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Now that we’ve all had our giggle for the day, the truth is that dried beans are good for you, too.

A pound of dried beans can generally be bought for less than $1.00, and that yields about 10-12 servings. Most people won’t try dried beans because they think it is too labor-intensive, but that’s just not true. I prefer to use dried beans whenever possible (unless of course, I’m using fresh), because there are no added sodium or other chemical preservatives. I can control exactly what goes into my food and that is a good thing. There are tons of varieties and they’re packed full of cheap nutritional goodness.

Did you know that when you combine dried beans with just about any grain product you create a complete protein that is comparable to any meat protein? It’s also less expensive and less taxing on both our environment and our bodies.

Enough of the sermon. Now for some facts:

a serving of cooked beans is about 1/2 cup.

Dry beans can be stored in unopened packages or a sealed container, in a cool, dry place indefinitely.

Cooked beans can be stored up to 3-5 days covered in the refrigerator.

Cooked beans can be frozen for several weeks.

While there are several ways to prepare dried beans, I’m going to focus on the only one that I use, and that is pre-soaking. Pre-soaking beans softens them and helps remove tannins and gas-causing sugars. It is the most reliable and consistent method I’ve found and it is simple:

Pour dried beans into a strainer.

Rinse and remove non-bean material (small rocks are common).

Place beans into a large bowl and cover with cool, clean water.

Soak 8-10 hours. Longer soaks may leave them soggy.

HINT: Changing the soak water after about 4 hours will remove even more of the stuff that causes gas.

Now on to cooking dried beans. It really is easy and once you’ve done it a few times you’ll appreciate the improved taste even more than the money you save or the health benefits. Here are the basic instructions for cooking soaked beans:

1.  Rinse soaked beans thoroughly and pour them into a large pot. Cover with water.

2.  Bring to a boil, stir and reduce to a slow simmer.

3.  Simmer for 45-60 minutes, or until beans are tender.

HINT: Adding a small amount of oil to the pot will reduce foaming.

Need a recipe to get you started?  Try Michael’s Better Than Refried Beans recipe and you’ll never buy canned again!

Let me start by saying that I have never been a fan of frozen pizza so I was really not sure I was going to be able to take more than a bite or two of the Tony’s Cheese Pizza I tried.  Since I couldn’t personally try Tony’s Pepperoni, I had Barry try that one while I added some turkey pepperoni slices I had in the fridge to the cheese pizza.  We popped them in the oven for a few minutes and voila!  Dinner is served.

You know the first sign of a disgusting frozen pizza?  For me it is when I go to cut the pizza.  If I don’t hear that distinctive crunch sound I know things are only going to go downhill from here.  Tony’s passed the crunch test with flying colors – on both the cheese and the pepperoni pies. 

Then comes the real test – how does this thing taste?  I am happy to report that for the first time in more than 20 years I ate several slices of frozen pizza and actually enjoyed them!  Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t really a substitute for homemade pizza by any stretch.  What they are though is inexpensive, tasty, fast and simple to prepare.

Don’t take my word for it though, check them out for yourself.  They are so sure you’ll love it, they want me to give some away!  The first five (5) people to respond to this post either on the website or the Facebook page will receive a coupon for a free Tony’s Pizza of your own! 

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Tony’s Pizza. All opinions are 100% mine.

As recently as a few years ago, the person in the supermarket who is thumbing through her coupon organizer and handing that stack of coupons to the cashier would be looked down upon though for the life of me I simply am unable to comprehend why.  In my mind I don’t see using coupons as anything other than a different form of currency and if you learn how to use coupons properly you will never again see them as anything other than money in your wallet.

Somehow we – the few, the proud, the couponers – have become less laughable these days as more and more people are looking for ways to save money where ever and whenever possible.  Now it isn’t quite so cool to spend ridiculous amounts of money when you don’t have to.

Even with a recession I get people who tell me things like:

“Using coupons takes too much time.”

People say this to me all the time and I generally debunk it in under a minute by asking them how much they get paid for an hour at work.  In an hour of coupon research I can make anywhere from $20 – $50 or more. 

Notice I didn’t say I could save $20 – $50?  That’s right folks, I make that money.  I have to eat so I am going to the supermarket one way or the other -with or without coupons and sales.  I’m going to buy (for example) a can of corn regardless, but I have a choice.

A choice?  Yes, a choice.  The supermarket is having a BOGO sale on a different brand of corn (Buy One, Get One Free).  You can spend $1 on one can of the brand you usually get or get two cans for the same price.  Saving money will sometimes require us to be brand flexible, so be prepared for that.  You opt to get the BOGO corn and feel pretty good about yourself, but wait – there’s more!

The brand of corn that’s on sale? There’s a coupon online worth $.55 when you buy two cans of corn.  Now I know what you’re thinking, I didn’t buy two, I got one of them free and while you may technically be right, it is still seen as you purchasing two of the item.  Now let’s do some quick math:

2 cans of Corn @  $1 each  =   $2.00

BOGO price for same 2 cans= $1.00
coupon worth $.55 off 2 cans=$  .55
FINAL PRICE BEFORE TAX          $ .45

And just like that you bought two cans for forty-five cents.  You saved $1.55 – more than 75% off the original price.

I’m not going to suggest that you are always going to save 75% off your grocery bill but if you saved that much just once every other month wouldn’t it be worth it?  What if you only managed to save 25% every week?  Let’s say your weekly grocery budget is $100.  And let’s do some more math:

52 weeks of groceries @ $100/week  =  $5,200.00
                                                                                    – 25%
                                                                            $1,300.00

Again this is just an estimate; I know people who save 25% without trying.  If you put in a little effort you can routinely save 40-50%. 

Now can you say that it isn’t worth it?

In the weeks since I have been talking about overcoming our addiction to convenience foods here on Gone Frugal but I didn’t go into much detail about why I took on that particular challenge.  It was that film’s discussion of fast food industry beef practices that reminded me just how horribly wrong our country’s food industry has gone.  Let me give you an example taken from the website of fast food giant McDonald’s:

source: www.mcdonalds.com

You read that right, folks.  Ammonia is routinely used to wash burger beef so that it is safe from E. coli 0157 and antibiotic-resistant salmonella.  The same stuff that is in your window cleaner is in your fast food burger.

I’m not the preachy type and I don’t use Gone Frugal as a political platform of any sort but I want readers to understand that I am making a personal pledge to stop giving my money to fast food restaurants once and for all.  Their cheap burgers made from poor quality beef leftovers washed in chemicals are no longer on my dietary approved list.

This is a major reason for my decision to help people come up with homemade alternatives to their favorite convenience foods, not just because of the financial benefits of eating at home. but also because I am concerned for our health as a society and I want to do what I can to contribute to a healthier way of life for all of us.

Additional Info:
NY Times, “Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned"
by Michael Moss, published December 30, 2009

Food Inc. movie trailer: