Dry Beans Vs. Canned Beans, review for Natural Foods Merchandiser

Posted by Seth on April 29, 2010 under Food, Nutrition | Be the First to Comment

I wrote this unedited review for Natural Foods Merchandiser.

The premise is that I am critiquing the response from an employee at a natural foods store, regarding dry beans vs. cooked beans.

Secret Shopper Question:

DS: Hi, could you tell me whether there are any nutritional differences between these canned and dried organic pinto beans?

GT: [Giggle] Honestly, I have no idea.

DS: Do you know why anyone would choose one over the other?

GT: Well, I’ve read that dried and frozen beans are better but I really couldn’t tell you why. When you look at the nutritional data on the back, it shows that these canned beans have more sodium but a lot less dietary fiber and protein. The dried beans seem to have a lot more vitamins and minerals.

Seth’s Response

Three things occur to me as I read this brief encounter.

One, I like the honesty. Don’t make something up to look good.

Two, some training on this would prevent the employee from giving mixed messages. You just said that you don’t have a clue, then you said that you have read some things about it.

Three, what are the facts about this?

On the first point, I have seen too many employees attempt to explain complex dietary theories, like Macrobiotics, to a customer. It’s likely that the employee is into health. It is likely that they want to share it. It is likely that the customer is in a hurry. Therefore, no interested in the whole story. Give the employee a formula for answering these kinds of questions. Here is an example.

Foirmula for answering nutrition questions:

Repeat back the question
Take a moment to consider the question
Reply with an honest and direct response
If you do not know, ask customer if she would like to get a second opinion from another more seasoned employee

To the second point then, you avoid the split between “I have no clue” and “I have read that.”

The facts on this one are:

Well, a significant nutrition difference is the amount of nutrition for your money. A 15 oz. can equals ¾ cup dry beans (1 ½ cups cooked). 4 cups of cooked beans (from dry) for under a $1.00 vs. 15 oz. for $1.50 for canned is average.
The employee hit the nail on the head with sodium. As Dr. Katz recently pointed out, 80% of the sodium Americans eat does not come from the salt shaker. It is added.
Some cans are lined with bisphenol-a. What? It’s a plastic that has been shown to effect hormones.
Soaking beans in water reduces phytic acid more effectively than cooking alone. This would be my priority point, more important than any other. Phytic acid binds minerals. You get less nutrition when you eat the phytic acid. I don’t know how the canned beans were prepared. Probably without soaking at very high heat. They retain phytic acid. It may seem like nutrition geek speak, but as a nutritionist & health coach, that is what I would tell my clients. Especially vegetarians.

A few other non-nutrition related facts to point out: