Why I'll Never Go Back to Canned Beans Again

Get my printed cookbook: 36 recipes, 60 kitchen methods: https://vernasbook.com You have stood in the dry bean aisle with a bag of lentils in one hand and a bag of pinto beans in the other, long enough that your arm got tired. Protein and fiber are nearly a tie, so I will tell you what actually decides it: your time, your stomach, and the salt in the can. Stay to the end to hear what my mother said about my first pot of lentils. 🍲 MY POT OF LENTILS (makes about 2 suppers) • 1 cup brown or green lentils, picked over for small stones and rinsed • 3 cups water • 1/2 onion, chopped • 1 bay leaf • 2 strips bacon cut small, or a spoonful of bacon grease Bring to a simmer, tilt the lid, and cook 25 to 30 minutes, until tender but not mush. Salt at the end, about 1/2 teaspoon to start, and taste. Splash of vinegar at the very last minute, never at the start. One cup dry makes about 2 1/4 cups cooked. Serve over a square of cornbread. 🥄 THE NUMBERS I USED (per cooked cup, no salt added) • Lentils: about 18 g protein, 16 g fiber • Pinto and black beans: about 15 g protein, 15 g fiber • Navy beans: about 19 g fiber • Canned beans: rinse them, which washes away roughly 40 percent of the sodium I am a cook, not a doctor. If you have kidney disease or any other medical condition, ask yours how much of these is right for you. 🔥 WATCH NEXT: The video on keeping the peace indoors, the most popular thing I ever said out loud: https://youtu.be/vK24katwNfE If this saves you one more evening in that aisle, I would take a subscribe as a personal kindness. It costs you nothing and it helps me keep making these for you. Have a blessed day. -Verna CHAPTERS 0:00 The bean aisle question 1:03 The church supper that started it 1:40 Protein and fiber, side by side 2:52 The calorie number that is wrong 3:48 Three things that actually decide it 3:56 1. Time: soak or no soak 5:04 2. Your stomach 5:57 3. Salt and the can in your pantry 6:34 The cornbread debate 6:56 Iron, folate and potassium 7:39 How I cook lentils 8:59 So which one should you cook? 9:27 The pot I put on at sixty-four 10:09 Your turn #lentils #beansforseniors #seniornutrition #appalachiancooking