Pressure Cooking Beans

To cut back on cost and to make them healthier, I have decided that I would only use canned beans for "emergancies." So I decided that I would have to prepare ahead or use the pressure cooker. Tonight was my first experiment with it. The beans cooked up well and took only about 45 from start to finish.

I found a website with great info on how to do it. I followed the directions that came with my pressure cooker, which is always best to go by. But if you don't have them there are some suggestions here:

http://missvickie.com/howto/beans/bean-cooking.html
http://missvickie.com/howto/beans/bean-cooking.html

Here are some tips about cooking with beans:
A pound of dry beans measures about 2 cups.
Beans triple in volume when soaked and cooked.
A cup of dry beans yields 3 cups cooked.
A pound of dry beans yields 6 cups cooked.
Use 3 cups of water per cup of dry beans for soaking.
A pound of dry beans makes about 9 servings of baked beans.
A pound of dry beans makes about 12 servings of bean soup.
A one-pound can of cooked beans measures about 2 cups

Fast and Healthy Cereal

One thing we have done to make tummies full longer and spruce up plain low/no sugar cereals (you choose your favorite)is add our own raisins, sunflowers, dates, or what ever other seeds, fruits, or nuts we happen to have on hand. Recently we added dried apples and was liked by most.

Other options are to mix different cereals together. More dense cereals - like granola with lighter cereals - bran flakes etc.

We make most of our own breakfasts, but we use these for when we need a fast breakfast when time is short.

Welcome To Frugal Whole Foods

I have been searching for websites and blogs that contain whole foods or at least healthier foods that were inexpensive (aka frugal). I have been finding mostly recipes with refrigerator biscuits and cream soups. Many recipes can be adapted to make them whole foods and / or healthier. It just takes some experimenting and some practice.

So my mission is to find those recipes and share them here. Some adapted, some linked to other sites.