To do beans on toast once a week?

I used to do a bowl of veggie sticks and hummus with a toasted bagel as I had one who doesn't like beans (must have been DH's genes). But the others loved beans on toast, or egg on toast, or cheese, egg and tomato baked.

How on earth are beans UPF? - The ingredients (Heinz) - Ingredients: Beans (51%), Tomatoes (34%), Water, Sugar, Spirit Vinegar, Modified Cornflour, Salt, Spice Extracts, Herb Extract. Heinz even grow their own bloody tomatoes! Batshit.

Sounds delicious! Do you grill first and then add egg fried egg? Or do you grill the egg too?

Both of mine went through a stage when they were tiny where baked beans were almost all they would eat. Every lunch and dinner were beans related. They survived just fine.

I wish I could remember what my North African acquaintance called it when she saw me eating beans on toast for lunch one day. Apparently she grew up with a very similar meal involving beans, tomato-based sauce and toasted bread, and I'm sure that switching from prosaic old "BBoT" to whatever the term was that she used for my lunch would net the dish instant MN credibility.

It's that whiff of exoticism, the one that makes people think the slightly greasy pile of refined carbohydrates that is "pesto pasta" is somehow nutritionally/morally superior to a plate of chips and a dollop of ketchup. (Or am I out of date, and pesto pasta is the devil now? Are we all about the spaghetti aglio e olio?)

It's food. It's fine. It's even good food. It's filling and tasty. It's got good macros, reasonable micronutrients, and plenty of fibre. It's got a bit of sugar but not much in the grand scheme of typical daily intake. It can be a little high in salt but you can choose your components carefully, or just accept that salt intake varies across the week. Don't let the fact it's easy, cheap and quintessentially British fool you into thinking it's bad.

My baked beans on toast are UPF?
2 slices of Warburtons seedy, butter, baked beans and a sprinkle of grated cheddar on top, and I am doing myself a disservice?
Clearly been poisoning myself for years.
I draw the line at a turkey twizzler, never seen one, but baked beans?

I can't actually believe people are beating themselves up for giving kids beans on toast once a week.

Just a thought OP for a bit of variety for that meal (which I think is fine) - mccain's frozen jacket spud with beans. Takes 3-4 min in the microwave so can't be that much longer than a piece of toast, and I reckon would be the same amount of time as you'd need to heat the beans in a pan on the hob.

I'm pretty sure one of my mum friends does beans on toast with sliced cucumber on the side on one of her kids busy evenings. And porridge another night, with berries and honey to top it (add peanut butter or nuts for more protein if your kids will eat it).

Also cheesy pasta - boil pasta and chuck in frozen peas a minute or two before it's done. Drain and mix in a tub of soft cheese (A flavoured one if they will eat it).

We all like beans on toast. It often turns into beans and scrambled eggs/mushrooms/ cheese on toast.

The obsession with UPF on this site is bonkers. Sure we can reduce the junk and make more homemade things where we can. UPF is such an umbrella term for so much food. We can have a balanced nutrient dense diet with a little bit of UPF it’s not going to kill anyone.

But it’s bloody beans on toast. It’s fine! Your children will be fed and full up. You will be less stressed when life is already stressful. Maybe give them so fruit for afters for more non upf nutrients 😂 Oh wait….that’s not allowed either this days is it.

This is a totally normal dinner for us once or twice a week due to clubs after school and needing something quick and easy.

We are also cutting UPF so:

Jasons sourdough sliced bread

Proper butter
Organic baked beans
Or alternatively eggs, tomatoes mushrooms on toast
Bit of grated cheese

All of that isn't UPF and makes a decent dinner in my opinion. You can also bake lots of potatoes in the oven, wrap them up and freeze them then easily reheat them in the microwave on busy nights as an alternative.

Mine have a really good cooked lunch at school so they usually have sandwiches in the evening with veg sticks. There's no rule that says they need two hot meals a day, and they wouldn't get that if they were taking a packed lunch to school.

Sometimes one of them even has a pot of cold baked beans on the side. Unfortunately the other won't touch a baked bean, which rules out beans on toast as a nice quick meal.

Of course it’s fine. I’d add in a pasta and pesto night, plus a baked potato and “choose your own toppings” one (you could do the potatoes the night before, even quicker with an air fryer)

Why make life harder for yourself?

Baked beans are not UPF

It's fine. I actually think beans on wholemeal toast is a nutritious meal. We add cheese too. My son is a fussy eater and has it once or twice a week.

yes you are correct, plus its too soggy, even though
we buy real granary bread which is quite substantial,
from our wonderful real bakers

we had spaghetti hoops last night with cumberland sausage and mash,
then apple slices and herbal tea
food of the gods

Horrified at all these suggested modifications.

Cucumber?

A little chopped this or that?

Adding a tin of cannellini beans?

Absolutely not. Grated cheese and Worcestershire sauce are all you need.

We love beans on toast!
Also jacket potato and beans or scrambled eggs on toast. Quicker and healthier than a ready meal or a take away

@LuckySantangelo35 I'm just not a fan of baked beans also psychologically (😂) I see it as a snack (awaiting the MN onslaught)

Why?

Beans on toast 😋OP, bloody love it!

I'm 100% having beans on toast at some point today now.

As many other posters have said, there is nothing wrong with beans on toast for a quick dinner for your children.

I've voted YABU for asking such a ridiculous question. It's beans on toast FFS! Use low salt, low sugar beans with wholegrain sourdough to salve your conscience if needs must. It's hardly a kebab washed down with Coca Cola is it?

I love beans on toast. It's more nutritious than spaghetti hoops on toast. My dc had it at least once a week.
Add some cheese or scrambled egg to vary it.
Or try a cheese or ham or mushroom omlette or some fresh pasta

Absolutely fine. You could grate some cheese on top and serve it with a side of carrot sticks or similar just to round it out a bit if you wanted to

Beans on toast is a perfect quick dinner. I spice mine up with a spoon of lime pickle or some onion.

I (or rather teen DDs) also do eggy bread, scrambled eggs on toast, instant noodles with a boiled egg and peas thrown in.

My low effort healthy dinner is tuna jacket potato - but they won't eat spuds like that anymore.
I also make pasta, pesto, fresh tomato's and mozzarella on top drizzled in olive oil which goes down well too and is quick.

We have more quick dinners in a week than anything else.
Raising fussy and underweight DC1 for 15 years means I don't actually care so long as she eats something and I haven't had to make two dinners!

Just to say that spaghetti hoops on toast is just carb on carb. Baked beans are much more nutritious