Baked beans... Good or bad for you

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  • Serafimangel
    Serafimangel Posts: 174 Member
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    Now Heinz oes reduced sugar and salt ones, would that maybe be better? Probs more expensive though.
  • mistesh
    mistesh Posts: 243 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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: 523 Member
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    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
  • _LA_
    _LA_ Posts: 111
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    I'll jump on board with the - if you don't like the ingredients.fat/sodium/whatever in your canned ones, you can take more control of them if you make your own. The ingredients are so cheap. Plus if you get food from a pantry they usually throw lots of canned and dry beans in the bags. I use a crockpot and make a double recipe of vegan beans at a time. They freeze well in smaller or portion sizes.
  • Coffeeholic8
    Coffeeholic8 Posts: 271 Member
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    I make my own and then divide that batch into portions that will freeze for use later.

    800g or 2xcans of Haricot or Cannellini Beans
    2 red onions, very finely chopped
    2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
    2x400g can chopped tomatoes
    2-3 tbsp Muscovado Sugar
    3-4 tbsp cider vinegar

    If you use the dried beans you will need to soak them overnight and then boil them for about an hour until they are soft. If you use the tinned ones you can just drain and rinse them under cold running water before you use them

    Heat a little olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the onions and soften for a few minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, sugar, vinegar and 2 empty tomato cans worth of water water then add the beans. Reduce the heat and let it bubble and simmer away for a couple of hours, stirring now and again and adding a little water if it gets too thick, while you get on with doing something else. That's it, baked beans with none of the crap they throw into them.

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