MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Thanksgiving is now a little more than a week away so if you haven’t already, it’s time to start planning your feast.

And if you are hosting you’re probably putting together your menu right about now. All this week we are showing you some alternatives to traditional Thanksgiving foods.

Tuesday morning, we jazzed up mashed potatoes and today, we are pushing that green bean casserole to the side and trying something lighter, fresher and more flavorful. Look at what Rachael Perron from Kowalski’s Markets recommends.

It’s been a Thanksgiving staple for generations: Canned green beans with cream of mushroom soup and canned fried onions on top. It’s the classic green bean casserole. Here’s something fresher and healthier: They’re called Kalbi Green Beans.

“They are fresh green beans and we are not making a casserole, and we are not using an oven, and we are not using cream of anything in here,” Perron said. “It’s a little bit lighter, a little bit fresher, a little bit different.”

Fresh green beans are so easy to cook. Perron says you can just simply microwave your beans by punching a hole in the pouch and adding one other ingredient. She says is very easy and fast.

She’s not kidding. After popping the green beans in the microwave for just a couple of minutes, they go into a sautee pan, to meet up with a Kalbi marinade.

“A sesame Korean sauce? Yes, it’s a little bit Asian but it goes well on any vegetable. You will see it in our meat department. You will see it on pork, beef, salmon or chicken, but it is fantastic on vegetables,” Perron said.

Kalbi marinade is mainly made of soy sauce and sesame and ginger. It’s not too spicy.

Those Kalbi green beans have far fewer calories than a green bean casserole. Kowalski’s actually developed their own recipe for that Kalbi marinade you saw, that they sell under their label.