Recipe: Green Beans with Crumbled Feta Cheese

When I’m looking for healthy recipes, I’ve found that the Biggest Loser cookbooks, and recipes from the Bigger Loser celebrities (Allison Sweeney, Jillian Michaels, and Bob Harper) are a great source. Most of the recipes are very simple to make and don’t call for any overly exotic ingredients. Combine that with a tasty and guilt-free meal? Count me in.

Unfortunately, when it comes to green beans, it’s just me. Because try as I might, the kids are still not on board with green beans. To their credit, they eat all sorts of other vegetables, so I shouldn’t complain. But it also meant I had an awful lot of green beans to eat on my own after making this recipe. #greenbeansfordays

Thank goodness I liked ’em.

I found this recipe in an old issue of People magazine, and it’s from Biggest Loser host Allison Sweeney. Although the original recipe called for chicken to be mixed in, I skipped that and served grilled chicken on the side. Crazy simple to make, definitely flavorful, and a great dish to make use of fresh produce as we start to head into farmer’s market season.

Hungry for more green bean recipes?
The feta vinaigrette on this green bean salad recipe was definitely worth making.
And if you’re feeling on being a little less virtuous, this green bean casserole was to-die-for.

Tomorrow? A quick kids craft!

Psst … still time to help me out here!

Green Beans with Chicken and Crumbled Feta Cheese
Recipe courtesy of Allison Sweeney in 2/8/10 issue of People magazine

Ingredients

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2-4 breasts)
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus some for drizzling
1 lemon
6 oz fresh green beans (1/2 cup per person)
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tomato, chopped (I used fresh homemade salsa from this recipe instead)
1/2 avocado (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Broil chicken with a dash of olive oil and lemon slices on top for 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the chicken, and squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken. Cook for another 4-5 minutes.
2. When chicken is almost done broiling, drop green beans into boiling water and boil for 1-2 minutes. Strain green beans, taking them out while they’re still bright green and crispy. Toss them into a bowl with 1 tbsp. olive oil, crumbled feta and chopped tomato. You want the green beans to still be warm when you do this to melt the cheese slightly. If desired, slice the 1/2 avocado and add it in.
3. When chicken is done, cut it into pieces and toss in with green bean mixture. Serve.