Taco Bell beans heat up in pouch

Pinto, and Black. $1.99 per 8- ounce pouch.

Bonnie: Microwavable pouches of rice that cook in 90 seconds hit supermarkets about five years back. Today, we have beans that heat in 60 seconds. Or so say Taco Bell’s directions. I needed to heat my pouch at least 30 seconds longer to get them warm.

Both varieties are good sources of vegetable protein, fiber and some calcium and iron. I’d recommend Taco Bell’s pinto beans over the black, as they have more flavor, fewer ingredients and a third less sodium. I recommend Taco Bell’s Black Beans over El Paso’s similar product for similar reasons: Taco Bell’s has fewer ingredients and a third less sodium.

Carolyn: I not only loved microwaveable pouches when they first came out, but I also thought they would revolutionize convenience cooking.

The pouches offer such cleanup, environmental and, certainly in the case of rice, cooking advantages over cans that I’m surprised and disappointed they still aren’t being used for more foods — macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, beef stew, oatmeal and apple crisp, for instance.

The bright side is that pouches are now being used for beans: mildly Mexicali-seasoned ones from Taco Bell that heat in two minutes (not one, as Bonnie just explained) and pair well with Uncle Ben’s similarly speedy microwavable Ready Rice that started it all.

Would it be too much to ask Taco Bell to come out with additional varieties at medium and hot levels of spice?

Bonnie Tandy Leblang is a registered dietitian. Caroly n Wyman is a junk-food fanatic and author of “The Great Philly Cheesesteak Book” (Running Press). Each week they critique new food items.