I love it when the nights get colder and the leaves start to change colors. Autumn is my most favorite season. Not only is the weather cooler and more comfortable (I am not a fan of heat and humidity) but it’s also the start to the holiday season.
There are a few “downsides” to the end of summer. Winter is right around the corner which means snow, shoveling snow and hacking ice off the car window at 6:30 in the morning. Blah!
Another downside to the end of summer is the availability of fresh fruits and veggies from our local farmers market. This time of year the farmer’s markets are no longer open locally. We have to rely on what we can find at our local grocery store. The only problem with that is when fruits and veggies are no longer in season the price skyrockets at the local grocery store.
I need to keep to a budget. I also need to provide my family with healthy fruits and vegetables. My solution? Canned goods.
I know that canned goods often get a bad reputations, but the reality is that canned goods are good for you. A study was conducted by Oregon State University that found that canned peaches were just as nutritious as their fresh counterparts.
These days the process used to canned fruits, vegetables, beans and other products helps to lock in the food’s freshness, nutrients and flavor. Most of the time foods are canned just hours after they are picked.
One of the many benefits of canned foods is that they stay fresh for a long time. I cannot tell you how much food my family has tossed out over the years because it went bad before we could enjoy it. Not only are we wasting good food but it’s also tossing out money too. After all, we’re paying money to buy the foods that we don’t eat in time and have to toss out.
Most canned foods have a long shelf life which means it’s there for you when you need it.
Canned foods are often less expensive than fresh foods and you can usually find great sales where you can stock up on your favorites.
I like to take advantage of sales and stock up as often as possible. I also like to keep a variety of canned goods on hand in my pantry because you know never when you might be preparing a recipe that calls for something. For example, I keep canned mushrooms on hand. Whenever I want to make a recipe that requires mushrooms all I need to do is check in my pantry and see if I have any cans before making a special trip to the market.
When I find that canned foods are going to expire within a month I either donate them to the local food bank (I let them know if they will expire in a month) or I make something such as stew where I toss all the cans of veggies that are about to expire and some stew meat into our crock pot and have a hearty meal ready for my family at dinner time. Yummy!
Having canned foods on hand is also great for power outages. Around here the electricity goes out often in the winter months due to ice that forms on the power lines or trees that come down during blustery snow storms. I like to keep canned foods on hand for my family so we have nothing eat when the power goes out. Some canned soups or pasta meals are fine right out of the can. It doesn’t need to be warmed up.
Here is a great video from Cans Get You Cooking that helps you turn your pantry into a “cantry”.
If you would like a little inspiration on what you can make with canned foods check out the Cans Get You Cooking Pinterest page www.Pinterest.com/CansGetUCooking.
You can also check out the Cans Get You Cooking on Facebook and on YouTube. On their YouTube page there are some great recipes as well.
Do you keep a lot of canned goods in your pantry? What are the “must have” canned goods that you keep on hand all the time? Do you have a favorite recipe you like to make that uses canned foods?
Kimberly
*I am participating in a blogger campaign and received a gift card to shop for canned goods. There was no other compensation. The opinions expressed are my own unless otherwise noted.
judy gardner says
i keep canned green beans on hand all of the time. just about the only beans i dont buy in cans is pinto beans
Olivia Rubin says
Living in south Florida I always have canned goods and water in my pantry. With hurricane season halfway thru, floridians are lucky we haven’t lost any power. I stock up on beans and canned tuna for protein and then canned string beans. And from experience keep a manual can opener on hand…yeah the electric ones are useless if power goes out
Eileen Richter says
I admit I also had heard canned foods have been stripped of their value by heat process, etc. and most carried high sodium. but really, they are so versitile and inexpensive. They last for a LONG time and can be stored easily. We use our fair share for sure. But one thing I wonder about is leaching from the cans themselves…the ones that dont have the protective white “liner” in them. I had heavy metal testing and said I was OFF the charts for tin. I’d eaten fruit cocktail every day for six months straight when I had stomach disorder due to undiagnosed gluten allergies. Not sure If production of the CANS themselves have changed now? Hope so.