Warning: My neighbor Karen called me out on my "budget" bean routine last Tuesday

So I've been eating rice and beans almost every night to save cash, right? I thought I was being smart. But my neighbor Karen saw me dumping a whole can of beans into a pot without rinsing them first. She goes "you know that sodium is gonna mess with your blood pressure and cost you more in doctor bills later." I laughed it off at first. But then I looked at the label. One can had like 800mg of sodium. I was feeding myself that junk every single day. She showed me how buying dry beans for $1.50 a bag and soaking them overnight actually makes way more servings than cans. Plus you control the salt. I've been doing it for 2 weeks now and I'm honestly mad I didn't learn this sooner. Has anyone else made the switch from canned to dry? How long do you soak yours?

3 comments

3 Comments

wells.brooke1mo ago

Wait actually you should always soak beans at least 8 hours, that's the real trick.

eva_garcia561mo ago

Hard disagree honestly. Short soak (like 2-3 hours) works fine for most beans. I do black beans all the time with just a quick rinse and they come out perfect. The 8 hour thing is overkill for normal cooking unless you're trying to cut down on gas time. Even then, a pressure cooker or just simmering an extra 20 minutes does the trick.

fisher.mason1mo ago

Huh, I used to be team "long soak or bust" but you actually make a good point. I tried quick rinse black beans last week after reading something similar and they came out fine, no hard bits. Guess I was just following old habits without questioning them.