cutting out canned food: how to cook with tomatoes and beans

[Anonymous]

so, DCUM has gotten to me and i'm thinking i need to stop using canned tomatoes and beans. the problem is that i use them in a lot of recipes and i'm not quite sure how to use fresh tomatoes or to prepare dried beans.

for the tomatoes, am i supposed to peel them first? is there something else i am supposed to do to make the consistency similar? should I add water if the recipe calls for the can of tomatoes to be undrained? also, what's the ballpark on how many average tomatoes (say the vine-ripened ones at the grocery store) go in a can?

for the beans, i've never in my life used dried beans. they intimidate the heck out of me. what's the easiest way to get them from the bag into the chili pot? also, how many dried beans would equate a can of beans?

thanks for the help! i'm obviously a pretty clueless, by-the-recipe kind of cook.

[Anonymous]

Well, my advice is to cook a lot of the beans in advance.

Soak 'em overnight in a generous amount of water. In the morning (or evening), drain and rinse and boil them in new water until tender (I forget how long that takes).

Then use as you would canned.

[Anonymous]

You may just want to buy Pome tomatoes.

http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2010/06/23/pomi-tomatoes-a-bpa-free-alternative-to-cans/

[Anonymous]

This is my go-to bean method:
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-beans-a-faster-foo-102908

As far as tinned tomato substitutes, freeze fresh tomatoes whenever you find them on sale. When you're ready to use them, run under warm water and the skins slip off quite easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:so, DCUM has gotten to me and i'm thinking i need to stop using canned tomatoes and beans. the problem is that i use them in a lot of recipes and i'm not quite sure how to use fresh tomatoes or to prepare dried beans.

for the tomatoes, am i supposed to peel them first? is there something else i am supposed to do to make the consistency similar? should I add water if the recipe calls for the can of tomatoes to be undrained? also, what's the ballpark on how many average tomatoes (say the vine-ripened ones at the grocery store) go in a can?

for the beans, i've never in my life used dried beans. they intimidate the heck out of me. what's the easiest way to get them from the bag into the chili pot? also, how many dried beans would equate a can of beans?

thanks for the help! i'm obviously a pretty clueless, by-the-recipe kind of cook.

Curious, what is the reason for cutting out canned tomatoes, beans?

I just can't justify spending time making something that is readily available at the store.

[Anonymous]

NP here. Canned foods have BPA in the lining plus preservatives.

[Anonymous]

Go to pome tomatoes if you ever use tomatoes out of season. Those gross, winter Florida tomatoes are not worth the effort.

[Anonymous]

I could not image giving up my canned tomatoes! I do cannning myself, but can't grow/store enough for the year. I could not imagine using fresh/frozen for recipes that call for a can, the canning process cooks them and actually brings about a lot of the flavor and sugars in the tomatoes. Tomato is one of the few foods that is quite healthy canned. The texture would also be a bit strange using fresh for most recipes. Also most canned tomatoes, even the ones at the store are done at peak season...tomatoes off season? YUCK.

[Anonymous]

OP here. The reason I've decided to go canless for tomatoes is the BPA in can linings and the fact that tomatoes are particularly acidic and therefore likely to cause greater leaching of BPA into the food. i am not a BPA fanatic, but kind of thought this was one area i could make a change without too much effort. thanks for the help.

[Anonymous]

Pomi tomatoes. They're pretty easy to find these days. http://pomi.us.com/home.php

Beans are easy once you get in the habit. Start out just following the directions on the package.

[Anonymous]

I'd recommend a crockpot!!! It makes beans and tomatoes sooooo much easier! But the dried beans in the crock in the morning with water, and it'll be done by evening. They freeze great!! Make easy tomato sauce in the crock too when tomatoes are on sale!!

[Anonymous]

I use Pomi also. I don't buy canned tomatoes anymore, unless I can find Eden Organic. I do still want to have prepared beans on hand so I buy Eden Organic or Fig Food beans in boxes (similar to the Pomi boxes).

With dried beans, I find it's helpful to add salt and tomatoes (if I'm using them) later in the cooking process, to avoid toughening the beans. I usually use a quick-soak method.

[Anonymous]

There are a few brands that do beans in BPA free cans. Eden organic has for a long time, and apparently TJs beans are too.

http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/7-companies-you-can-trust-to-use-bpa-free-cans.html

But I also put them in the crock pot and freeze in portions for use later. Super easy.

Tomatoes are harder. I use Pommi but don't love the flavor. Bionaturae sells in glass jars.

[Anonymous]

We buy tomatoes in glass jars at our co-op.

[Anonymous]

OP I just cut any kind of tomatoes I have up at home and substituded for canned diced tomatoes. I drain if the can was supposed to be drained and keep all the juices in if they weren't - I've never added water yet. If anything I think my recipes taste better. You can buy tomato paste in a tube at WF - I can't recall if the tube is BPA free though.

Re: beans I buy Eden organics, but lately have been experimenting with making them in the crockpot.