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Holiday Recipe Remix: Fresh Green Bean Casserole

by Elle Penner, MPH, RD
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Holiday Recipe Remix: Fresh Green Bean Casserole

Need a delicious and sneakily nutritious side dish for your holiday dinner? Elle, our Registered Dietitian has you covered! 

A few weeks ago we asked you to submit your favorite unhealthy holiday recipes so she could remix them into more nutritious versions of their former selves. MyFitnessPal user Jessica submitted her recipe for a traditional Green Bean Casserole, which called for sodium-socked canned green beans and condensed soup.

This recipe wasn’t the only one of its kind, either. With numerous submissions like it, Elle decided this was one dish in desperate need of a makeover.

Whether your favorite green bean casserole recipe calls for a cheese or cream-based condensed soup, they both usually have one thing in common: really long ingredient lists. And despite what the label might say, those cheesy, creamy canned soups also contain very little real cheese or cream, if any at all. You see, somewhere along the line food manufacturers discovered that thickeners, like modified food starch, are far less expensive and more shelf-stable than cheese and cream, so they started using those ingredients to give their soups that thick and creamy texture.

Elle remixed this recipe by whipping up a homemade cream of mushroom base and by swapping out those canned not-so-green beans for fresh ones. Not only do fresh green beans add crunch and vibrant color, they also contain far less sodium and offer more nutrients than their canned counterparts. She also used greek yogurt and low-fat milk in the base, which adds protein and calcium but not the added fat of cream.

Mfp green bean casserole01

She improved the sauce and the beans, but Elle thought those tasty French fried onions were just too good to pass up. We’d have to agree. 

Here Elle explains how she remixed the recipe:

The recipe is below–just be sure to log it in MyFitnessPalSearch Holiday Recipe Remix in the food database. There you’ll find the full nutrition info and be able add a serving (or two) of this delicious casserole to your food diary.

Fresh green bean casserole nutrition

If you don’t yet have a MyFitnessPal account, you can sign up on the web or by downloading the free app for your iPhoneiPadAndroid or Windows mobile device.

For submitting her recipe, Jessica will be receiving a snazzy MyFitnessPal apron, a Withings Smart Body Analyzer scale, a cookbook from Cooking Light, and a Fitbug Orb!

Also, if you missed any of the previous remixed recipes we’ve shared, check out the Spicy, Not Sinful, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Sweet Potato Pecan Tart and these delicious Sausage Egg Nests!

Healthfully,

The MyFitnessPal Team

Photos by Elle Penner | MyFitnessPal

About the Author

Elle Penner, MPH, RD

Elle is a nutrition and wellness writer, recipe developer, blogger and nutrition consultant whose favorite things include her camera, carbs and quality time with her toddler. For more from this busy mama, check out Elle’s lifestyle blog or connect with her on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.

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