Healthy canned food
By tehpau
@tehpau (340)
Malaysia
March 25, 2013 10:34pm CST
Can food is a convenience. From vegetables, fruits, beans, fish to meat, we have it all. In order to keep food in cans, I think they are filled with preservatives. Some mentioned no preservatives but often there are other added food conditioners or binders. Is there healthy canned food? What should we look out for on the labels?
1 person likes this
9 responses
@alpha9180 (301)
• Malaysia
26 Mar 13
I seldom buy canned food as I was told it is not healthy. The only canned food which I have is baked bean and occasionally sardine/mackerel canned food. So, I am sorry not able to help you. But I did a search and you may want to have a look at the below link:
(not a referral link)
https://www.cardiosmart.org/~/media/Documents/Fact%20Sheets/en/zp3907.ashx
1 person likes this
@neelia27 (896)
• Philippines
26 Mar 13
as much as possible eat natural and healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables.. but sometimes we cant help but to eat also canned goods which is more convenient for us because we can eat it anytime and it taste good too.. once in a while canned good will not harm us..
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
26 Mar 13
There can be healthy canned foods using natural preservatives such as vinegar, sugar and salt. They are hard to find in stores though and are often much more expensive. As I can my own foods with out chemical preservatives to keep color I will say there are healthy canned items.
@stealthy (8181)
• United States
26 Mar 13
Salt is not a healthy natural preservative. Besides being very bad for people with high blood pressure problems, a recent study showed that salt is responsible for a large percent of early deaths. I use a lot of canned goods and I have begun to try to get the no salt added ones as much as possible.
@doroffee (4222)
• Hungary
27 Mar 13
I don't think any canned food is healthy. If not for anything else, I don't think it's not doing any harm to store these things in metal cans. But I sometimes eat canned products, I'm not a huge health junkie. I don't think they are that harmful for the body if we eat them with measure.
@dagami (1158)
• Rome, Italy
26 Mar 13
i always buy tuna in cans and they do not use chemical preservatives for this. they use salt and oil. it is not always possible and/or convenient to buy the fresh products so there is no alternative but to resort to canned goods. when one leads a very hectic lifestyle, there isn't always much time for cooking. just be careful to look out for the expiry dates on the labels, especially if you're buying large quantities.
@joizee (502)
• Philippines
8 Apr 13
I do stock on canned goods, mainly for convenience. Saves time, energy and money in food preparation. I believed that anything canned were processed at the peak of their ripeness or freshness, to ensure higher quality. Too ripe food can lead to faster spoilage but for unripe ones, it can affect absorption of flavor or preservatives. For me, less ingredients, less harmful. The more familiar the ingredients are, the more you're confident they are not harmful. You must be very keen on dates too: the manufacturing and expiry. Actually, I prefer foods preserved in bottles than cans. Cans are made of aluminium that has reaction to some acids in foods. Bottled or boxed food are better options than cans.
@ladysurvivor (4746)
• Malaysia
26 Mar 13
Hi,
I understand about your situation. I believe that the main reason why you would want to buy canned food is due to its convenience. I myself am very much grateful if I could find a complete array of can foods that are healthy. This means I don't have to cook much anymore, and we don't even have to go out if we want to eat cooked food. I wonder if there is any healthy canned food out there, though.
You know what? Instead of eating canned food you can actually get to eat healthy food without having to spend a lot of time every day cooking for your meal. I suggest that whenever you have the time, it's best to go out and shop for grocery stuff and cook a large batch of food on the same day. If you have more time then you might want to cook varieties of dishes on the same day, and make sure that it is in large amount. Then, pack them into individual containers and keep them in the freezer. Every time you want to eat, simply take out one container and let it defrost naturally, say leave the container about one or two hours in room temperature.
After your food is completely defrosted, then you can simply reheat it with your microwave oven or the regular electric oven. You can also use your pan but this is a more time-consuming task and you have to wash the pan afterwards, so it's not that convenient. If you are using the microwave oven, make sure that you use a microwave-safe container so that you don't have to change into another container when you want to reheat your food.
All in all, work smart and you can definitely eat healthy food without having to buy the canned ones. At the same time you don't have to cook every single day. Just cook whenever you are free, but cook in large amount so that you can keep your food for other days and feel the amazing convenience.
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
26 Mar 13
Sorry I can't help you because for one I really don't buy canned foods because I have always been healthy conscious. It is hard to find healthy canned foods unless you go to health store but the disadvantage is they have expensive stuffs there more often than not. So as for me I don't really trust canned food. So why would I buy canned when fresh is available and always the best choice?