Say Hello to Rienzi Products

By: Nikki Nies

It recently came to my attention that you can use black beans as a healthy substitute in brownies.  Yes, I said it, black beans.  As I was perusing the grocery aisles, I was looking for a brand of blacks beans with the lowest salt content.  I immediately looked at the nutrition label of the ShopRite “low sodium” black beans, which stated it contained 460 mg of sodium.  Just to check, I started looking at other brands of black beans and I found that the store brand of blacks that advertised low sodium, was in fact, NOT the brand with the lowest amount of sodium.

Long story short, I was shocked to find that Rienzi had the lowest amount of sodium, with a solid 24 mg.  I checked out Goya, ShopRite brand, etc.  Have you ever heard of Rienzi?  I hadn’t before I had started my comparison shopping, however, it’s now my new best friend.

After purchasing the black beans, I was intrigued why I hadn’t heard of this healthy alternative.  With some research, I’ve found that Rienzi is a local brand from Astoria, NY.  The website provides some great recipes one can use while incorporating Rienzi products into everyday meals.

I was disappointed to find that the brands I thought would be low in sodium, listed sodium in the hundreds of mg.  It showed me one really has to look beyond the advertising and know exactly what’s going into one’s mouth. There’s often a misperception that Organic means healthy, but the ShopRite Organic black beans contained 130 mg of sodium, approx. 72% more sodium than the Rienzi can of black beans.

Your supermarket has a wealth of knowledge, invest a little time comparing labels the next you’re grocery store.  I’m not hear to advertise, but I believe good nutrition comes from great foods.  Check for the blue labeled cans in your local supermarket!  Above, you can see a couple of other known brands that your local supermarket may sell, however, Rienzi had the best nutrition content overall!

http://www.rienzifoods.com/