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- DictionaryCanned/kand/
adjective
- 1. (of food or drink) preserved or supplied in a sealed can: "canned beans"
- 2. (of music, laughter, or applause) prerecorded and therefore considered to be lacking in freshness and spontaneity: informal, derogatory "some hotels program their canned music in twenty-four-hour cycles"
1. : preserved in a sealed can or jar. canned peaches. canned pumpkin. 2. a. : prepared or recorded in advance. especially : prepared in standardized form for nonspecific use or wide distribution. canned laughter. canned music. b. : lacking originality or individuality as if mass-produced. a canned speech. 3. slang : drunk sense 1a. Synonyms. apish
- Overview
- 1. Beans
- 2. Canned meat and fish
- 3. Diced tomatoes
- 4. Coconut milk
- 5. Diced green chiles
- 6. Baby corn
- 7. Mandarin oranges
- 8. Olives
- 9. Pumpkin
These days, the last thing I want to do is spend hours and hours in my kitchen making a meal.
Canned foods are a staple in my pantry to add nutrients to my meals and make cooking that much easier. I often stock up on canned garbanzo beans, chicken, diced tomatoes, and black beans so I can quickly make salads, wraps, and soups.
Indeed, canned foods are convenient, inexpensive alternatives to fresh and frozen foods. They make it possible to eat seasonal foods all year round.
While some canned products get a bad rap for their high sodium levels, many unsalted and low salt options exist.
All in all, you don’t have to shop at high end health food stores or spend a lot of money on groceries to improve your health. Canned foods are affordable and can make healthy eating effortless.
Here are 10 of the healthiest canned foods.
Nutrition
Generally, canned beans are high in protein and fiber but low in fat. Eating a high fiber diet is vital for lowering cholesterol and weight. That’s because fiber helps you feel full longer, which may lead you to eat less food overall (1, 2). The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends opting for unsalted canned items. That’s because high salt intake is linked to increased blood pressure, which may raise your risk of stroke, kidney disease, and heart conditions (3, 4). Be sure the label reads “unsalted” or “no salt added.” If the ingredient list includes salt or sodium, it’s best to drain and rinse the beans before use.
Uses
Canned beans work nicely in soups, stews, chilis, salads, fresh salsas, casseroles, meat dishes, and baked desserts.
Canned meat and fish are excellent, inexpensive sources of protein.
Be sure to buy proteins canned in water or brine, not oil or sauces, for their lower calorie and fat content.
For example, 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of tuna canned in oil packs 200 calories and 8 grams of fat, while the same amount of tuna canned in water contains just 90 calories and 1 gram of fat (5, 6).
Salmon, tuna, sardines, and chicken are great canned protein options.
Nutrition
Tomatoes of all sorts contain lycopene, a carotenoid antioxidant that gives this fruit its red color and provides disease-fighting benefits (9). Surprisingly, canned tomatoes boast higher amounts of lycopene than fresh tomatoes (10).
Uses
Diced tomatoes go well in countless dishes, such as soups, pasta, casseroles, pizzas, flatbreads, and lasagna.
Nutrition
Although coconut milk is high in fat, it’s mostly made up of a certain type called medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). Although more research is needed, MCTs may provide greater heart health benefits than butter, such as increasing HDL (good) cholesterol (11, 12, 13).
Uses
Smoothies, soups, dips, sauces, coffee, marinades, and desserts all benefit from coconut milk’s creaminess.
Nutrition
Green chiles are a type of pepper, which are rich in phenolic compounds like capsaicin. Capsaicin is responsible for the burning sensation you feel when you eat hot peppers. It also functions as an antioxidant, fighting unstable molecules called free radicals to help manage heart disease (14, 15, 16). What’s more, just 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of diced green chiles provides 10% of the Daily Value (DV) of vitamin A, which is essential for eye health (14, 17).
