Canned beans question

nooshi713
nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
edited December 24 in Food and Nutrition
I have noticed that the amount of servings per container in a standard size can of beans is typically listed as “about 3.5” and 130g per serving. I’m assuming this is including the liquid. Every time I weigh out the drained beans in grams I get just about 2 servings or around 260g, not 3.5 servings, not even close. I don’t consume the liquid.

How can I know the calorie count of just the beans, minus the liquid? I have tried searching cooked beans and keep getting servings of 1/2 cup or what’s listed on the can, which is clearly not accurate. What do you guys do?

Btw, I have also noticed this with cans of tomato sauce. There are never 3.5 servings in the can, usually about 2-2.5. Has anyone else noticed this?

Replies

  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    I use the USDA entry for the type of beans, canned, drained unless using the whole can in a larger dish (if the latter I create a recipe).
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    edited February 2020
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I use the USDA style entries for canned beans (specific to type), drained, solids (I think that's the wording).

    Thank you for your response. So I searched usda canned garbanzo beans, drained and noticed that the protein per serving is less when done this way, despite the calories being higher for the weight of 130g. I’m not sure what to think now.

  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited February 2020
    I don't know, I haven't ever compared it to the claimed amounts on the can.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    edited February 2020
    In addition to this annoyance with labels, canned beans are over two to three times the cost of dried beans. Plus the salt, this is why I buy them dried now and cook them myself. It takes very little time and then I freeze them in serving-sized containers for later.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    In addition to this annoyance with labels, canned beans are over two to three times the cost of dried beans. Plus the salt, this is why I buy them dried now and cook them myself. It takes very little time and then I freeze them in serving-sized containers for later.

    This. I still keep a few cans in the pantry but I prefer to cook them myself. Among the other reasons if I cook them myself I can reduce/eliminate the resulting gas.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    In addition to this annoyance with labels, canned beans are over two to three times the cost of dried beans. Plus the salt, this is why I buy them dried now and cook them myself. It takes very little time and then I freeze them in serving-sized containers for later.

    I do this when I am planning ahead enough, but I always have some canned beans in the pantry too.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    In addition to this annoyance with labels, canned beans are over two to three times the cost of dried beans. Plus the salt, this is why I buy them dried now and cook them myself. It takes very little time and then I freeze them in serving-sized containers for later.

    I do this when I am planning ahead enough, but I always have some canned beans in the pantry too.

    Yes, I have canned beans for poorly planned days and dried for when I'm on my game.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited February 2020
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I use the USDA style entries for canned beans (specific to type), drained, solids (I think that's the wording).

    Thank you for your response. So I searched usda canned garbanzo beans, drained and noticed that the protein per serving is less when done this way, despite the calories being higher for the weight of 130g. I’m not sure what to think now.

    Did you literally search "usda canned garbanzo beans, drained" in the MFP database, or did you go to the USDA database and find "Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, canned, drained solids" which is also in the MFP database?

    Any MFP entry that includes "USDA" was user-created. I prefer to use the admin-created entries MFP pulled from the USDA database. They might have some weird decimal errors, which are easy to spot, but they have always included the correct macros and micros IME.

    Since the USDA database was reformatted, I uncheck everything but SR Legacy, which appears to be what MFP used to created entries from this site.

    https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I use the USDA style entries for canned beans (specific to type), drained, solids (I think that's the wording).

    Thank you for your response. So I searched usda canned garbanzo beans, drained and noticed that the protein per serving is less when done this way, despite the calories being higher for the weight of 130g. I’m not sure what to think now.

    Did you literally search "usda canned garbanzo beans, drained" in the MFP database, or did you go to the USDA database and find "Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, canned, drained solids" which is also in the MFP database?

    Any MFP entry that includes "USDA" was user-created. I prefer to use the admin-created entries MFP pulled from the USDA database. They might have some weird decimal errors, which are easy to spot, but they have always included the correct macros and micros IME.

    Since the USDA database was reformatted, I uncheck everything but SR Legacy, which appears to be what MFP used to created entries from this site.

    https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/

    Yes that’s what I searched. Just out of curiosity, I also went to that usda link you posted to compare information and for this particular item, the information matched up.

    I am still confused as to how the canned beans, 130g of them containing liquid I’m assuming, contain 10g of protein for 120 calories but the usda listing for 130g of drained beans have 180 calories and 9g of protein.
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I use the USDA style entries for canned beans (specific to type), drained, solids (I think that's the wording).

    Thank you for your response. So I searched usda canned garbanzo beans, drained and noticed that the protein per serving is less when done this way, despite the calories being higher for the weight of 130g. I’m not sure what to think now.

    Did you literally search "usda canned garbanzo beans, drained" in the MFP database, or did you go to the USDA database and find "Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, canned, drained solids" which is also in the MFP database?

    Any MFP entry that includes "USDA" was user-created. I prefer to use the admin-created entries MFP pulled from the USDA database. They might have some weird decimal errors, which are easy to spot, but they have always included the correct macros and micros IME.

    Since the USDA database was reformatted, I uncheck everything but SR Legacy, which appears to be what MFP used to created entries from this site.

    https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/

    Yes that’s what I searched. Just out of curiosity, I also went to that usda link you posted to compare information and for this particular item, the information matched up.

    I am still confused as to how the canned beans, 130g of them containing liquid I’m assuming, contain 10g of protein for 120 calories but the usda listing for 130g of drained beans have 180 calories and 9g of protein.

    if you factor in the listed grams of carbs and fat along with the protein and calculate the calories, do they match up closer to 120 or 180?
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    extra_medium wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I use the USDA style entries for canned beans (specific to type), drained, solids (I think that's the wording).

    Thank you for your response. So I searched usda canned garbanzo beans, drained and noticed that the protein per serving is less when done this way, despite the calories being higher for the weight of 130g. I’m not sure what to think now.

    Did you literally search "usda canned garbanzo beans, drained" in the MFP database, or did you go to the USDA database and find "Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, canned, drained solids" which is also in the MFP database?

    Any MFP entry that includes "USDA" was user-created. I prefer to use the admin-created entries MFP pulled from the USDA database. They might have some weird decimal errors, which are easy to spot, but they have always included the correct macros and micros IME.

    Since the USDA database was reformatted, I uncheck everything but SR Legacy, which appears to be what MFP used to created entries from this site.

    https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/

    Yes that’s what I searched. Just out of curiosity, I also went to that usda link you posted to compare information and for this particular item, the information matched up.

    I am still confused as to how the canned beans, 130g of them containing liquid I’m assuming, contain 10g of protein for 120 calories but the usda listing for 130g of drained beans have 180 calories and 9g of protein.

    if you factor in the listed grams of carbs and fat along with the protein and calculate the calories, do they match up closer to 120 or 180?

    That’s exactly the issue. The label on the can gives one amount and the usda website gives another. How can all of these cans be wrong? It doesn’t make sense. I eat canned beans often and my calorie deficit is very small so I have to be precise. That’s why I really want to know what information is correct.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,003 Member
    Could the difference be between drained and undrained? I ask because I made meringue using aquafaba today for the first time. That is the water at the bottom of a tin of chickpeas, which is quite high in carbs, apparently.
  • NJCJF
    NJCJF Posts: 134 Member
    I asked the same question a while ago. Although I usually weigh my food, with canned beans I just use a half cup serving minus the liquid and log the 110-120 calories depending on brand. Probably not perfectly accurate but it's as close as I've been able to get.
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