I made myself dinner tonight (no surprise there) and the plan for the meal was healthy (again, no surprise). chicken breast with balsamic roasted brussels sprouts. simple enough. at the last minute, I decided to add carbs in the form of garlicky white bean (cannellini) mash, a side that I'd seen with increased frequency in a bunch of magazines and online food blogs. beans are a low-fat, complex carb that add fiber and protein instantly to any meal. chicken, beans, and brussels sprouts - still healthy! right?
white bean mash
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 can (15oz) cannellini beans, rinsed well and drained
1/4 c olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
I read the recipe and thought: no way does the mash take 1/4 c. of olive oil. that's a LOT of extra calories (like, more than 400 extra calories). so I put roughly 2 tbs. olive oil into the pan, sauteed the garlic, and then added the beans. as soon as I started mashing them, the oil disappeared. gone. the beans absorbed the oil so quickly that they started to burn, so I took the pan off the heat and moved the beans to a bowl so I could finish mashing. by the time I had achieved a mashed potato-like consistency, they were super dry and sticking to the spoon.
in the end, I wound up adding two additional tablespoons of butter to the mash. for those of you playing along at home: 4 tbs (2 of oil, 2 of butter) = 1/4 c. on top of the staggering amount of oil, I used a full-sodium can of beans (I almost ALWAYS use low-sodium beans, I don't know why this can was full strength). and seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper. and seasoned the brussels sprouts with salt and pepper.
was the mash delicious? yes. oh yes. but it also took my otherwise low-fat, healthy dinner and turned it into a fatty, caloric sodium-fest. lesson learned!
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