Uses
Add green chiles to scrambled eggs, burgers, chili, stir-fries, and sandwiches.
Corn sometimes gets a bad rap since starchy vegetables like corn, potatoes, and winter squash have more carbs than non-starchy veggies like broccoli, mushrooms, and peppers.
However, baby corn is considered a non-starchy vegetable (18).
Nutrition
Just 1 cup (249 grams) of mandarin oranges offers 6% of the DV for folate, 12% of the DV for vitamin A, and 94% of the DV for vitamin C (21). Folate is essential for pregnancy since a deficiency in this nutrient may cause fetal development issues. Today, many foods are fortified with folate to prevent this (22). Eating foods like mandarin oranges that provide vitamin A may help prevent conditions like night blindness (23). Canned mandarin oranges may also help prevent a vitamin C deficiency, which is linked to a poorly functioning immune system (24).
Uses
Enjoy canned mandarin oranges right out of the can, in baked goods, or as a topping for yogurt, cottage cheese, or salads.
Nutrition
Just 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of canned olives offers 7% of the DV for calcium, 35% of the DV for iron, and 11% of the DV for vitamin E (25). Your body needs iron to circulate oxygen via your red blood cells and vitamin E to act as an antioxidant and help fight inflammation (26, 27). Canned olives are also very high in sodium. While sodium is an essential nutrient, too much may lead to high blood pressure (28). As such, it’s important to look for low salt varieties.
Uses
Olives are great on pizzas and sandwiches, as well as in salads, hummus, and tapenade. Many people enjoy them on charcuterie boards.
Nutrition
One cup (245 grams) of canned pumpkin boasts 7 grams of fiber, 45% of the DV for magnesium, 10% of the DV for both potassium and vitamin C, and a whopping 208% of the DV for vitamin A (29). Fiber may help prevent constipation by keeping food moving through your gut, as well as promote weight loss by helping you feel full. Meanwhile, vitamin A is necessary for optimal eye health (17).
Uses
Besides its obvious uses in desserts like pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread, canned pumpkin makes a scrumptious ingredient in soups, smoothies, mousse, pudding, and pasta dishes.
- Del Monte Canned Spinach (Pack of 12) If your spinach always goes bad before you get a chance to eat it, canned spinach is the way to go.
- Poshi Artichoke Hearts (Pack of 10) Cut down on cooking time and go straight to the heart (actually an edible bud) with this steamed pouch of veggies, marinated in basil, thyme and olive oil.
- Green Giant Green Beans (Pack of 4) This pick is low in calories, with only about 20 calories per half cup, so load up.
- La Choy Sliced Water Chestnuts (Pack of 12) Now 30% Off. Water chestnuts are not chestnuts, even though they resemble them before being peeled.
Oct 9, 2019 · Canning is a method used to preserve foods for long periods. There are three main steps: processing, sealing, and heating. How does canning affect nutrient levels? Canned foods are often...
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Apr 29, 2018 · Tomato canning recipes range from simple canned whole tomatoes to exotic tomato jams, and everything in between. Canning Whole Tomatoes; Canning Diced or Crushed Tomatoes; Canning Tomato Sauce; Canning Tomato Paste; Pickled Cherry Tomatoes; Pickled Green Tomatoes; Green Tomato Relish (Chow Chow) Sweet and Savory Tomato Chutney; Tomato Salsa ...
Sep 24, 2021 · The 52 Canned Goods (From Cockles to Corn) Chefs Keep in Their Pantries. By Hilary Reid, a senior editor at The Strategist. 52 items in this article 5 items on sale! Photo: Bobby Doherty, Styling...
Nov 22, 2020 · Canned Fish. Fish is one of the healthiest foods around, but can also be the priciest. Canned fish is a great way to get all of the nutrition at a fraction of the price. I have tuna salad loaded with fresh dill on repeat for a quick and tasty lunch, and make our delicious Spicy Salmon Cakes for dinner in a pinch.
