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~ raw, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free ~
Green beans may be called many different things, including French beans, fine beans, string beans, or even squeaky beans, depending on where you are eating them. Ok, I want to live where they call them squeaky beans because that is just too fun to say.
They are a rich source of proteins, carbohydrates, and dietary fibers. And contain vitamins of the B group, vitamins C and K, and minerals such as magnesium, iron, and manganese. Green beans are low in fat, but high in fiber… low in calories, but high in Vitamin A… hold on we are going on a roller coaster ride of nutrients.
Here is an interesting fact… According to the University of Minnesota, “The green beans we know today were once called string beans for the “string” that ran on the outer curve of the pod shell. Botanists, however, found a way to remove the string through breeding, and in 1894 the first successful stringless bean plant was cultivated.”
Well, enough of the scientific data. What really prompted this recipe is the fact that my parent’s garden was blessed with an abundance of green beans and they ran out of ideas as to what to do with all of them, so they shared them with me. :) For several days my mom kept bringing more and more beans over. So I decided that I better get pretty serious as to just what the heck I was going to do with all of them. Oh, the first world problems that one must face. hehe
When enjoying raw foods, I have quickly learned that the quality of the ingredients you use makes all the difference. To get the best flavor from raw green beans, you will want to them be tender, long, stiff, but flexible and give a snap sound when broken. Avoid limp or over matured beans with tough skin. To store, place them in a perforated plastic bag and keep in the refrigerator set at high relative humidity. They keep well for up to a week.
And remember, green beans don’t have to be green. The inside bean is always green but the pods (which are kidney-shaped, are edible), can be yellow, green, purple, or red in color. Imagine how beautiful this recipe would be with all those colors! I hope you enjoy this recipe. Blessings, amie sue
This is the green bean splitting machine that I used to cut one bean into four. This helps with softening them as well. You poke the bean into the hole…
and pull through from the other end. Love this thing.
I am so happy to find this recipe…
I just bought 2# of fresh green beans, intending to make my husband his favorite sausage potatoes & beans skillet (I still cook for him!). Although I like them raw, I just didn’t see myself sitting down to a bowl of raw beans! Now I’ll split them up and give this a try!
Wonderful Annie, let me know what you think. Do you have one of those green bean splitters? Sure is a fun little tool!
Well, this has been a total experiment because I ran into a couple things…
First of all, I wasn’t sure if my sesame oil was still good or not. Even though the expiration date was 2012 it just smelled slightly rancid to me. So, tossed it out. What to do, what to do…I really wanted those beans NOW! So, I improvised and used tahini instead, thinned with a bit of hemp oil. Then, because I don’t have one of those nifty gadgets to split the beans, I tried to cut them lengthwise. It seemed to work fine, but I think they would have been more tender using that tool (I’m going to get one!)
Anyway, I let them sit for a couple hours like you suggested, and then ate the entire bowl! I thought they were delicious. I’ll be sure to try it with the sesame oil next time just to compare, but I was pretty happy with this. Thank you!
Better to be safe than sorry Annie when it comes to possible rancid oils. No sense in risking your health and it possible ruining your dish. I love your substitution though! Great thinking. I love Tahini.
I do recommend that green bean tool. It only cost me about $4-5, it was fun to use and made the job all that much easier. It would even be good with an oil and seasoning. I love hearing about all your dishes that you are making. Don’t you just love preparing raw foods! Have a great evening Annie. amie sue
I didn’t have any green beans so I used snow pea pods. Plus, I had to substitute out the sesame oil for olive oil, and I didn’t have any sesame seeds. I think not having anything sesame to this dish kind of messed it up. It wasn’t horrible, but the flavors that I was hoping to have weren’t there. So don’t worry, it’s not your fault! It’s mine. lol.
Do the green beans get pretty tender in this recipe? Because the pea pods didn’t at all; they were still very crunchy and hard to eat.
So word to all. Pea pods don’t work in this recipe! I’m surprised that they didn’t.
lol well, ah, thank you then Kai :) The green beans did soften some due to how they were processed in the recipe. Maybe next time you can try it as is and see if you like it. Have a blessed day, amie sue
Hi Amie-Sue,
We finally moved to Tucson, and getting back to our raw food. (it was a bit difficult to be on raw diet while we were traveling). I had friends over for lunch today and made your marinated mushroom & broccoli dish with spinach & strawberry salad (had to use mangoes instead of strawberries) and they enjoyed their first raw lunch, and will be sharing your website with them. I made the green beans for dinner, and had to use chili paste instead of chili pepper flakes and added dulse flakes too. It is delicious!
Thanks for warning me about the monsoon season here, as it’s lightening, thundering, and pouring down right now.
Blessings to you,
Gina
Good evening Gina,
So good to hear from you. I am thankful that you made it to Tucson safely. :) I should be back there this winter. I love the monsoons but they are a mixed blessing, they can cause such destruction. Love to hear that you are testing out some of the recipes. :) If there is anything I can do to help in your transition to Tucson please send me an email ([email protected]) When I come back to Tucson, I will surely let you know…we must have tea or something. hehe Nite, amie sue