| Today's Message | 21-Day Meal Plan | Nutrition Webcasts | Celebrity Tips | Community Forum | Resources |
| New Topic Reply Subscription Options |
Page:
1
|
| Forums: March 2010 Kickstart Forum Archive: Dried Beans or Canned Beans | |||
|
|||
| uniquebuys
Joined: 01/07/10 Posts: 69 |
Dried Beans or Canned Beans Posted Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 8:36 PM Hi, On beans, I prefer the dried beans because I think they are healthier than canned beans. Does everyone agree? Also, how do you all cook your dried beans? I have a rice cooker and am using that after soaking overnight. EJ |
||
|
|||
Louise
 Posts: 21 |
RE: Dried Beans or Canned Beans Posted Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 8:42 PM Whole Foods offers no salt added canned beans under its 365 label: pinto, garbanzo, and black beans. Sun Vista just launced its no salt added canned beans with snap-off top: black and pinto. Cook them if you have time; but a few of these no salt added kind around make it easy to top a salad or add to stew in a hurry.
|
||
|
|||
| serenevannoy
Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 294 |
RE: Dried Beans or Canned Beans Posted Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 8:53 PM Other than salt content, the only drawback I see to canned beans is the price. I can make my own for a fraction of the cost. I usually use the pressure cooker to cook beans. Fast and easy, and if I forget to pre-soak, no big deal. Serene Vannoy, Oakland, CA |
||
|
|||
| BurritaElita
Joined: 03/20/10 Posts: 10 |
RE: Dried Beans or Canned Beans Posted Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 9:02 PM Mary McDougall says that dried beans that are cooked are tastier. I'd have to agree. And I agree with the poster who recommended a pressure cooker, though slow cookers work well most of the time. |
||
|
|||
2meowers
 Location: Sequim, WA Posts: 127 |
RE: Dried Beans or Canned Beans Posted Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 11:07 PM I cook for just myself. I buy the canned beans (no/low salt when possible) and rinse the liquid off before using. So, I think I'm getting less salt in the canned beans I buy (kidney, pinto, black) than the can states. There is no salt in my house. I'd like to do dry, but it seems like such an ordeal to soak, rinse, cook, etc. I'd really appreciate your input and any suggestions for changing to dry and how to make smaller batches for just one. I do have a crock pot, but again, I just want to make enough for 2 maybe 3 meals (approx. 3-4 cups), unless the larger amount of cooked beans can be kept refrigerated and will be good for at least 10-14 days. Help? "But for the sake of some little mouthful of flesh we deprive a soul of the sun and light, and of that proportion of life and time it had been born into the world to enjoy." Plutarch. |
||
|
|||
| serenevannoy
Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 294 |
RE: Dried Beans or Canned Beans Posted Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 12:33 AM Cooked dry beans freeze really well, but really, if the expense isn't an issue and you don't mind the canned beans, I say sticking with them is not a bad idea. Serene Vannoy, Oakland, CA |
||
|
|||
LaniMuelrath
 Location: California Posts: 557 |
RE: Dried Beans or Canned Beans Posted Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 12:38 AM uniquebuys wrote: Hi, On beans, I prefer the dried beans because I think they are healthier than canned beans. Does everyone agree? Also, how do you all cook your dried beans? I have a rice cooker and am using that after soaking overnight. EJ Hey EJ! I use both, it's great to have the cans on hand for quick stuff. My favorite method for cooking beans is the pressure cooker. Soak overnight, bring to a boil for awhile, let sit and cool. Drain off water, add NEW water (this process degasses the beans), bring to pressure for 12 minutes and let the pressure come down on its own. Voila! Poifection! Lani Lani Muelrath, M.A. CGFI, CPBN
|
||
|
|||
| serenevannoy
Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 294 |
RE: Dried Beans or Canned Beans Posted Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 12:55 AM You can also pressure-cook beans from dry, without the pre-soak. They just take a little longer. Serene Vannoy, Oakland, CA |
||
|
|||
| mommyof2nc
Joined: 12/31/09 Location: North Carolina Posts: 172 |
RE: Dried Beans or Canned Beans Posted Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 8:37 AM I use both. I keep a few cans of beans around just in case I'm really busy and can't think of what else to eat. That way, I can always open a can of beans, add salsa, heat and put in a tortilla. In most cases, though, I tend to use dried beans and then I just cook them in a pot on the stove. I never seem to be organized enough to use my slow cooker much. By the time I think of using it, it's way too late. LOL |
||
|
|||
