I bought some dried beans today - they are very cheap. When I open canned beans I usually only want a small amount for a salad or burrito or something thus a lot goes to waste. So I labeled the various beans (and rices) in glass jars with directions... I realize there's soaking and time involved that could be a pain, I haven't actually done anything yet. I wonder why they can't make little mini cans of beans? At least I haven't seen them...

You can freeze beans that you cook. I bought a 6lb can of chickpeas from Costco. I roasted some, made an entree with some, snacked on a few and froze the rest. Although I'm someone who thinks the standard size can of beans is too small for my needs.

Yes, I've had it on my mind to switch to dried beans, and plan to try freezing them after cooking so I have the same selection and convenience (or close, anyway) that I now have in cans. I'm a big bean eater.

I also freeze my beans. If you have a slow cooker you don't even need to soak them, just toss em in with the water on low heat and 6 - 8 hours later they're done.

I just dusted off my slow cooker today, made some wild rice mixed with brown rice, it was good. What sorts of containers does one use to freeze small portions? Just small plastic ones? Or baggies? I'm thinking I might start making larger portions of rice, beans and other mixes the freezing 1/2 c. portions for later on. It's just me and my little boy in my home.

I use freezer bags a lot or my snap-lock tupperware. I make large portions of beans (on stove or crockpot) and large portions of grains (in rice cooker) and just eat them for days until they are gone. If I think something will take more than a couple days to eat, I'll freeze a portion. Then again I would say 50% of my diet is beans

I'm really glad to know we can freeze them, thanks! I buy dried because I'm very picky and have to cook my own in filtered water that I control and it takes ages to soak and cook them, especially for me since I cook for one person.

Thanks for the tip!

I am with you suzanne - it's a big pain to go through all that trouble to make beans for just one person. I might have to try that slow cooker tip - I try to keep things low salt and canned beans have a lot of it.

I'm going to dust off the book about deceptive cooking, bought it more for my boy but the ideas make sense. It's about sneaking in nutrition into regular meals - the author has you cook items that take a lot of time, mash up sweet potatoes etc and put them in baggies or containers in the freezer for later use. How about a row of baggies with rice, beans, and other ideas from this book too? I'm just thinking a lot of processed food contributed to making me fat. Now that I have some jars of cutely labeled beans I need to figure out what to do with them - precook and freeze seems to be the key for eating for one, or one and a child like me. Also soups etc.

I freeze just about everything in zip baggies ... homemade broth, marinara sauce, rice, beans, etc.

When freezing beans, I like to do it in a gallon or larger ziploc bag and every 15 minutes or so, I'll go shake the bag so that the beans freeze seperately. Once they get partially frozen, it sometimes takes a gentle pressure "smooshing" the bag so they don't freeze in large clumps. Once completely frozen, I'll squeeze the extra air out of the bag, or transfer to a tupperware container - this way I can scoop out just what I need for future recipes. Another alternative is to freeze in small, measured portions in tupperware or small ziploc bags.

I love beans and DH doesn't. It's good to know they can be frozen as I don't really like canned beans. I need to learn how to season them since I don't want to use salt or at least not much and don't want the fats I used to use. So could someone share how you season your beans? Thanks

For beans, I generally use a veggie broth. "Better than bouillon" is one of my favorites. Unless I'm making a dish with the beans as they cook, that is all I use.

I make refried beans in the crockpot every week or two. I use a Mexican seasoning blend (no salt, sugar, unknowns), cumin, chopped onions & garlic, and a couple of Not beef cubes.

I also use veggie broth when I cook my beans. I like Tupperware, Ziploc or Glad containers, since they are re-usable instead of baggies. They stack well in the freezer too. Just remember to vent the lid when you defrost.