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Found a stat about canned beans that has me rethinking my grocery list
I was reading a blog from a university food science department and came across a fact that really stopped me. They said that canned beans lose about 20% of their B vitamin content during the canning process compared to dried beans you cook yourself. That surprised me because I always thought canned and dried were pretty much the same nutrition wise. On one hand, canned beans are so much faster and easier for busy weeknights, and they cost around $1.50 a can at my local store. But dried beans are maybe a third of that price per serving and you get more vitamins out of them. The catch is you have to plan ahead and soak them, which I often forget to do. So I am stuck deciding if the convenience is worth the loss of nutrients and the higher cost. Has anyone else run into this and made a decision one way or the other?
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the_nina1mo agoMost Upvoted
One thing nobody's mentioned is the sodium content. Canned beans pack a lot more salt than dried so if you're watching that you get a double whammy with the nutrient loss plus all that extra sodium.
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pat_hart1mo ago
Used to grab canned beans without a second thought, but that B vitamin stat got me thinking, I'll admit. You're paying more for less nutrition and all that extra salt, it really adds up over time. Now I just set a timer on my phone to remind me to soak dried beans the night before, pretty easy once you get in the habit.
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