Tag Archives: canned foods

Dr. Oz Calls Organic Eaters “Elite” and Promotes Canned Vegetables

Oh, Dr. Oz what have you done now? Just this week an article titled “What to Eat Now: The Anti-Food-Snob Diet” was released in Time Magazine. Dr. Oz wrote lengthy reasons as to why frozen and canned foods were just as healthy as organic products. A man’s entitled to his opinion, right? So what’s the big deal? Well, the organic community is up in arms because the good doctor used to be on their side promoting organic food as the safest, most healthy option. And when they say “used to be,” they mean like two months ago. It seems the famous doctor has got some explaining to do.

In the Time article Dr. Oz says there is very little difference between the produce at the farmers market and the products in the freezer section or canned food aisle.

Dr. Oz said, “After several years of research and experience, I have come to an encouraging conclusion: the American food supply is abundant, nutritionally sound, affordable and, with a few simple considerations, comparable to the most elite organic diets.”

Many people did not take kindly to being called “elite” because they have chosen to heed the advice of many experts and shop organic. Dr. Oz also referred to those who purchase organics as the 1%.

“Save the cash: the 99% diet can be good for you,” he wrote.

Interestingly though, writer and editor of NaturalNews.com, Mike Adams, pulled out one of Dr. Oz’s quotes from just two months ago. In October 2024, Dr. Oz stated, “so you’re being told organic food is no more nutritious than conventional and it’s not worth your extra money. Well I’m here to say that it is worth the investment. Why do I say that? Pesticides.” (more…)

Posted on December 10, 2024 by Lacy

Canned Peaches Can be a Healthy Alternative for National Peach Month

With National Peach Month upon us, there are a lot of tempting fresh peach recipes to make with seasonal stone fruit. If you live in a part of the country where fresh peaches are unavailable, it’s still possible to celebrate peaches during the month of August with the canned and frozen fruits in your grocery store.

According to Alison Lewis, nutritionist and founder of Ingredients, Inc., canned fruits are comparable to fresh and frozen fruit when looking at nutritional values.

The Pros

“Eating canned peaches can be healthy,” said Lewis, “Canned peaches sometimes retain more nutrients than fresh because they are picked fully ripe and then processed right away. Fresh fruit may be picked before they are ripe and may travel long distances and suffer improper storage conditions which means nutrients may be destroyed along the way.”

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Posted on August 2, 2024 by Maris

BPA Levels in Canned Tomatoes Threaten Your Family’s Health

It looks like BPA strikes again and this time our canned tomatoes and beans are under attack.

Just a few years ago bisphenol-A, or BPA, a toxic chemical that has been linked to biological problems and developmental problems in the young, was found in many popular reusable water bottles and baby bottles. This discovery gained lots of attention and called for a major change in the manufacturing of many products.

Now it is being found that the lining of most cans contains a resin that can pick up the toxin BPA. Canned tomatoes are more susceptible due to their acidic properties; the acid increases the rate at which BPA is absorbed into food. This is found to be true for canned soda and canned beans as well.

The risk that this poses is argued to be significant, especially for children under the age of six. Due to their smaller size, the levels of BPA that children are exposed to is higher than that of adults. Children also metabolize BPA slower therefore the toxins stay in their systems longer causing a higher risk for damage to their developing bodies.

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Posted on June 23, 2024 by Lacy

The Truth About Canned Tuna: Is it a Healthy Choice?

Formerly “weight challenged,” Denis Faye dropped 50 pounds following a 5-year jaunt through Australia, a trip that helped him become the extreme sports and fitness enthusiast he is today. His sports include swimming, scuba, rock climbing, spelunking, mountain biking, trekking, and—most importantly—surfing. He’s been a professional journalist for 20 years, writing for Outside, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine, Wired, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, GQ, Surfer, and Pacific Longboarder. Denis now writes for Beachbody, which provides effective home workout dvds such as the very popular P90x program and the cardio workout dvd, TurboFire.

If ever a food confused health conscious eaters, it’s canned tuna. On one side, there’s the ascetic dieter, who eats the stuff right from the tin along side his single celery stick. On the other side, there’s your mom’s awesome cream-of-mushroom soup-drenched tuna casserole, which is trumped anti-nutritionally only by that greasy diner mainstay, the tuna melt. (True fact: in many restaurants, the tuna melt outdoes the hamburger for both calories and fat.)

And then there are the questions of mercury and overfishing and omega-3 fatty acids. Is this a healthy food or not? What’s a fish eater to do?

Fortunately, once you break it down, it’s not that complicated. As it turns out, a can of tuna can be healthy, ethical, and yummy – as long as your get your hands on the right can.

