{"id":11435,"date":"2015-04-02T20:51:53","date_gmt":"2015-04-02T20:51:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/?p=11435"},"modified":"2015-04-02T20:51:57","modified_gmt":"2015-04-02T20:51:57","slug":"are-canned-fruits-and-vegetables-bad-for-my-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/e\/are-canned-fruits-and-vegetables-bad-for-my-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Canned Fruits and Vegetables Bad for My Kids?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Most people are surprised to learn that canned and frozen fruits and vegetables are not bad but good!\u00a0 The nutrient content of canned and frozen fruits and vegetables is comparable to that of fresh fruits and vegetables.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard people say, \u201cIf it isn\u2019t fresh, it doesn\u2019t count.\u201d\u00a0 Thankfully, that just isn\u2019t true.\u00a0 In some cases canned and frozen is even superior in nutrient content than fresh produce.\u00a0 For example studies have shown that fresh tomatoes have less lycopene than canned tomatoes.\u00a0 Lycopene is an antioxidant that is believed to protect against heart disease and certain cancers.\u00a0 Canned and frozen produce is picked at its peak and canned very shortly after being harvesting.\u00a0 Although, some B and C vitamins are lost during canning the majority of the nutrients remain at the same level once they are canned or frozen.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll confess it is a struggle to get the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables for my children and myself.\u00a0 Although, I do find it find reassuring that I can offer fruits and vegetables in a variety of different forms, helping us reach the recommendations.\u00a0 In the summer months we eat more fresh produce and in the winter months we eat a larger variety of fresh, frozen, and canned produce. \u00a0In the winter months it\u2019s harder for me to find a lot of fresh produce that looks good and the cost of fresh produce is often higher in the winter. \u00a0Canned and frozen produce also has a long shelf\/freezer life if stored properly which enables me to always have fruits and vegetables on hand without having to worry about using them up quickly.<\/p>\n<p>When choosing canned and frozen fruits and vegetables keep in mind the following tips:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When possible choose canned fruit in 100% real fruit juice.<\/li>\n<li>If the canned fruit is not available in 100% real fruit juice, then choose canned fruit in light syrup.\u00a0 Drain the syrup before serving.<\/li>\n<li>Choose canned vegetables with \u201cno salt added\u201d or \u201clow sodium\u201d.\u00a0 Research has shown that rinsing off canned vegetables with water reduces the sodium content.<\/li>\n<li>Choose frozen produce without sauces, no added fat, sugar, and sodium.<\/li>\n<li>Store canned fruits and vegetables in a dry and cool place.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t buy canned produce that is in dented or bulging cans.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Take comfort in knowing you are not doing anything wrong by feeding your family frozen and canned produce. Most of us are not getting even close to the recommended amount, so squeeze in fruits and vegetables as many ways as possible. Try this stress free recipe using canned vegetables. It is so good; your kids may even like it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"easyrecipe\" data-rating=\"#rating#\">\n<div class=\"item ERName\">Super Fruit Salad<\/div>\n<div class=\"ERClear\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"ERHead\">Serves: <span class=\"yield\">14<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"ERSummary summary\">An easy and tasty fruit salad that includes canned and fresh fruits!<\/div>\n<div class=\"ERIngredients\">\n<div class=\"ERIngredientsHeader\">Ingredients<\/div>\n<ul class=\"ingredients\">\n<li class=\"ingredient\">1 can (15 oz.) peaches, in 100% juice, drained and diced<\/li>\n<li class=\"ingredient\">1 can (15 oz.) mandarin oranges, in 100% juice or light syrup, drained<\/li>\n<li class=\"ingredient\">3 apples, cored and cubed<\/li>\n<li class=\"ingredient\">2 bananas, sliced<\/li>\n<li class=\"ingredient\">1 cup yogurt, any flavor (I usually use vanilla yogurt)<\/li>\n<li class=\"ingredient\">1 Tablespoon honey<\/li>\n<li class=\"ingredient\">1\/2 teaspoon cinnamon<\/li>\n<li class=\"ingredient\">1\/4 teaspoon ginger<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ERInstructions\">\n<div class=\"ERInstructionsHeader\">Instructions<\/div>\n<div class=\"instructions\">\n<ol>\n<li class=\"instruction\">In a medium sized bowl, combine the prepared fruit.<\/li>\n<li class=\"instruction\">In a separate small bowl, combine yogurt, honey, cinnamon, and ginger.<\/li>\n<li class=\"instruction\">Pour the yogurt over the fruit. Mix well.<\/li>\n<li class=\"instruction\">Refrigerate until ready to serve.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ERNutrition\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"endeasyrecipe\" style=\"display: none;\">3.2.1311<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most people are surprised to learn that canned and frozen fruits and vegetables are not bad but good!\u00a0 The nutrient content of canned and frozen fruits and vegetables is comparable to that of fresh fruits and vegetables.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard people say, \u201cIf it isn\u2019t fresh, it doesn\u2019t count.\u201d\u00a0 Thankfully, that just isn\u2019t true.\u00a0 In some cases canned and frozen is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/e\/are-canned-fruits-and-vegetables-bad-for-my-kids\/\" class=\"read-more\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,780],"tags":[1056,90,1057,1055],"class_list":["post-11435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e","category-nutrition-2","tag-canned-fruit","tag-feeding-children","tag-fresh-fruit","tag-fruit-salad","cat-42-id","cat-780-id"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/canned-fresh-2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11435"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11435"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12551,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11435\/revisions\/12551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}