This post was sponsored by the Canned Food Alliance. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Hi Friends!
Like I mentioned last week when I shared my Spicy Roasted Garlic Walnut Hummus, February is National Heart Month. Since it’s such an important month, I’m back again this week to talk a bit more about it and share some canned food recipes thanks to my friends at the Canned Food Alliance.
It just so happens that February is also Canned Food Month, which makes sense because many canned foods are packed with nutrients that make them good for your heart! Canned foods are picked at the peak of ripeness and then the canning process helps lock in their nutrients so when you eat them, you’re eating super nutritious and delicious foods!
Although fresh foods are a great choice, it’s important to remember that fresh fruits and veggies are losing nutrients as they travel across the country and while sitting in the grocery store. And when it comes to nutrition, all forms count. A mix of canned, fresh, frozen and dried foods can help you get all the nutrients you need and canned foods are a great option if, for example, certain produce isn’t in season near you.
Stocking up on canned fruits and vegetables and canned protein sources like tuna and beans is a great way to fill your pantry to help ensure you always have these healthy staples on hand to make quick canned food recipes for healthy weeknight meals!
Let’s take a second to highlight just a few of my favorite heart-healthy canned foods and some recipes to inspire you to use them:
10 Canned Food Recipes
1) Canned Tuna – it’s a great source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids that can help protect against heart disease.
Try these:
Tuna Quinoa Cakes
Curried Tuna Salad with Apples
2) Canned Beans – a great source of both protein and fiber. One serving of beans can help you meet 20% or more of your daily fiber needs and adequate fiber intake can help guard against heart disease.
I’m partial to black beans so you’ll see them in a lot of my recipes but remember that there are all sorts of great varieties of beans to choose from including white, navy, pinto and kidney beans!
Add them to soups and casseroles for an easy nutritional boost or try these recipes:
Black Bean Guacamole
Black Bean Meatless Meatballs
Mexican Skillet Casserole
3) Canned Pumpkin – loaded with beta carotene which can help protein against heart disease. Plus the canning process leads to canned pumpkin containing an even higher concentration of beta carotene than fresh pumpkin!
Enjoy it year round, not just at Thanksgiving with these delicious recipes:
Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins
Pumpkin Apple Oatmeal Protein Pancakes
Pumpkin Energy Balls
4) Canned Tomatoes – Lycopene, the compound that helps give tomatoes their vibrant color may also protect against heart disease!
Think sauces and beyond with these recipes:
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One final note – be sure to look for low-sodium or no-salt-added canned products. Rinsing things like fruits, veggies and beans can also help reduce the amount of sodium!
Let’s chat:
Which canned foods are staples in your pantry?
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
LEARN HOW FOOD AFFECTS YOUR BODY.
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Canned Tuna, Sardines, Oysters, Clams, Salmon, Mackerel = THE BEST THING ON THE fact of the planet and 10000% affordable! A 15 oz can of Mackerel, which is by far one of the healthiest fish out there, is only $1.99 at most stores, and it’s utterly delicious! 🙂 I also adore canned pumpkin too of course! ha ha ha!
i need to try mackerel!
lots of beans with no salt added and i still rinse them every time!
I used to live off of canned food in college also the freezer section because my local grocery store ALWAYS had sales and this type of food stores forever so I would literally stock my pantry and freezer for a fourth of the cost! Thanks for sharing all of this information! xo C
yes! such a moneysaver!
No joke, dinner right now is out of a can- Canned salmon patties! I know canned food gets so much flack but it’s one of my staples! thanks for all the suggestions!
love keeping canned salmon on hand for salmon cakes! so good!
maybe not expected but I always keep pumpkin in our pantry – can pumpkin + spice cake mix = AMAZING dessert/bfast to take anywhere last second!
sounds so good right now!
All of the same as you mentioned! We use a lot of beans, tomatoes and broth.
We always have canned pumpkin, tuna fish and low sodium beans. Perfect for whipping up something quick.
Can I admit that I’m a bit of a canning hoarder? Don’t really understand why! So maybe I can use these recipes to start culling my collection!
haha i go through spurts where i hoard and then use them all up, then hoard again!
My canned staples are – chopped tomatoes, tuna, mackerel and pumpkin. I actually find that tinned tomatoes and pumpkin are of better quality than those you find fresh!
Great to get a big boost of nutrition at a cheaper cost! Good post to bring awareness!
i agree. canned pumpkin is the best!
I feel pumpkin is forgotten about except during the fall when it can be consumed year round. Canned butternut squash is my latest obsession. I always have chickpeas and tuna on hand as well.
oooh gonna have to look for that squash!
Canned food, yes easily available and easy to store, but don’t you think, still old fashioned fresh food is still better, if we are talking about health?
not always! fresh food that sits a long time loses nutrients quickly!
I always have a variety of beans, tomatoes, tuna and coconut milk.
coconut milk is a staple in my pantry as well!
Canned foods tend to get a bad rep and sadly, it’s very rare to find BPA-free cans over here. I still buy all legumes canned, though, because I don’t own a pressure cooker so – while certainly cheaper – don’t cook beans from scratch. Do you happen to have any safe information on how harmful non-BPA cans are? I wish I had a choice here 🙁 .
there’s some new info coming out that bpa might not be as bad as once thought so keep an eye out for that!
I always have canned fire-roasted tomatoes, pumpkin, and a variety of beans
I eat most of these on the regular! I always have canned tomatoes and beans in the pantry for a quick soup, sauce, etc.
Canned beans and tuna are always in my pantry for sure!
I always have pumpkin and beans in my pantry, but I never think to make full meals from canned foods. What a money saver!
definitely a cheap, healthy option!
We use a lot of the same- beans, tomatoes and tuna. So easy and fast to have on hand!
nothing better than a quick meal!
Tuna for sure! But we get the packets, the flavored, although I’m not sure how clean they are b/c of the added flavor, but we love the sweet and spicy flavor dumped on a salad!
yum! great choice!
These are ALL staples I always have on hand at home AND in my dorm 😉
Nice tinned food recipes.. I go for tinned tuna and butter beans.. Butter beans are great for making veggie burgers..
thanks
chris
We live off canned food. haha OK, maybe not, but we use a lot of it – especially beans and tomatoes!
Canned tuna, no-salt added beans, tomatoes/tomato paste, light coconut milk, waterchestnuts – these are just some of the canned staples you’ll find in my pantry!
oh waterchestnuts, good one!
Such a great post!! It makes me sad when people make blanket statements that canned foods are bad because there are so many healthy ones that I use all the time! Beans, tuna, chicken, and tomatoes are what we use most.
i agree. there are def some great options out there!
Love this! Canned foods often get a bad rap, but they’re super fresh when processed & can be lower in sodium making them a great & cheap way to get veggies in!
i agree!
There are so many more options these days!!! Label reading is my friend! Thx Lindsay!
Canned foods get a bad wrap. Many of my patients though need to use canned foods because they are more affordable.
i think they’re a great option!
Please tell me what all you use the canned pumpkin for. Other than pie. thanks
it’s great to use when baking in things like muffins! or you can check out the pumpkin energy balls recipe on my site for a snack!
I think the canned foods I tend to have the most of are beans. I love the convenience of canned things and I am glad that I am not shortchanging my nutrition by using them!
definitely not!! they’re a great choice!