Baked beans... Good or bad for you

Tank_Girl
Tank_Girl Posts: 372 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Thought id ask since being broke they are a staple part of my diet

Are they good or bad for you?
«1

Replies

  • HannahPetch
    HannahPetch Posts: 2
    Beans are a source of complex carbohydrates and therefore are low GI and good for releasing energy slowly over a long period.

    However, baked beans in a tin are very high in sugar and salt which are most definitely NOT good for you.

    Salt will slow weight loss and sugar gives you energy spikes and then dips which is a nightmare when trying to do say a long run.

    Adding some kidney beans, borlotti, black beans, butter beans etc to a healthy stew is a great way of having a healthy meal, WITH carbs, but the right sort, not refined.

    Hope this helps.
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    Just check how much sugar and/or salt is in it. Most canned foods are shockingly high in both. And read the ingredient list. Odds are it will have high fructose corn syrup in it or some other weird chemicals.
  • Tank_Girl
    Tank_Girl Posts: 372 Member
    Looking at 2 different brands in my cupboard, these are the ingredients

    Campo largo baked beans... Ingredients

    Haricot beans 49%, tomatoes 27%, water, sugar, modified maize starch, salt, onion powder, paprika, flavouring.


    Everyday essentials baked beans... Ingredients.

    Haricot beans 44%, water, tomato puree 6%, sugar, glucose fructose syrup, modified maize starch, salt, onion powder, flavouring, paprika.


    Surprising how much variation there is between 2 cans of baked beans
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Just check how much sugar and/or salt is in it. Most canned foods are shockingly high in both. And read the ingredient list. Odds are it will have high fructose corn syrup in it or some other weird chemicals.

    You mean like quercetin 3,4'-diglucoside?
  • ipiddock
    ipiddock Posts: 97 Member
    The later product being the cheap alternative no doubt! It's amazing isn't it. To make the product cheaper they just fill it with crap!
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    I eat baked beans quite a lot, but only 2 small spoonfuls. I think if you eat an entire tin it wouldn't be good for you, but as an addition to breakfast, or with a jacket potato for dinner or something, it's fine.
  • Tank_Girl
    Tank_Girl Posts: 372 Member
    Looking at the same 2 tins

    Campo largo (per half can)

    Cals 137
    Sugar 12g
    Fat 1.1g
    Sats 0.2g
    Salt 2.1g

    Everyday essentials (per half can)

    Cals 175
    Sugar 9.5g
    fat 1.1g
    Sats 0.2g
    Salt 1.29g
  • tekwriter
    tekwriter Posts: 923 Member
    I am no expert, but number 1 sounds best to me. Which one tastes better? A lot of losing weght is about portion control and exercise. Your budget is what is. Perhaps you can bump up the other two areas.
  • mabelbabel1
    mabelbabel1 Posts: 391 Member
    I love Baked Beans (Branston are fab!) but I daren't eat them very often as they make me crave sugar. They're the only food that seem to do this to me.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,209 Member
    The later product being the cheap alternative no doubt! It's amazing isn't it. To make the product cheaper they just fill it with crap!
    Sugar and salt is what people want and add some pork to those beans you almost have a balanced meal. Add a veg portion like pizza, then your gold.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    You mean like quercetin 3,4'-diglucoside?
    I had LOADS of that last night - suppose that's another 10lb of fat I'll have to get rid of!

    :P

    Not found a problem with salt or sugar - though more reasons to avoid simple carbs if you're not reasonably healthy in the first place, I believe.

    Oh and 137 calories for half a tin isn't so bad.
    The best in the UK is Sainsburys basics which come in at around 100 calories a tin - fair bit less than the reduced sugar ones etc.
  • Tank_Girl
    Tank_Girl Posts: 372 Member
    The later product being the cheap alternative no doubt! It's amazing isn't it. To make the product cheaper they just fill it with crap!

    There is very little difference in price! 9cent i think but i wont be buying the second brand again i dont think
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Good for you, possibly not so good for those around you.
    Beanz meanz fartz.
  • 1yoyoKAT
    1yoyoKAT Posts: 206 Member
    I started making my own baked beans to avoid the sugar and sodium in canned baked beans. You mentioned expense, making your own will also save you money. You can start from canned beans or dried beans, I start from dry and make them in the crock pot. You can vary the type of beans you use too. I have used great northern beans and navy beans so far. You can also make them to your taste this way. I use molasses, honey, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and mustard seed to season mine. I also throw in chopped turkey bacon and onions. Yum! Have fun with it! :drinker:
  • Tank_Girl
    Tank_Girl Posts: 372 Member
    I am no expert, but number 1 sounds best to me. Which one tastes better? A lot of losing weght is about portion control and exercise. Your budget is what is. Perhaps you can bump up the other two areas.
    Number 1 tastes better
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    Just check how much sugar and/or salt is in it. Most canned foods are shockingly high in both. And read the ingredient list. Odds are it will have high fructose corn syrup in it or some other weird chemicals.

    You mean like quercetin 3,4'-diglucoside?

