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One of the foods I have been yearning for since I went LoSo are baked beans. They are just one of those comfort foods. Whether it is in the Winter and you want something simple to throw in the microwave, or whether it is Summer, and you want them as an easy side to your barbeque. Of course, I have been searching for beans out of a can that I could eat. Not shockingly, I have not found any canned beans with a low enough sodium level to satisfy me.
Bush's Original Baked Beans have 570 mg of sodium for a 1/2 Cup serving. Their Less Sugar and Sodium Brown Sugar Baked Beans are definitely 25 percent less sugar and sodium as they claim. But they are still 390 mg of sodium for that same 1/2 cup serving. The Sweet & Tangy Less Sugar and Sodium Baked Beans come in at 410 mg of sodium. Again, lower than the regular, but not edible for those of us trying to keep to a true low sodium diet.
Eden has Organic Baked Beans made with Sughram, which are definitely lower at 130 mg of sodium for a 1/2 cup serving. I may give those a try, but honestly, I am not only eating a half cup baked beans. So that is 260 mg of sodium for 1 cup as a small side dish in my meal. I was not willing to sacrifice those sodium amounts in my day to baked beans. I figured I could easily make them for much less. And I was right.
This summer, I got to work and went looking for a Baked Bean recipe from scratch that I could eat. I found this Baked Beans in Coffee recipe from RecipeZazz. As soon as I saw the bacon, I got to work adapting this for Kosher, let alone low sodium. I took out the bacon and the salt, and substituted in Westbrae Zero sodium mustard. Because of Meniere's I also watch my caffeine intake very closely, so I took out the coffee and replaced it with Dandy Blend Herbal Beverage, which has zero sodium and zero caffeine. I also cut down on the cocoa powder, which also has caffeine. Even with all these changes, in the end it was a success!
The best part was that I was able to make a lot at once, and froze them in portions. When we went away on vacation, I brought it with me, and made a really nice dinner of grilled chicken, baked beans and salad. What a treat!
These are great for when you are eating outdoors on Sukkot as well. Put them up in the crock pot the morning of Chag and eat them fresh and hot that night in the Sukkah.
Not Your Canned Baked Beans
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- 3 Quart Crock Pot
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Dry Navy Beans
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 2 Cups Boiling Water
- 2 Tsp Dandy Blend Herbal Beverage
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- ¼ Cup Maple Syrup
- ¼ Cup Vinegar
- 6 Oz No Salt Added Tomato Paste
- 1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 2 Tbsp Westbrae Mustard
- ½ Tsp Onion Powder
- ½ Tsp Garlic Powder
- ¼ Tsp Pepper
Instructions
- Place the dry navy beans in a large bowl, and cover with water. Let beans soak at least 12 hours, or overnight.
- Spray crock pot or slow cooker with no stick spray.
- Add chopped onion, and drained beans to the crock pot.
- Mix Dandy Blend Herbal Beverage with Boiling Water
- Mix together Dandy Blend beverage, maple syrup, tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar, cocoa powder, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper.
- Pour mixture over the beans and onion.
- Cook on high for 6 hours.