The Color Green: Lima Beans with Bacon Dressing

The GREEN group gets its coloring from chlorophyll, a natural plant pigment. Your darker greens are rich in antioxidants. Some of your darker greens contain a chemical called lutein which when consumed with foods that contain another chemical called zeaxanthin (found in your yellow and red fruits and vegs) work together to keep your eyes healthy. They have been known to help reduce the risk of cataracts.

Some of your more cruciferous greens have something known as indoles which can help protect against certain types of cancer. Your leafy greens tend to be high in folate (a vitamin B).

Green fruits and vegs include asparagus, artichokes, avocados, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cucumbers, green apples, green beans (meaning beans that are green), green cabbage, green grapes, green peppers, green onions, honeydew, kiwi, lettuces (of a leafy great nature), limes, peas, spinach, and zucchini.

With so many greens available, I wanted to try out a veggie that I haven't spent a lot of time with -- lima beans. Did you know limas are named after the city in Peru? Yeah, now you do.  And they were planted alongside corn as one of the earliest harvested crops. So have been good for you for a looooong time. 

This recipe was also inspired by one I found in my 1965 Better Homes and Garden Vegetable Cookbook (just can't help myself, yummy stuff back then).

Lima Beans with Bacon Dressing

1 (16 oz) bag frozen lima beans
4 slices bacon, cut into 1" pieces
2 tbsp onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup tomato juice
1-1/2 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp celery seed
Pepper, to taste

Cook the lima beans according to bag directions, then drain and set aside.

In a skillet, brown the bacon lightly. 

Add in onion and cook over low heat until tender but not brown.

Add remaining ingredients except beans and simmer for 5 minutes.  Pepper to taste.

When ready, pour dressing over lima beans and serve.

NOTES

To make this a vegetarian veggie dish, substitute 1 tbsp olive oil in lieu of bacon to cook the onions in and add 1 tsp of salt to the sauce.