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Canned organic beans okay?

Hi. Just wondering if canned organic beans (like garbanzo, kidney, etc.) are okay to eat as far as raw foods are concerned. I understand about the sprouting of beans (although I haven’t done that yet)—but, I’ve really been enjoying putting chickpeas on my salad, and just wondering if I’m getting all the nutritional value from them. I appreciate your replies. Thanks!

Comments

  • Branwyn32Branwyn32 Raw Newbie

    I’m pretty sure the canning process of ANYTHING involves very high levels of heat, so anything in a can is definitely not raw.

    I’m new to raw, but I’m not really sure there is a way to get edible raw chickpeas, (sad cuz I love them too, especially in hummus!) as I’ve heard alot of people talk about finding replacements for hummus. If there is a way to have raw ones, I’d love to know!

  • heyenglishheyenglish Raw Newbie

    You can actually buy raw chickpeas to sprout. I have some sitting on my desk because I still haven’t gotten around to sprouting them. Although, I’ve read on a lot of posts about them being particularly difficult to sprout. I think I bought mine from Natural Zing.

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    there’s folks who love raw garbanzos (soaked and sprouted of course) and folks who don’t. Try em, see what you think! They’re crunchy and nice, in my opinion. I eat 1/2 cup at a time, once in a while (whenever i bother sprouting).

    Branwyn – yes, canning anything involves high levels of heat, not raw.

  • Thank you for your replies. I’ll definitely try soaking & sprouting them instead of using them canned. Thanks!

  • Branwyn32Branwyn32 Raw Newbie

    Where do you guys get your raw chickpeas? Cuz honestly, I think a life lived without hummus is a life half lived!

  • JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

    this raw hummus recipe is truly amazing using raw garbonzo beans/chick peas. I buy mine in the bulk food section of our co-ops

    http://www.goneraw.com/recipes/2247-Real-Hummus

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    I agree – raw sprouted chickpea hummus is something I don’t enjoy as much. Instead, I use zucchinis to make a nice hummus. Sprouted garbanzos are best served in small portions on salad, i’ve also had them as part of an indian dish. I’d serve them whole – i wouldn’t necessarily grind the garbanzos, although some of matt amsden’s recipes involving falafel use sprouted chickpeas.

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    it’s not only the canning that makes them not raw, it’s the fact that they are boiled for hours and then canned. definitely not raw.

    i actually liked the taste of the hummus i made (once, over a year ago) with sprouted chick peas. this recipe looks fantastic—> http://goneraw.com/recipes/2247-Real-Hummus

    you could also try making your own tahini dip by blending sesame seeds, water, olive oil, and salt. it’s not hummus, but it’s pretty delicious.

    i’m not sure if this happens to everyone, but i don’t have the same attachment to food that i used to. i never think “gosh, i could really go for some chinese/greek/pizza” like i used to. you are reminding me that i used to crave hummus for lunch.

  • I’m with you on that one lulushka8…it’s like how I used to miss certain soul food dishes before I got used to doing without them after the allergies diagnosis…like my mom’s baked macaroni and cheese. But now I understand all of the consequences of milk and dairy, and now, I can do without it. But I guess for you it’s different because hummus is something that is healthy.

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    I made Matt Amsden’s Zucchini Hummus on the weekend. I used 1/2 tsp salt (he calls for 2 and 1/2 tsps, which I thought sounded excessive). The result was perfect in saltiness. I also didn’t bother with the olive oil but upped the tahini to a full cup. It tastes amazing. I fed it to my SAD boyfriend, who is enjoying the best of both worlds right now. He loved it but thought it resembled baba ganouj more than hummus. Anyone missing the flavours of middle eastern cuisine can do very well with raw tabbouleh, hummus, falafel balls with tahini and even stuffed grape leaves (though these sound too labour intensive to me). I’m even working on a sprouted lentil soup concept. Sprouted chickpeas aren’t difficult to make, but you need a good source that won’t sell you chickpeas that are really old. They are an acquired taste, though. I started sampling mine when the tails were only 1/4 of an inch. They were fine, but I would never be able to eat more than a few at a time. I did use them in dehydrated falafels and they worked great. A traditional falafel recipe would call for chickpeas to be soaked overnight and ground (not cooked), so the raw flavour worked for the recipe.

    Kendra Far Above Rubies—Matthew Kennedy offers a Mac and Cheese recipe in his new book, Everyday Raw. I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds pretty good. It calls for nutritional yeast, which you may or may not use, but I’m sure you could work around it if you don’t. I’ve gotten lovely orange colour for my mock cheddars using an orange bell pepper and some sweet paprika. I’m definitely going to try it one of these days.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    If something is really HEALTHY, then you will feel good eating it. My perspective is different now, as things I used to think were healthy, I now know my body does not want. Part of the journey, for me, involves finding ways to enjoy the same emotional connections to people, while disconnecting the emotions from the foods involved. :)

    Dry garbanzo beans sold in bags at the grocery store are raw/sproutable – just because the bag gives cooking instructions doesn’t mean you have to follow them. ;)

  • FYI – Was at Whole Foods the other day and found fresh sprouted garbonzos, not cheap (can’t remember the price?) but, for those of us who have a hard time getting around to doing sprouts they are very convenient!! Also, taste, texture and quality were better than I expected.

  • RawKidChefRawKidChef Raw Newbie

    Yup, beans in a can definitely aren’t raw. They are soft and pre-cooked versus the hard beans you buy at the store, which usually can sprout.

  • RawKidChefRawKidChef Raw Newbie

    I agree with durianrider.

  • chicorychicory Raw Newbie

    I think everything that comes from a can tastes like a can! my grandmother and I do can (by can I mean in glass mason jars) applesauce, peaches, tomatoes. we stock them in the basement in case of an emergency. You could also save seeds and things as well, but they take time to grow! Canning fruits and veg is good for emergency survival, but I wouldn’t choose to eat it until such an event occurs

  • rawlizardrawlizard Raw Newbie

    Chicory, that’s so interesting! I grew up in the city and I always dreamed about leaving in a farm and canning (in jars, that is) my own food! Now that I am mostly raw, I wonder if there is a way of preserving veggies and fruits besides dehydrating. I guess freezing them would be an option, but then if you think of having emergency food, then you can’t count on electricity. If you know of anything please let me know. Thanks!

  • chicorychicory Raw Newbie

    it isn’t raw.. that’s the only thing, but at least it would do in an emergency. Also, dehydrated fruit is great to stock up on as well. The nice thing about home canning though is that if you run out of drinking water you can make up for it with the liquid in the preserved fruit. that is the only drawback of surviving on dehydrated foods in an emergency. If you run out of water you’re in trouble!

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    lulush—oh, i know ALL about that. i come from a family where my mother would literally spend ALL day cooking for our main meal at night. the smells were fantastic. i really can’t resist the smells, but then, i’ve come to a point where i can enjoy the smell of something without feeling like i need to put it in my mouth. like flowers. =)

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