SillyMonkey is a fan of black beans. One of his favorite meals is black beans, brown rice and pan-seared salmon. Yes, I am talking about a 3 year old. The other day I tried giving him pizza and he screamed in horror proclaiming pizza was “yucky” and that he wanted sticky rice and beans instead. Not going to try to change his mind on that one….let’s just see how long pizza stays yucky.
It’s safe to say that we always have to have black beans available in the house. I used to buy organic black beans from Whole Foods, but then realized just because it’s organic doesn’t mean the can is not lined with BPA. So off I went to research which brands don’t have BPA in them. It’s few and far between but there are definitely options out there. We started buying Eden Organic Beans which do not have BPA in them (hooray) and it says it right on the can. I also found another brand called Fig Food Co. which is packaged in a tetrapack (let’s hope there’s no killer chemicals hidden in tetrapacks…sigh) and not cans and is certified organic and BPA-free. Fig Food Co. and Eden Organic are delicious and I actually buy both brands to help support both companies. The price is about triple what you would spend on a conventional can of beans, so the price was hard to swallow but I knew going organic and BPA-free would be pricey. On the up-side, Eden Organic beans are sold at Target and it’s a little bit cheaper there, about $0.70 cheaper! Who would have guessed! To be honest, it wasn’t too difficult to find a BPA-free alternative when it came to beans. All I had to do was look just a teeny bit harder and google the term “Black Beans BPA free can” and up popped several websites, which I guess is a huge bonus when you’re sort of late to the game, everybody’s already done the hard research for you!
But when it came to canned tomatoes there was no such luck, a BPA-free canned tomato just does not exist. But on the flip side, Eden Organic has started a line of organic tomatoes and sauces in amber glass jars that are BPA-free. The amber glass is used to protect the taste of the tomatoes since sunlight can alter flavor and cause discoloration through chemical changes. I’ve made a few dishes with the Eden Organic tomatoes in glass jars and I can attest that it’s just as good as any canned tomato I’ve ever used. So a huge thumbs up from me to Eden Organic for making a safe and delicious alternative to canned tomatoes. May others follow suit! unfortunately, I was not able to find the Eden Organic glass jar tomatoes at Whole foods, but I was able to find them at Mom’s Organic Market. Whole Foods, I’m beginning to think you’re slacking…more to come on that in a later post (related to organic foods made in China and sold at Whole Foods). For now I’m pretty proud to say that my family is now just a teeny tiny less BPA ridden. Gotta start somewhere!
China Free Soccer Mom 