Quick and easy lentils, chickpeas and beans

In my opinion, home cooked chick peas, lentils and beans taste heaps better than those from a tin - they are also loads cheaper. You can have all the taste of homecooked, all the convenience of a tin, and minimise the cost if you buy a bag of the dried product, cook the whole packet in one go, and then freeze in portions (about 1 cup full works well for us). You can prepare these at any time - such as after baby's bed time.

First, soak for 24 hours, changing the water halfway through, and then rinse.

Cooking times are usually on the packet - but just in case...

Chick peas and yellow split peas - 90mins
Kidney beans, pinto beans, black eyed beans (and almost any other bean except soya ) - 40 mins
Soya beans generally require 2-3 hours (see pack)