Canned Veggies are Not cheating

Canned Vegetables Are Not Cheating

Somewhere along the way, healthy eating developed a public relations department. According to them, every vegetable should be freshly harvested from a picturesque farmers market at 7:14 on a Saturday morning.

There should be a wicker basket. Possibly a sun hat. You should lovingly select each green bean while chatting with the farmer who grew it. Then you go home and prepare it immediately in your spotless kitchen while sunlight streams through the window.

That’s lovely.

I have canned green beans. And I would like to formally announce:

They count.

I Am Not Auditioning for a Cooking Show

I’m learning to cook more vegetables now, and I’ve actually discovered that I enjoy experimenting with fresh ones. I’ve learned what to do with bok choy. I’ve cooked leeks, as well as fennel. I’ve sautéed zucchini and mushrooms.

I’ve stood in my kitchen holding unfamiliar produce and wondered why I voluntarily brought it into my home. We’re making progress.

But I also work.

I have a family.

Sometimes I’m tired.

Sometimes I don’t want to wash, trim, peel, chop, dice, julienne, massage, blanch or otherwise emotionally support a vegetable before I’m allowed to eat it.

Sometimes I want to open a can. Pssssssht. Vegetable accomplished.

Convenience Is Not a Character Flaw

One thing I’m learning as I work on eating differently is that food doesn’t have to be difficult to be worthwhile.

Fresh vegetables are wonderful.

Frozen vegetables are wonderful.

Canned vegetables can be wonderful, too.

They all have a place in my kitchen. Canned and frozen vegetables have one enormous advantage:

They’re waiting for me.

The fresh zucchini in my refrigerator and I have a limited contractual relationship. Eventually one of us must act.

The canned green beans? Patient. Reliable. No pressure. They could probably survive a minor apocalypse. I respect that in a vegetable.

But What About the Sodium?

This is where I actually pay attention to labels. Traditional canned vegetables can contain quite a bit of added sodium, so when I have a choice, I look for cans labeled “no salt added” or “low sodium.”

And this is important: I turn the can around. Because the front of the package is advertising.

The Nutrition Facts panel is where the interrogation begins.

How much sodium is in one serving?

How many servings are actually in the can?

Am I realistically going to eat one serving, or am I about to eat half this can while pretending serving sizes are merely suggestions from management?

These are useful things to know. If I’m using regular canned vegetables rather than no-salt-added ones, draining and rinsing them can also remove some of the sodium.

Drain.

Rinse.

Proceed with dinner.

Nobody from the Farmers Market Enforcement Division will be notified.

Frozen Vegetables Are Also Invited

Then we have frozen vegetables. I love the concept of vegetables sitting patiently in my freezer waiting for the exact moment when I realize:

“Oh. Apparently dinner requires a vegetable.”

Steamable bags are particularly brilliant.

Microwave.

Open.

Season.

Eat.

You can also toss frozen vegetables into skillets, soups and other dishes depending on what you’re making.

Just be aware that frozen vegetables can release water as they cook, which matters if you’re trying to get that lovely browned skillet texture instead of accidentally creating Vegetable Swamp.

I’ve met Vegetable Swamp. We are not friends.

The Trick Is Making Them Taste Good

This may be the biggest lesson I’ve learned. I used to think eating healthier meant putting a sad pile of vegetables on my plate and accepting my punishment.

No.

Absolutely not.

Season the vegetables.

Garlic powder.

Onion powder.

Black pepper.

Paprika.

Italian seasoning.

Lemon.

A little Parmesan.

A little olive oil.

Whatever works with the meal you’re making.

“No salt added” does not mean “no flavor allowed.” And if you’re reducing sodium, experimenting with herbs, spices, acids like lemon or vinegar, and other flavorful ingredients becomes even more useful. Healthy food does not receive bonus points for tasting depressing.

If I don’t enjoy it, I’m probably not going to keep eating it.

My Pantry Needs Backup Singers

I’m becoming more adventurous with fresh vegetables, and I’m proud of that. But I’m not throwing away the canned ones because I’ve graduated to some higher level of vegetable citizenship.

Quite the opposite. I want options. Fresh zucchini and mushrooms when I feel like cooking. Fresh bok choy when I’m feeling adventurous. Frozen vegetables when I need something fast. Canned green beans when the evening has gone completely off the rails.

That’s not cheating.

That’s having a functioning kitchen.

Because here’s what I’m figuring out about changing the way I eat:

The best foods to keep around aren’t necessarily the ones that would look prettiest spread across a wooden table in a magazine. They’re the foods that make it easier for me to make a decent choice when I’m tired, hungry and don’t particularly feel like making a decent choice.

That’s when convenience matters most.

The Vegetable Does Not Need a Pedigree

So if you have cans of green beans in your pantry?

Use them.

If frozen cauliflower saves dinner?

Excellent.

If you bought pre-cut vegetables because chopping everything yourself sounded exhausting?

Welcome aboard.

And if you occasionally buy gorgeous fresh vegetables and spend an evening learning how to cook something you’ve never tried before? That’s pretty wonderful, too. There is room for all of it.

I’m trying to build a way of eating that works in my actual life, not an imaginary life in which I leisurely visit farmers markets every morning and somehow never have dishes in the sink.

So I’m keeping the cans. I’m keeping the freezer bags. And I’m going to keep experimenting with fresh vegetables, too. Because the goal isn’t to become the person with the most impressive produce drawer.

The goal is to eat the vegetables.

However they got into my kitchen.

⸻

A Word From the Pantry

CANNED GREEN BEANS: We have been here for six months waiting for this recognition.

ME: You’re welcome.

FRESH BOK CHOY: She was afraid of me.

ME: I WAS CAUTIOUS.

FROZEN CAULIFLOWER: Should we mention the bag she forgot about in the back of the freezer?

ME: This interview is over.

😂

Bottom line: Fresh, frozen and canned vegetables can all be part of a nutritious diet. When buying canned vegetables, checking the sodium on the Nutrition Facts label and choosing no-salt-added or lower-sodium versions when available can make them especially useful for people watching their sodium intake.

Open the can. Eat the vegetables. It counts. ❤️

There are so many imaginary rules wrapped around “healthy eating”:

Fresh is better than frozen.

Frozen is better than canned.

You should cook everything from scratch.

You should meal-prep on Sunday.

You should buy organic.

You should lovingly massage your kale while contemplating your life choices. 😂

Meanwhile, somebody who’s tired after work looks at all those rules and thinks, “Well, I can’t do all THAT.”

But it doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing.

A fresh zucchini you sliced yourself? Great.

A steamable bag you threw in the microwave? Great.

No-salt-added green beans you opened with a can opener because you have approximately six minutes and zero enthusiasm? STILL GREAT.