It's the season for fresh, sweet, baby butter beans and this week I purchased a few extra for the freezer. Here in the south, we call them butter beans but they are also called limas.

Like most beans, butter beans and limas are rich in soluble fiber—which helps your body to eliminate cholesterol and reduce blood pressure. They are a good source of potassium, iron, copper, and manganese. Not only are they low in fat, but when combined with grains, beans supply your diet with high quality protein. 

You can savor the taste of summer by freezing butter beans. It's easy—here's how:

Shell the beans from the pods.  

Fill a large stockpot 2/3 full of water and bring the water to a boil. Place the beans into the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Drain the beans in a colander.

Fill a large bowl with 1/2 ice and add water. Then pour the drained beans into the ice water to stop the cooking process. Use the tongs to swirl the beans in the ice water until all the beans are cool.

Fill each freezer bag with a side serving amount of beans and freeze.

Allow the beans to thaw before cooking.