*Green beans are the immature fruits of many varieties of beans plants, especially Phaseolus vulgaris.

*They are also called snap beans, string beans, and French beans.

*Dehydrated beans are green whole or chopped beans from which most of the moisture has been removed.

*These inexpensive, have a light weight, and keep fresh indefinitely.

*These beans need to be rehydrated for about 15-20 minutes before cooking and need to be cooked a little longer than the fresh ones. On rehydration, the weight and volume increases 2.5 to 3 times their dry weight.

*They can also be added to soups, stews, etc.

*These are excellent as emergency foods, and widely used in army, military, hiking, etc.

*Rehydrated green beans may not be as crunchy or snappy as the fresh ones, but cooked rehydrated green beans taste almost similar to their cooked fresh counterparts.

*Buying and storage: Select good quality dehydrated green beans. They keep very well for several months to several years when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. No need to refrigerate or add oxygen absorbers to the storage container.

Is it raw?

Yes and No.
*Yes, generally dehydrated green beans are raw.
*No, because sometimes commercially dehydrated green beans are sulphured. Make sure you read the label.

Health Benefits

1. Dehydrated green beans are low in calories, fat, sodium and absolutely no cholesterol.

2. Excellent source of Vitamin C, a natural water soluble antioxidant. It enhances the body's immune system, increases the elasticity of skin and blood vessels, and prevents bruising of the skin.

3. Excellent source of Vitamin A and betacarotenes. They enhance the eye sight, fight against acne, and result in smooth radiant skin.

4. Beta-carotenes act as powerful antioxidants and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, various types of cancer, enhance the vision, especially night vision, reduce the risk of cataract formation and macular degeneration in the elderly.

5. Vitamins A and C together also act as powerful antioxidants. They scavenge the free radicals and reduce the risk of inflammatory, cardiovascular and degenerative diseases.

6. Very good source of Vitamin K, which plays a very important role in building and maintaining strong bones. It acts by activating a protein in the bones called osteocalcin that anchors calcium in the bones and helps in mineralization of the bones.

7. Good sources of Vitamin B6 and folic acid, which are very important in reducing the risk of diabetic heart disease, atherosclerosis, hypercholesterolemia, heart attack, etc by reducing the homocysteine levels in the blood.

8. They are low in sodium and have good amounts of potassium, and so help to maintain blood pressure and reduce water retention. Good amounts of potassium is also important for active muscles and nerves.

9. Very good source of manganese, which is an essential cofactor in many enzymatic reactions in the body, especially in the production of energy and antioxidants defenses.

10. Good source of copper, which reduces the risk of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, enhances the activity of enzymes that are needed to maintain the elasticity of blood vessels, ligaments and joints.

11. Very good source of iron, which helps in respiration at the cellular level by synthesizing hemoglobin that helps to carry oxygen to cells.

12. Very good source of magnesium. It helps in relieving fatigue, relaxing the muscles, nerves and blood vessels, thus relieving the symptoms of asthma, migraine headaches, tension and soreness in muscles etc.