The Weekly Spread + "Is Canned Fruit Healthy?"

The Weekly Spread + tips on choosing healthier canned foods

Thank you to everyone who came to cooking class last week! I hope your family loved the tuna casserole as much as I did! One class participant had a question about canned fruit. She was curious if it is healthy for her child. So I thought I would write up some info on canned fruit.

Here’s how I think about fruit:

• It’s important to eat fruit at every meal (breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner)

• Fresh fruit is healthiest, but I run out of it before I can make it back to the store.

• Frozen fruit is just as healthy as fresh fruit, I use it often.

• Canned fruit makes it possible for me to eat fruit at every meal.

  • It is nutritious, but can have added sugar.

  • Some nutrients can be lost during the canning process.

  • Even though it’s not as healthy as fresh fruit, canned fruit is still healthy.

  • It is better to eat canned fruit than to eat no fruit at all!

Here’s some ways to make a healthier choice when choosing canned fruit:

• Buy unsweetened fruit

• Buy fruit packed in FRUIT JUICE (see photo above)

• Avoid buying fruit packed in syrup (avoid all kinds of syrup, light or heavy)

• Look at the label, there should be 0g added sugar (see photo below)

Got more questions about canned fruit? Send me an email: nicolebuhlerRD@gmail.com

Here's my menu for the week:

Sunday: chili + cornbread + fresh oranges

Monday: crock pot cabbage, leek and potato soup + bread + fresh apple slices

image from tasteofhome.com

Tuesday: chinese new year! Salmon + cabbage and ramen salad + frozen stir fry veggies + fresh oranges

image credit: https://www.fromvalerieskitchen.com/ramen-cabbage-salad/

Wednesday: vegetable curry + rice + mango smoothie (using frozen mangoes, I'll be out of fresh fruit by Wednesday, so I'll use frozen or canned the rest of the week)

Thursday: green split pea soup (new recipe for me, never made it before!) + canned pineapple + crackers

image credit: https://www.budgetbytes.com/vegan-split-pea-soup/

Friday: leftover chili + cornbread + canned applesauce

Saturday: ground elk tacos + canned pineapple