A heartfelt tribute to bags of dried beans
Posted
Feb 29 2008, 02:57 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Never have dried beans gotten such loving praise as that expressed in Squawkfox's "10 reasons soaked dried beans can change your life." Fox is admittedly a bean fanatic.
The No. 1 reason is cost. This is important information because you've likely noticed that food prices are going up. Dried beans are a lot cheaper than canned beans. Fox adds, "The cool thing about dried beans is they expand when soaked, so you end up with even more beans per dollar spent. This is the new math!"
You'll find more variety in the dried-bean section. "Have you ever seen a can of mung beans?" she asks. Prepping dried beans isn't time-consuming, no matter what her friends say. "It's not like you have to stand there and watch the beans soak," she observes. Also, dried beans are tastier, salt-free and better for you. (Fox is a two-time Ironman Canada finisher and cares about health.)
She says that dried beans actually help the environment. There's less energy consumption and waste in their production and packaging, compared with beans in a can. "I am thrilled I can reduce my footprint (foodprint) and at the same time save lots of bucks," she says.
