Beanz Meanz Snapz (Heinz Beanz Snap Pots)

Member Name: hypno06

Product:	Heinz Beanz Snap Pots
Date:	13/08/09 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: No waste!

Disadvantages: Expensive, tubs not easily recycled.

I will be the first to admit that where there is a suitable "value" or own brand product available, I will use it in order to keep my shopping budget down as much as possible. As part of this way of shopping, I believe I have already written about how wonderfully good value Tesco own brand tins of baked beans are.

But at the moment, Tesco own brand beans have been relegated to second best, as I am buying Heinz Snap Pots.

Basically, these are individual microwave portion of Heinz baked beans, sold in batches of four. Each pot is contains 200g of beans, so the same as one of the small tins of beans you can buy, or half a full size tin.

To cook, you simply snap a pot from its adjoining buddies, take off the lid, and pop in the microwave on full power for just one minute. Voila, you have baked beans ready to pour on your toast in the time it has taken for the toast to pop up in the toaster.

I'm not going to talk about how good these tastes - I think everyone will already be well aware that these are the leading brand of baked beans, and as such, taste as good as, or better, than anything else in its peer group.

I'm not going to talk about whether they have the ideal ratio of bean to sauce either.......as everyone seems to have their own ideas about what is the perfect mix.

So, why am I loving this product at the moment? Well, the reason is not that they are Heinz - remember, I think that Tesco version is just as good - and it is not even because they are easy to cook....it is not exactly difficult to heat some tinned beans on the hob, or transfer them into a dish and microwave them.......

No, the reason is because in the same way as I do not like to waste money, I also do not like to waste food.

Sometimes, we all have beans with our dinner - fishfingers, chips and beans for example, one of my favourite "comfort" foods. A tin of beans is nicely divided between three or four of us. No waste.

But very often, only one person wants beans - perhaps if someone is having beans on toast at lunchtime. Or perhaps we are all having our regular "disjointed" mealtimes as everyone has to be in different places at the same time, and only one person reaches for the tin of beans. This often means that a part finished tin of beans finds its way shoved into the fridge.

Sometimes, that part eaten tin of beans goes un-noticed next time someone else wants beans on toast......and we end up with multiple half full, quarter full, almost empty (!) tins of beans in the fridge........and they don't take long before they develop a fur coat.....what an absolute waste......it makes a false economy of having bought cheaper beans in the first place!

That is where these snap pots come into their own - they are an ideal size for beans on toast, with no need to put the other half of the tin away for later!

However, there has to be a point where convenience/waste/cost reaches its equilirium, and for me, unfortunately, the normal price of these snap pots is not at that balancing point.......£1.76 in Tesco, for four pots - that is more expensive than four full price tins of own brand beans, and considerably more than four tins of value beans.

But, at the moment, a pack of 4 snap pots is on offer at £1 in Tesco - so at just 25p for a pot that is enough for one person as a "beans on toast" meal, and is plenty for two people as an addition to fishfingers and chips, for example, this has become the ideal size and price to keep my budget and my kitchen bin (and my fridge) in perfect harmony.

So, while these are on offer, I will stock up and happily avoid wastage. Sadly, when they are full price, I will be continuing to nag my children into looking in the fridge before they open yet another tin......

I do have one gripe (apart from the full price), and for this they will lose a star....

My empty tins can be recycled entirely. The plastic pots can only be recycled "where facilities exist" which means that many will find their way into landfill. It seems that my efforts to reduce waste are not as good as I initially thought.......

Summary: Ok when on offer - expensive when not......