| essie
Joined: 02/26/10 Posts: 163 |
RE: Dried Beans or Canned Beans Posted Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 10:00 AM They keep for a about a week in the fridge. (When they go bad, ooh man, you'll know. Don't let that happen.) I do a big batch each weekend (Sundays usually) of a different kind--chickpeas, black beans, pintos, black-eyed peas, whatever--put have in the fridge to use during the week (we eat beans every day) and have in smaller containers in the freezer. That means I always have freezer containers in can-sized portions, of various types. I also keep a few cans in the pantry, for the times I haven't planned ahead or suddenly want a batch of hummus but don't have any cooked chickpeas. I rinse those to get a lot of the salt out. (My Whole Foods does not carry the no-salt 365 options! Why? I am going to ask!) Hummus cravings wait for no one! |
||
|
|||
| txdoglover
Joined: 03/18/10 Posts: 69 |
RE: Dried Beans or Canned Beans Posted Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 10:08 AM Essie, |
||
|
|||
| Sassy
Joined: 03/01/10 Posts: 6 |
RE: Dried Beans or Canned Beans Posted Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 11:52 AM I, too, keep canned beans around, and also cook dry beans (and usually freeze some in 2-4 cup portions). Beans vary a lot in time needed to cook--black beans are pretty fast; garbanzos take forever! I use the quick-soak method: bring them to a boil, boil a bit, then turn off the heat and let them soak for an hour or so. When using the pressure cooker, I usually don't bother with soaking. Cooking dry beans is a lot cheaper, you can control the amount of salt (I don't use any), and you can have a lot of exotic beans that just don't come in cans. Beans are very forgiving--exact times or exact quantities don't matter. Here's another way to cook beans (or anything that takes a long time to cook). I had read about it, and then was in the middle of cooking beans and wanted to leave the house, so I tried it. Put them to bed! After they've been cooking a while, I arrange a blanket in several layers on the bed, put an inch or so stack of newspapers on it in the middle, put the pot of beans on the newspaper, and wrap up the blanket over/around it. And then leave it alone for hours. Depending on the kind of beans and how long they've cooked, the beans may be done after several hours or you may need to reheat them and put them to bed again. Same idea as a slow cooker, but you do it without using outside energy, just accumulated heat. |
||
|
|||
| Louise
Posts: 21 |
RE: Dried Beans or Canned Beans Posted Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 12:12 PM Sassy wrote: Here's another way to cook beans (or anything that takes a long time to cook). I had read about it, and then was in the middle of cooking beans and wanted to leave the house, so I tried it. Put them to bed! After they've been cooking a while, I arrange a blanket in several layers on the bed, put an inch or so stack of newspapers on it in the middle, put the pot of beans on the newspaper, and wrap up the blanket over/around it. And then leave it alone for hours. Depending on the kind of beans and how long they've cooked, the beans may be done after several hours or you may need to reheat them and put them to bed again. Same idea as a slow cooker, but you do it without using outside energy, just accumulated heat. This thread just shows how much work it is to cook beans properly. It's a good point that different beans take different times! Thanx for suggestion, Lani - I am going to try degassing the beans first, then pressure-cooking them. Up till now, cooking beans is a messy, time and energy-consuming project that takes at least half the day and fumigates the house! Even if the fan is on the whole time. Takes at least 3 hours to cook rinsed mixed dried beans and lentils, to get them to the soft consistency my family prefers. Who does them in 20-40 minutes, like the label says! When they cool, they harden, and it's not nice - taste undercooked. For your canned variety, please try to find no salt added. Sun Vista is a major brand that features them now! Ask your grocer to stock them. It is unconscionable the food companies add so much salt to canned beans. If you eat half the can, or the whole can, the way Dr. Fuhrman recommends, you get more than 1000 mg of sodium! You should eat beans, but avoid the salt added variety for your health's sake! Rinsing beans improves salt content slightly, because the majority of salt is in the flesh of the bean, according to Dr. F.
|
||
|
|||
| New Topic Reply Subscription Options |
Page:
1
|
| Subscription Options |
| Subscription options are available after you log in. |
There are 110 active user sessions right now.
Registered Users Online:
KikWen
|
home | contact us | about us | support us | full disclaimer | privacy policy PCRM Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine |