Hey Anika! Got a reply from my sister today. Not sure whether to cut and paste it to here or PM you... any thoughts?

(With your stomach giving you trouble (per other thread), the following may not appeal at this time, but perhaps later.)

The other thing I was thinking about is beans. Because really, who doesn't?
I don't know how you feel about them, but to me, you can't beat them for being filling, good protein source, easy and cheap! And super healthy. And no gluten. Here's what I do:

* Buy them dry in bulk (I go for black beans). And make a big batch.
* Sort through them in small batches to pick out anything unwanted (Like little rocks. I've had many batches with none, though it is best to check(!) Or less than stellar looking beans, like shrivelly or broken.)
* Soak. Either overnight or by quick method (bring to boil in stockpot, let boil 3 min., turn off heat, cover pot and let sit for an hour). In picking a pot and quantity of water, take into consideration that the beans will double (or more) in volume.
* Drain off the soaking water and replace with fresh, being sure to more than cover them. I am solidly in the NO SALT camp. Bring to boil, then turn it down and let simmer. For black beans, cook time is an hour to an hour and a half (if you are at elevation, it will take longer). You don't have to babysit them, just check on to make sure there continues to be enough water to be covering the beans. Spoon one out to test for doneness.
* Drain off the cooking water. I only drain off a bit, then let the whole thing cool a bit before the "real drain", because I make a big batch (stockpot near-full when cooked), and it gets unwieldy, and who needs unwieldy boiling water?!
* Let the beans cool off, then portion into freezer bags of snack or sandwich size (ie., a cup or two). Put those in single layer in a gallon sized freezer bag. (Freezer bags are ideal, but we use the regular ones too and just use two gallon-sized bags, one inside the other for the extra protection.)
*Set bags in single layer in freezer to freeze.

You will seriously not believe how much beans you have for the money.

* To use: Take out a bag and put it in a microwave for a little bit (or just set on counter), just to defrost it enough that they come out easily. Put in a dish (we use ceramic pie plate) with some water and taco spice (or whatever you like) and microwave till hot. You can mash them or not. Or just toss them in a soup or whatever right from the bag.

This may look like a big deal, but it really isn't. We only do it 2 or 3 times in a year, and we eat beans quite often. A lot of people don't use the dry beans because they think it is a nuisance. And yeah, if you went from scratch one meal at a time, it kind of would be(!) That's why we make the big batch. Then they are always ready to use. Just like canned beans would be, but definitely cheaper (and yummier, imo).

Heheh. Maybe you already do this!