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Posted on May 21, 2024 by GuestBlogger

BPA Compound in Food Cans May Cause Health Problems

The more I learn about what is involved with our food supply, the more I want to make an effort to buy locally grown foods…

BPA, or bisphenol A, is a chemical inside some plastics and most canned foods you eat. What’s the problem with that? The chemical can slowly leach into water or food over time, which creates potential health problems like cancer, disruption to thyroid function, and obesity.

“It’s particularly concerning when it’s lining infant formula cans,” said Shanna Swan, a professor and researcher at the University of Rochester in New York.

BPA is used to keep food fresher longer and prevents it from interacting with metal and altering the taste.

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Posted on June 15, 2024 by Jason

How to Afford Eating Healthy in a Comfort Food Economy

It’s no secret that the economy stinks these days. According to a survey by a Chicago-based research firm, people are passing on the healthier options offered at fast food and casual dining restaurants in favor of a super-sized serving of comfort. Eighty-two percent of respondents say their better-for-you items are selling ‘lousy.” Customers are citing economic factors for their preferences.grocery shopping mom

More than half of consumers say they are more concerned about their eating habits than they were a year ago… yet:

  • 70% say that healthful foods are harder to afford
  • 53% say they buy less-healthful items because those items are cheaper (not necessarily, as I wrote about the price of salmon vs. hotdogs)
  • 44% say their budget prevents them from eating healthful foods
  • 34% of respondents say that they are choosing cheaper fast food over more-healthful options
  • 9% are skipping breakfast and 3% are skipping lunch

To that, I say, this is totally unnecessary. People may think they are saving, but trust me, they are paying for it in their health. They’ll pay even more later whether it’s in some combination of weight gain, lower energy levels or poorer quality of life.

Instead, here are some tips to maximize your comfort with minimal strain on your pocketbook. (more…)

Posted on October 8, 2024 by Rebecca

Affordable Nutrition in Frozen and Canned Foods

Now that fall is on its way, the fresh summer bounty is dwindling down; but the truth is your diet doesn’t have to hibernate for the winter. You can get lots of great foods in the canned and frozen food aisles that are full of nutrition at a price that will have you dancing to the cash register. In this post, I’ll share some of my favorite picks and recipe ideas.canned black beans

Canned beans

Not just the “musical fruit,” beans provide complex carbohydrates, protein, and fiber. In fact, a one-cup serving provides one-third of your day’s protein needs, half your fiber needs, and 65% of your folate needs (an important B-complex vitamin that helps prevent osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, anemia, and homocysteine buildup in the blood). For less than a dollar a can, you can-not go wrong! Try cannelini beans, black beans, kidney beans, lentils and black-eyed peas. You can buy them with no salt added, low sodium, or rinse them before use to remove about half the salt.

Recipe ideas: add to salads, home-made bean dip, three bean chili, and breakfast burritos. (more…)

Posted on September 24, 2024 by Rebecca

Top 10 Must-Have Pantry Basics

pantry-basicsSo, you’ve got a busy life.  Classes, work, errands, a few kids thrown in the mixture that have this annoying habit of wanting to eat on a regular schedule.  What’s a busy mom to do?  Well, wait – scratch that.  A busy mom might not think twice about hitting the drive-thru a few times a week.  That’s not great for your wallet, and it definitely plays havoc on your health.  I’m trying to focus more on the healthy side of the balance, though, and fast-food drive-ins don’t play well.  So here’s a list of items that I keep on hand all the time to make a quick, healthy meal on the fly.

1 – Canned Beans. HUGE amounts of flavor, fiber and protein, and low in both fat and calories.

2- Whole Grain Pasta. Quick cooking and high in protein, you can make virtually anything – pasta salad, serve it with sauce, mix it with beans.

3- Frozen Vegetables and Fruits. Flash frozen straight from the field, they have a surprisingly high vitamin content and you can add them to tomato sauce to help fill little tummies.  Frozen fruits make excellent smoothies, perfect for a fast breakfast. (more…)

Posted on May 5, 2024 by Carmen

Canned Goods Don’t Last Forever

open-canAre you stocking up your cabinet with canned goods, prepping for the impending world economic apocalypse? Well, if the doom doesn’t come, you’ll still need to eat the food that’s taking up all that space. Just don’t think you can sit on canned goods until the end of time. Contrary to popular belief, they don’t last forever.

Commercially prepared canned food has a long shelf life. But like all good things, they eventually come to an end. The ending date just depends on the kind of food you’re talking about. This is how it works, according to the Department of Agriculture: (more…)

Posted on April 9, 2024 by Jason