Minimizing canned goods

My girls are bean lovers -- black, brown, white... they love them all -- so I put them in everything and make at least one pot of chili or bean soup each week. I used to stock up on canned beans every week, sometimes buying 12 cans at a time (more if they were on sale), but I realized recently that I'd save a ton of money by buying a one-pound bag of dried beans for $1.50 and cooking them myself instead of 6 cans of beans for $9 . (I won't go into recipes here, but trust me -- they're super easy to make.) And as with most things, I discovered that saving money and being eco-friendly often go hand-in-hand -- in this instance, I save at least $7 per week ($364 per year!) at the grocery store and I eliminate the need to add 6 cans to my recycling bin.