and potassium
Now of course you can use frozen if you prefer, however snapping peas takes time; slowing you down to transfer that love and peace into the food you will consume. Especially when green beans are in season. I think for use to slow down at times and reconnect to Mother Earth and the food she provides. This particular recipe also has my favorite dried fruits: cranberries. This will be a perfect side dish during the holidays. The almonds added will give it a nice crunch.
Vegan Curve Building Almonds:
Almonds are high in protein and calorie dense. Just 1 serving of almonds is an additional 160 calories and 8 grams of protein.
Sometimes it is the simplest things that makes the biggest impact. Enjoy!!
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Cranberry Almond Green Beans
Ingredients
- 4 cups of fresh green beans already cleaned and snapped
- ½ half onion chopped
- 1 cup of chopped mushrooms
- 2 tablespoon of butter
- ½ teaspoon of garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon of sea salt
- ½ teaspoon of trader joes table blend
- 2 cups of water
- 1 ½ not chicken bouillon
- 2 teaspoon of liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon of lemon
- ¼ teaspoon of organic can sugar
- ¼ cup dried cranberries for topping
- ¼ cup sliced almonds for topping
Instructions
- Heat pan on medium high heat. Add butter.
- Add chopped onions and mushrooms and saute them until they are soft for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Then add green beans, salt, garlic powder, seasoning blend and the other tablespoon of butter. Coat seasonings and butter on green beans stirring for 3 minutes.
- Turn down heat, cover with top and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of water to pan. Then add not chicken bouillon, liquid smoke, lemon juice, and sugar. If you want more flavor you can add another bouillon. Cover and let cook for 20 minutes.
- Let it cool top with dried cranberries and almonds and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE: You might enjoy the FREE Curve Building Recipe Guide where you will find 10 recipes (9 of which are not featured on this blog) and a 6 Day Meal Plan. Download your copy HERE.
Equipment use to improve photos
- Canon EOS Rebel T6 Digital SLR Camera
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens
- Lowel EGO Digital Imaging, Tabletop Fluorescent Light Unit
For more tips on improving your food photography check out the Food Photography Tools Page.
Christine
I just bought some fresh green beans at a local farm stand yesterday. What a great recipe to try! Love the new photos too!
GinaMarie
Thank you!
Danielle
We always make this at Christmas time and it makes a great side dish to balance out all the indulgence.
GinaMarie
We do too! For me there's no holiday meals without green beans lol
Annemarie @ justalittlebitofbacon
This looks so good! Green beans, cranberries and almonds are one of my favorite combinations, so I know we'd love this dish. And I like your idea about sweet potatoes. More color and all the great benefit of sweet potatoes in the mix.
GinaMarie
Yes I'll make this with sweet potatoes sometimes I turnips or potatoes or sometimes I really feel in indulgent I'll do all three LOL the sweet potatoes will give it a really nice color and really remind you of the holiday season with the red and green contrast
Tara
Yum! I love your updated photos! I don't cook with green beans nearly enough. I love the combination of cranberry and almond.
GinaMarie
Thank you!!!
Kristen Chidsey
Such a simple dish, but when you add those cranberries, a ho-hum side dish turns into something spectacular and addictive.
GinaMarie
Yes! The cranberries really make this dish pop!