That Old Reliable...

 Campbell's© Green Bean Casserole... kinda

*Please excuse the graphics placement. For some reason I can't get them to line up correctly right now.

Green Bean Casserole. We all know it, some of us love it. It's an iconic taste of the holidays in the
United States (and perhaps elsewhere?). While it isn't particularly bad in it's traditional form (as you can see from the graphic on the right), it isn't exactly good when you add it to the nutrition of everything else you'll most likely be adding to your plate. For the most part, this is one of the few holiday dishes that you could leave as is and not suffer all that much for it. It has even less of an impact when you consider that you probably won't eat an entire 3/4 cup serving. Let's assume you manage to eat 1/2 cup serving instead (which for most of us is still a reach); this will net you approximately 99 calories, 5g of fat, 287mg sodium and 11g carbs.


So this time, instead of giving you an entire recipe remake, I figured add-in and substitution suggestions might be better.




1. Consider getting the "healthy request" or low sodium versions of  the soup. It tastes no different but it has less than 1/2 the sodium! You do sacrifice having 2 more carbs per serving with the healthy request version, but it's minimal when you consider that you're probably not getting an entire serving of soup in a serving of casserole.

2. Switch out the regular milk in the recipe for Fairlife© milk. Fairlife© has approximately 50% less carbs and 50% more protein than regular milk. I'm not a milk drinker so I couldn't tell you if they taste any differently when drinking it straight, but as far as using it for cooking, there is literally no taste difference.

3. Try dicing up some bacon and rendering the fat in a pan before removing the bacon and adding some minced onion and a sprinkling of salt and pepper to the drippings. I suggest using either a vadalia onion or some mild shallots as they seem to mimic the taste of the fried onions the best. Saute until onions are translucent. This can be mixed into your eventual mix of green beans and such. It doesn't remove the need for the fried onions on top, but if you put this inside the casserole instead of the amount of fried onions suggested, you save lots of fat and some carbs. You can then take the crisped up bacon and mix it with the fried onions that are to go on top of the casserole and add an extra layer of flavor and protein to the mix.



4. Another delicious addition to help add some extra crunch to the top of your casserole is just some good ol' cheese. Choose whatever kind you like best, but I think either an aged swiss, smoked cheddar or some shredded parmesan would be great options. If you can find the 2% milk versions, that's even better since it has considerably less fat. If you're doing keto, then go ahead with the regular full fat cheese.



5. Consider switching up your green bean situation. I personally prefer frozen frenched green beans for my casserole. They have the perfect texture and are so much fresher and healthier than canned green beans of any kind. If you feel like you just have to stick with the canned stuff, try finding reduced sodium. Again, the amount of sodium in canned stuff can be staggering. The reduced salt or no salt added versions are significantly better, even if they are less nutritious than fresh or frozen. To the right you can see the nutritional information for frozen green beans. Below you can find the info for both regular canned green beans and lower sodium green beans.

 

So that's it really: a few simple changes you can make to create a slightly healthier version of a Thanksgiving table classic. Again, the original isn't horrible for a WLS patient's diet so if need be, you can just stick with that one. These suggestions aren't musts in any way, simple suggestions on how to make the finished product very similar to the original but slightly healthier.


Is this a dish that your family starts a rebellion if it doesn't show up on the holiday table? Is it one of your own personal favorites? What are some other holiday dishes that you just can't, or rather don't want to, go without this season?