I have been using canned beans for a long time.  In simplifying my life, I have also tried to streamline my budget.  Thinking of when I was a kid, I remembered when my grandmother sat down at a table and I would watch her pick thru a bag of dry beans and discard the ones that did not look good.  It was an everyday affair.  I realized that switching to dry beans was an alternative; the benefits are:

  • a more natural product
  • more quantity for less money
  • saving money
  • better shelf life, when opened

In fact, a bag of dry beans will cost less than a large can of beans and will be the equivalent of three cans for me.  It does not have all the preservatives and sugar that the canned beans have, and will be closer to a natural product.  Of course, it will not beat growing my own beans, which will happen eventually, when we move to the farmhouse, but it is the best alternative to the canned variety.
It may take a bit longer to cook, but not if they are soaked overnight in water, just as my grandmother used to do.  Bagged beans are cheaper because everyone goes for the convenience of canned beans, and the product sells less.  Dry beans have better flavor and texture than canned beans.  This presents a good alternative if you are trying to stretch a food budget, as many families are doing in this economy.  I made the switch, until I can grow my own.

Hope you enjoyed this post.

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