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«NutritionNOTES»

EVERYONE KNOWS GREEN BEANS ARE HEALTHY, low in calories and high in fiber, with many vitamins and minerals. Though often under-appreciated, green beans can be the highlight of creative menu planning with their bright green color and crisp texture. Try an Asian green bean stir-fry with peanut butter, a green bean and mushroom curry, or a mock soufflé.

Green beans have had various names over the years, from “string beans” to “snap beans” and “pole beans.” Occasionally yellow and purple varieties are served. (The purple beans magically turn green when dropped in boiling water.)

Fresh green beans are notably different in taste and texture than canned or frozen, though frozen green beans and fresh have similar nutritional value.

Green beans grow quickly, and the home gardener can plant two crops in most areas. Consider planting a late crop of green beans before summer ends.
— Rear Adm. Joyce Johnson, USPHS (Ret), D.O., provides green bean recipes and more green bean history at www.moaa.org/nutrition.

TRICAREUPDA+E

ENROLL AND MANAGE YOUR TRICARE DENTAL COVERAGE ONLINE for both the TRICARE Dental Program and the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program. Simply use the Beneficiary Web Enrollment website, www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/bwe, a secure portal. You easily can enroll, update personal information in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, change providers or beneficiaries, and transfer coverage when moving. Learn more at www.tricare.mil/bwe.

In Review

The Secret Rescue: An Untold Story of American Nurses and Medics Behind Nazi Lines. By Cate Lineberry. Little, Brown and Co., 2013. $27. ISBN 978-0-316-22022-4.

In this amazing World War II adventure, author Cate Lineberry tells the remarkable true story of 30 U.S. Army personnel, including 26 nurses and medics, whose transport plane crash-landed behind German lines in Albania in November 1943.

This is a gripping tale of the 63 days the survivors spent in the rugged and wintry Albanian mountains, pursued by ruthless German patrols and strafed by enemy aircraft. They were hungry, tired, sick, injured, cold, wet, and under the constant threat of betrayal by nervous, fearful villagers and suspicious partisan fighters.

Lineberry explores the American Office of Strategic Services agents and British Special Operations Executive operatives in Albania, describing how these irregular forces risked their lives to help the unarmed Americans. She also reveals how human nature can reach its most base level when faced with starvation, despair, capture, and certain execution.

The Shining Sea: David Porter and the Epic Voyage of the U.S.S. Essex During the War of 1812. By George C. Daughan. Basic Books, 2013. $28.99. ISBN 978-0-465-01962-5.

The war-time voyage of USS Essex in 1812-13 not only stands as a remarkable feat of seamanship and strategic initiative, but it also serves as “a cautionary tale for any leader who would put personal glory ahead of cause and countrymen.”

Naval historian George Daughan focuses on captain David Porter’s expedition into the Pacific Ocean to harass and, with any luck, destroy the British whaling fleet, while secretly seeking prize money and the chance to fight a British frigate in single-ship combat.

Daughan reveals why Porter made incredibly unwise tactical decisions. Porter’s efforts against the British whaling fleet surprisingly were successful before his defeat by a craftier Royal Navy captain.
— William D. Bushnell