Revisiting Canned Vegetables and Fruit

hearlady

hearlady

Basic Member
Location
N Carolina
I haven't used canned vegetables or fruit in a long time. I use canned tomatoes, yes, quite a lot. There's other exceptions like canned pumpkin and a few others but not green beans, peas, carrots, etc. Maybe in a three bean salad.
The point is that in my mind canned vegetables were bland and non nutritive. Kept in the cabinet for emergencies or an occasional recipe.
Fresh was best and next frozen and that's still true but I've been reading more on canned veggies and some like carrots and corn are very nutritious.
Before I go on I've always felt it was impossible to "eat the rainbow" and fit all these veggies in.
In coming across a video on how to make canned veggies taste good my interest was peaked. Oh, you RINSE them to get the salt and yucky taste out. Then you simmer down with garlic and spices.
Before you tell me you knew this all along, I know. I didn't.
I've been making combinations and they're a hit.
It will be so much easier to get more veggies in without much effort. I'll still go fresh first, then frozen, but my options have just increased.
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I’d never use canned veg due to the salt content ( mind you I was guilty of buying cans during lockdown ) most of which I donated to a panty / combined op shop ( charity shop )

I buy frozen mixed veg ( cauli carrot broccoli and beans in one pack ) and frozen beans ,
I buy Most of my fresh veg in season fresh like cauli / beans / Brussels / carrots ( only have frozen on hand as a back up )

For a lazy meal I cook pumpkin/ silver beet and potato in the same pot ..drain WELL ..mash it all together when cooked …then lightly fry ……( I sorta fry till it stops steaming ..so it’s a bit dried out and forms a light brown crust ) so its not soggy .

You can do that with lots of veggies , altho I don’t like cabbage that much I make a mix as described with cabbage in place of the silver beet ( it’s like spinach ) I very got it growing in my garden

have it on toast with a crispy bottom fried egg on top ..Aussies ….like me 👍call it bubble and squeak
 
Pepper said:
A Coincidence @hearlady :ROFLMAO: For a few days now I've had a craving for canned Fruit Cocktail!
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I just made a dessert with fruit cocktail (Wal-Mart sells a chunky version), cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. DH enjoyed it. You can adjust the sweetness. I didn't add much condensed milk. Thinned it with the juice.
 
Kadee said:
I’d never use canned veg due to the salt content ( mind you I was guilty of buying cans during lockdown ) most of which I donated to a panty / combined op shop ( charity shop )

I buy frozen mixed veg ( cauli carrot broccoli and beans in one pack ) and frozen beans ,
I buy Most of my fresh veg in season fresh like cauli / beans / Brussels / carrots ( only have frozen on hand as a back up )

For a lazy meal I cook pumpkin/ silver beet and potato in the same pot ..drain WELL ..mash it all together when cooked …then lightly fry ……( I sorta fry till it stops steaming ..so it’s a bit dried out and forms a light brown crust ) so its not soggy .

You can do that with lots of veggies , altho I don’t like cabbage that much I make a mix as described with cabbage in place of the silver beet ( it’s like spinach ) I very got it growing in my garden

have it on toast with a crispy bottom fried egg on top ..Aussies ….like me 👍call it bubble and squeak
Click to expand...
Rinsing helps with the salt. I'll probably start buying no salt organic versions but for now I need to use up what I have. I'm just trying something new but do prefer fresh or frozen.
 
I remember always seeing "no salt added" versions and thought, Oh, let's make canned vegetables worse" but now I see the value.
I swear if it wasn't for YouTube I'd have stop learning new random stuff long ago. 😁
 
I use some canned vegetables - sweet corn, diced beetroot, crushed tomatoes, kidney beans

Peas - I always use frozen ones.

Other veg I use regularly- carrots, zucchini, beans, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, capsicums, whole tomatoes - I use fresh
 
I'm still using up pandemic rations before they go bad. Today I opened a pack of canned pears in pear juice.

I mashed and pressed a few cans to start. The juice went through a strainer and the solids got divvied into sandwich bags and frozen. I'll be adding those solids as sweetener to oatmeal.

The juice was great over crushed ice, with some carbonated water mixed in.

Most of my remaining cans are forms of tomato or beans though.
 
If you buy 'reduced sodium' and/or 'no salt added', there is no need for the rinsing.
Besides rinsing doesn't remove what salt got into the vegetable, just what on the surface.

I tend to prefer frozen over canned... cheaper in my area and less bulky recycling.
 
I usually buy the 12 ounce steam in the bag frozen vegetables at around a dollar a bag.

I also buy frozen mirepoix, peppers and onions, etc… because I don’t cook much anymore.

Like others, I use a few canned favorites.

I can’t say that I eat the rainbow but I do make an effort to bake a sweet potato, cook fresh carrots and eat at least one raw fruit or vegetable each day.

I also take a multivitamin each day to ward off evil spirits. 😉🤭😂
 
I ate string beans ALOT last year. A local discount store got pallets of them. They were top name. The discount price started at .75, then dropped to .50, then .10 then .05 then FREE No gmo as well.
 
Thank you for this tip Hearlady! I felt like you about canned vegetables, especially green beans. I will have to try your method. I need to use up what I have and replenish my stock.
 
That Lady in PA said:
If you buy 'reduced sodium' and/or 'no salt added', there is no need for the rinsing.
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Yep... I've been buying no salt added peas, corn (although I don't like canned corn), green beans, etc. Never once missed it. I also buy no salt added tomatoes... petite diced, sauce, paste, and crushed. I honestly have not been able to tell the difference with any of the tomato products. If salt is absolutely needed for the other veggies, that's where a salt substitute would come in, but I toss them in veggie soup and other things like casseroles. Now if it would just be so easy to deal with excessive sugar in food! :unsure:
 
dilettante said:
I'm still using up pandemic rations before they go bad. Today I opened a pack of canned pears in pear juice.

I mashed and pressed a few cans to start. The juice went through a strainer and the solids got divvied into sandwich bags and frozen. I'll be adding those solids as sweetener to oatmeal.

The juice was great over crushed ice, with some carbonated water mixed in.

Most of my remaining cans are forms of tomato or beans though.
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Same with mine.. almost all of my canned goods are Beans, corn Tuna or peas the latter which I add to home made soup..I can't stand frozen peas because they're sweet, whereas the canned ones are processes so no sugar...
 
Never been a fan of canned veggies, especially peas and green beans. Frozen, yes, but never canned. Some fruit -- packed in its own juices -- definitely OK, but I can't remember the last time I bought a can of any kind of fruit or veggie except for tomatoes.
 

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