MAKES: 6 servings · PREP TIME: 10 minutes · COOK TIME: 20 minutes

This is one of my favorite side dishes to prepare around the holidays. If you end up adding this dish to your keto holiday feast, you can blanch the green beans ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator until you are ready for them. Doing so will cut your hands-on prep time in half on the day of the feast.

INGREDIENTS

•½ cup raw hazelnuts

•1½ pounds fresh green beans, trimmed

•2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil

•3 cloves garlic, minced

•½ cup sugar-free dried cranberries, store-bought or homemade (here)

•Sea salt and ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Lay the hazelnuts in a single layer across a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the skins (see tip) and roughly chop the nuts.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook for 4 minutes. Drain the boiling water and fill the pot with ice water, covering the beans. This will shock the beans and stop the cooking process.

4. Drain the beans, pat dry, and set aside.

5. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and blanched green beans and cook for 5 minutes, or until the beans are heated through.

6. Toss in the dried cranberries and toasted hazelnuts and season with salt and pepper to taste.

tip: To get the hazelnut skins off, after removing the nuts from the oven, wrap them in a kitchen towel and allow them to steam for 1 minute. Then rub the nuts against each other in the towel, and the skins will fall away. They may not come off entirely, but this is fine.

PER SERVING:

CALORIES: 139

FAT: 19.7g

PROTEIN: 3.6g

TOTAL CARBS: 10g

FIBER: 4g

NET CARBS: 6g