How to Freeze Beans and avoid BPA

Canned products are usually lined with BPA-a product known to cause cancer, birth defects, miscarriages, obesity, and insulin resistance, which can lead to Type II diabetes. I have decided to quit buying anything that comes in a can. This means no more canned beans.

Instead, I have fun with dried beans. I set aside a few hours in a day and call it my “Bean-Fest”. I put on Salsa music, grab a spicy apron and get to work.

Every burner and large pot that I have on hand is utilized, cooking legumes of every shape and size.

I follow the basic instructions in my cookbook on how to cook beans, but I cut out the salt and cut down the cooking time by 33%. Meaning, if it tells me to cook the beans for 1 1/2 hours-I only cook them for an hour, or just until they can be forcefully squished with a fork. You want the beans to be a little tough.

After draining the beans, I divide them in half, leaving half in the pot and the other half in the lid, allowing them to cool down. I also stir the beans from time to time to release the captured heat.

You could transfer them to another dish to cool faster, but since I don’t want to wash another dish-I opt for the above method.

Once the beans are cool, I measure out 2 or 3 cup increments into ziplock bags, depending upon how I use the beans and toss them in the freezer.

I measure 3 cups for my garbanzos in order to be ready to make my Hummus Among Us Recipe.

I measure out 2 cups for my red and black beans for salads or to accompany rice meals.

In order to use the beans, I allow them to thaw in the refrigerator for a good day before they are needed.

Voila! Ready-at-the-helm beans without an infestation of BPA. Kind of a win-win for very little work.

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