Healthy Recipe Doctor

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Don’t you just love/hate those last minute get togethers during the holidays? You love the opportunity to celebrate the season with friends and family, but you hate that you are now scrambling to put together some impromptu nibblers.

Here’s one solution that is unique, festive (green) and healthful and super easy to throw together — Seasoned Soy Pods. Edamame (green soybeans) are this wonderful package of a complete protein partnered with lots of fiber and phytochemicals.

I always have a bag of shelled edamame and edamame in pods in my freezer. The pods come in handy as a finger food or snack. They are cooked and ready to eat so all you have to do is thaw it in the microwave. In the recipe below, we are kicking it up a notch by seasoning the pods with a flavorful marinade. It is best to let them marinate overnight or all day and then serve them. But they can be served right away as well.

Seasoned Soy Pods

If you are going to let the edamame sit all day or overnight marinating in the refrigerator, you don’t need to thaw the soybean pods. But if you are serving them right away, thaw the soybean pods in the microwave before adding them to the marinade.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Pinch or two chili flakes (like you get in pizza parlors), OPTIONAL
14-ounce bag frozen soybeans in pods (edamame), unsalted or lightly salted

Directions:

1. Add soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and chili flakes if desired, in a gallon size zip lock bag. Gently shake the bag to blend the ingredients well.
2. Add the edamame (soybeans in pods) and remove any air left in the bag and seal well. Flip around to cover all the soybeans well. Serve immediately or set the bag in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
3. To serve, remove pods from bag with slotted spoon and place them in a shallow serving bowl or on a platter.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Nutritional Analysis per serving:: 95 calories, 8 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 3 g fat, .1 g saturated fat, .8 g monounsaturated fat, 1.6 g polyunsaturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 3.6 g fiber, 342 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 28 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids = .3 grams, Omega-6 fatty acids = 1.3 grams.