Oil Free Green Beans Roasted Garlic Pickled Chili

Since I became certified in Dean Ornish’s Lifestyle Medicine Program, which requires cooking with no oil, I have been carrying this forward for many recipes in my own home. Once you start cooking oil free, you realize how much fat is added to our food. One tablespoon of oil is 120 calories, and it does not matter if it is extra virgin, organic, labeled “lite,” or if you spent a fortune at Whole Foods for a specialty oil. Fat is fat, is fat, and that means 9 calories per gram, or more than twice the calories for the weight compared to protein and carbohydrates, which are four calories per gram.

 

Try incorporating some oil free cooking into your next meal, and you will see how much the true flavors and textures of the food come through.

 

For this recipe, you will need a good nonstick pan. I would suggest avoiding Teflon pans, which contain a compound called PTFE. If the coating breaks down, the fumes created when the pan is heated can be harmful to your health.

 

I suggest a pan that uses ceramic titanium technology such as Scanpan cookware. They heat evenly, will not blister or peel, you can use metal utensils (although I do not in mine), and can go into the oven up to 500 degrees F.

 

Ceramic titanium pans cost more, but are worth it. If you treat them right, they will last a long time.

 

Tips:

-When cooking oil free, keep a small measuring cup of water or low sodium broth nearby in case you need to add some liquid to prevent burning.

-Adding a pinch of salt will draw liquid out of vegetables, preventing burning

-After rinsing the vegetables to be cooked, leave them wet to provide moisture for cooking

 

Roasted Garlic Green Beans with Pickled Chili

Serves 4

 

4 cups fresh green beans (about 2 pounds)

4 large cloves of garlic

1 tsp pickled chili*

Sea salt to taste

 

-Trim ends of green beans and rinse

-Chop garlic

-Heat pan

-Layer garlic on bottom of pan, and green beans over garlic

-Add chili and sprinkle with sea salt

-Cover and cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, or until beans turn bright green, but are crisp

-Toss and serve

 

*Pickled chili can be found in your local Asian market, or supermarket in the Asian section