Salad with Green Beans, Roast Beef & Egg
Frozen green beans spend five minutes in boiling water. In that time, they lose about half their vitamin C — dissolved into the water, broken down by heat. What they keep is their lutein, a fat-soluble carotenoid that doesn't dissolve in water and rides out the boil untouched.
That matters because of the dressing. A 2004 human trial found that raw vegetables eaten without fat delivered near-zero carotenoid absorption — the beta-carotene in the carrot ribbons and the lutein in the green beans both need the olive oil to make it from your plate into your blood. The soy-lemon-olive oil dressing is doing real work here.
Around it: sliced radishes for pepper, a quartered hard-boiled egg, four slices of roast beef, mixed greens, and whole wheat bread on the side. 556 kcal, 30g protein, 18g fiber in fifteen minutes.
Ingredients
- egg 1
- green beans (frozen) 2 cups
- carrot 1
- radishes 5
- olive oil 1.5 tbsp
- soy sauce 1 tbsp
- lemon juice 1 squeeze
- mixed salad 1 handful
- roast beef 4 slices
- bread whole wheat 2 slices
Method
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Boil the egg for about 8-10 minutes until hard-boiled. Rinse under cold water, peel, and quarter.
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Cook the green beans in boiling water for about 5 minutes until tender. Drain and rinse briefly under cold water.
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Peel the carrot into long strips using a vegetable peeler.
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Slice the radishes into thin rounds.
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Make the dressing: mix the olive oil, soy sauce, and lemon juice together.
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Arrange the mixed salad on a plate, top with green beans, carrot strips, radishes, egg quarters, and roast beef slices. Drizzle with dressing. Serve with bread on the side.
The soy sauce in this dressing pairs with more than flavor. A 1990 trial found that traditionally fermented soy sauce boosted non-heme iron absorption from a grain-based meal by 3.3 times. The whole wheat bread on the side carries exactly that type of iron.
Boiling frozen green beans cuts their vitamin C by more than half, but a 2012 study found that their lutein stayed virtually unchanged. Lutein is fat-soluble and doesn't leach into cooking water the way vitamin C does. The olive oil in the dressing is what lets your gut absorb it.
LWT - Food Science and Technology, 2012 · DOIWhy This Works
Behind this recipe
Why use soy sauce in a salad dressing?
It adds salt and umami without needing a separate seasoning step. Beyond flavor, a 1990 trial found that traditionally fermented soy sauce increased non-heme iron absorption by 3.3 times from a grain-based meal. The whole wheat bread served alongside this salad carries non-heme iron, so the soy sauce in the dressing has a functional benefit beyond taste.
Can I use fresh green beans instead of frozen?
Yes. Fresh green beans will need 6-8 minutes of boiling instead of 5, since frozen beans are pre-blanched during processing. The lutein content is comparable in both forms. Trim the ends before cooking.
Does boiling vegetables destroy their nutrients?
It depends on the nutrient. Water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C dissolve into cooking water and break down with heat — green beans lose roughly half during a 5-minute boil. But fat-soluble compounds like lutein are unaffected because they don't dissolve in water. A 2012 study confirmed that boiled green beans retained their full lutein content despite losing most of their vitamin C.
