by Joshua Hardwick
Eating healthily is becoming increasingly difficult in the modern world. There are fast food takeaways around every corner, no matter where you live. This has led to a lot of problems around the world with obesity and more importantly, general health. Eating the wrong foods will not only increase your weight, but it will also deprive your body of the nutrients and vitamins that it needs to function properly.
A lot of people think that eating healthily is the hardest thing in the world to do. In order to do it, you will need to spend hours preparing fresh-looking salads. This is a common misconception however; as you can actually eat healthily quite easily. Believe it or not, there are actually some hugely nutritious pre-packed foods out there.
In this article, we are going to introduce you to five of the healthiest pre-packed and tinned foods out there that are also guaranteed to taste great.
#1 – Tinned Tomatoes
Tinned tomatoes are one of the best tinned foods that you can buy. They are packed with vitamins and nutrients that your body needs. Of course, tinned tomatoes aren’t a standalone food but they can be used to make a number of great recipes. In fact, tinned tomatoes are the base for many great meals including curries, pasta dishes, pizzas, soups, stews and more.
Another fantastic thing about tinned tomatoes is that they are so readily available. They are available from almost any supermarket and they are pretty cheap too. Tinned tomatoes are great sources of fibre as well as vitamin C. They also contain a good amount of vitamin B6; yet another essential vitamin when it comes to nutrition.
Being tinned, these tomatoes also have a lengthy shelf life, so you can stock up well in advance if you’re planning recipes further down the line.
You can also crush tomatoes at home and save it for later use.
#2 – Bananas
You might not think of these as pre-packed foods but essentially, they are. Bananas are often sold in small bunches from any good, local supermarket as well as grocery stores. They are perhaps one of the most nutritious and low cost fruits out there. One of the great things about bananas is that they are available almost all year round and the price doesn’t change too much either.
Bananas are absolutely fantastic as a healthy snack and being so cheap, you can afford to have a few of them a week on most budgets. Bananas are great sources of Vitamin B6, Vitamin C and Manganese (an extremely important nutrient within the body).
#3 – Beans
Now, we couldn’t make this list without mentioning beans as they are more than likely already part of everyone’s diet. If this is the case, then the good news is that they are one of the healthiest foods out there. Beans are often pre-packed (both tinned and packaged). Almost all kinds of beans are high in protein, fibre, iron and many other essential nutrients.
However, when purchasing beans, you need to be a bit wary. This is because a lot of people will buy beans that are tinned along with a sauce. Often, this sauce isn’t the healthiest of sauces because it can be packed with preservatives. You are better off buying beans on your own and incorporating them into your own recipes; this way, you know exactly what you’re eating.
Try incorporating them into a stew or chilli for great results.
#4 – Lentils
Lentils are often missed out of healthy food lists. We aren’t too sure why this is. Lentils are probably one of the healthiest foods around (pre-packed or not) and once again, they are cheap. In the US and other western countries, lentils aren’t that popular but in many other countries around the world, they are eaten multiple times a day, and it is easy to see why.
Lentils are a fantastic source of fibre, iron, protein, vitamin B6, zinc, manganese and much more. You body needs all of these things to stay healthy so we are sure you can see why these are so great. Lentils are also pre-packed and you only need around a quarter of a cup per serving.
#5 – Peanut butter
This might seem like a bit of a strange one to add to this list. It is probably not something you have ever thought of as being healthy, but the truth is that it is. Yes, peanut butter is pretty high in fat, so you shouldn’t eat too much of this, but the good news is that it is the good kind of fat.
Peanut butter is readily available and is a great source of fibre, protein, vitamin E, manganese and many other vital nutrients. Most people will eat peanut butter on toast or in a sandwich but the truth is that it can also be incorporated into a number of great recipes. Adding one dollop of this stuff to an already existing stew or chilli can change the flavours hugely and make everything taste a little more indulgent.
Conclusion
These are just five of the best pre-packed and tinned foods out there. There are also plenty of others including frozen peas, tinned vegetables and more. The most important thing is to look at the labels before you buy, as you will be able to see all of the nutrition information and make your judgement.
(Joshua Hardwick is a regular blogger, writing for his own blog and a selection of other blogs. Joshua also helps out with his father’s survival goods website, selling freeze dried wise foods and more.)
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