    I had to look up what that was. Basically, let's take extracts from onions and flowers and chemicalize the hell out of them?
  • Malaika946
    Malaika946 Posts: 107 Member
    I say they are good as long as they fit in your calorie allownce and macros. At the beggining of each day we all get an allowance of sugar, fat, salt, protein etc. use it as you wish. I eat a lot of baked beans and eggs as they are cheap and basically very tasty.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    yum!
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    Good for you, possibly not so good for those around you.
    Beanz meanz fartz.

    I eat lots of beans. I don't get the toots.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    They are okay but nutrition and price wise black and pinto beans are better for you since they have less fat and sugar and are cheaper....
  • Serafimangel
    Serafimangel Posts: 174 Member
    Now Heinz oes reduced sugar and salt ones, would that maybe be better? Probs more expensive though.
  • mistesh
    mistesh Posts: 243 Member
    My choice for canned beans is the 365 Everyday Value brand with No Salt Added at Whole Foods. Very little salt and very little sugar. About a dollar a can.

    Bean Serving Servings Calories Sodium Sugar
    Pinto Beans 130g 3 110 10mg 1g
    Black Beans 130g 3.5 110 10mg 1g
    Garbanzo 130g 3.5 110 10mg 1g
    Black-Eyed 130g 3.5 110 10mg 1g
  • meginki
    meginki Posts: 70
    I find they put too much sauce in so I drain out a fair few tablespoons worth of the sauce... also I rinse out the second half of the can to get rid of more sauce and then drain and mix it all together.

    Wow, that sounds weird written down.
  • AliciaStaton
    AliciaStaton Posts: 328 Member
    Hi I tend to have Heinz bake beans a small tin (UK - 150g and has 109 calories) with an omelette. Or with fish fingers, it is usually to go with something else,but its like anything else its all about moderation
  • helenheidi
    helenheidi Posts: 2 Member
    I love beans...I eat pinto, black or whatever. They are cheaper and a lot better for you than baked beans. I save bake beans for special occasions and I have to work on portion control.
  • tubbyelmo
    tubbyelmo Posts: 415 Member
    I buy the Heinz Reduced Sugar and Salt baked beans, just grabbed a can for comparison with the other 2 above:

    Per half-can:
    145 cal
    9.5g protein
    7g sugars
    0.4g sodium = 0.9g salt
    Fat 0.4g
    Sat Fat trace

    The are a bit more expensive than the regular baked beans.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    I buy the Heinz Reduced Sugar and Salt baked beans, just grabbed a can for comparison with the other 2 above:

    Per half-can:
    145 cal
    9.5g protein
    7g sugars
    0.4g sodium = 0.9g salt
    Fat 0.4g
    Sat Fat trace

    The are a bit more expensive than the regular baked beans.

    I buy these too.

    There's nothing wrong with baked beans once in a while (and they are one of your 5 a day :wink:) but when I do buy them I tend to go for the reduced sugar and salt version or they can be a little high.
  • lpina2mi
    lpina2mi Posts: 425 Member
    Beans are great source of some amino acids and fiber and other nutrients. It is the sugar in American Style Baked Beans or Pork 'n Beans that creates the insulin release that leads to weight gain. Look to other ethnic dishes to design your own for your palate WITHOUT THE SUGAR.

    Try looking for Beans & Rice recipes from South American countries. Beans & Corn Salads a la Tex-Mex. The italians use several kinds of beans to create savory sides; search under Fagioli. The countries that rim the Mediterranean Sea have lentil dishes and soups. Garbanzo beans (also called Chick Peas) are cooked and mashed to hummus or kept whole as an addition to leaf salads or the basis of their own salads with parsley, feta, mint, sweet bell peppers, and lemon, Indian cooking uses different colored lentils with different spices to make their staple Dal. Black Soy Beans are firmer and hence a great addition to Chinese stir-frys. Whereas Black Turtle Beans will mash almost as readily as Pinto Beans to make refried beans or Bean Soup. Check out vegetarian cookbooks for great bean soup recipes. And I make a great American Chili with as many beans as meat by volume.

    There is also a great classic still out in circulation, Diet for a Small Planet, although some principles may be outdated the concept of food combining to create complete proteins is still valid. You will find over time, that you might prefer beans over meat not because you are a pauper--but because they make you feel like a prince!
  • lpina2mi
    lpina2mi Posts: 425 Member
    I started making my own baked beans to avoid the sugar and sodium in canned baked beans. You mentioned expense, making your own will also save you money. You can start from canned beans or dried beans, I start from dry and make them in the crock pot. You can vary the type of beans you use too. I have used great northern beans and navy beans so far. You can also make them to your taste this way. I use molasses, honey, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and mustard seed to season mine. I also throw in chopped turkey bacon and onions. Yum! Have fun with it! :drinker:

    Good One.

    P.S. Us bean cookers & eaters can share this tidbit. TO REDUCE FLATULENCE Rinse your canned beans before cooking -or- if cooking from scratch Change the presoak water at least once and skim off the foam during the first phase of cooking.
  • hauer01
    hauer01 Posts: 516 Member
    Just make then yourself! They are really easy to make and then you can control how much Sugar and Salt and chemicals are in there.

    I make them and then freeze them in individual portions

    It comes out of 162.7 cals per serving (about 1 cups worth)
    Sodium is 284.4

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