By now, I have shared with you 11 tips on how to integrate new healthy habits into your everyday life. Ideas, without changing too much the way you live currently, can actually have a positive impact in your overall health and well being.
It’s kind of funny that the idea I left for December was to Avoid Canned Goods… because some of the very typical Xmas recipes I have and prepare every year have canned goods as the main ingredients and unfortunately these do not come in any other presentation, that I know of so far. Tembleque, Coquito, Arroz con Dulce… all are recipes that use sweetened condensed milk or coconut milk or cream of coconut and I have not been able to find those ingredients in another packaging format. And these recipes or Xmas would not be the same without these ingredients.
Which actually helps me make the point… this series is about developing conscience of the ultimate better choices for you. These ideas and changes are about modifying the way you purchase things so they’re overall better for you. So when you’re at the grocery store you learn which packaging has less impact on the contents inside. Not necessarily to start jumping hoops and making things extremely difficult for you if other choices are not readily available.
So now… onto the can thing. Try to avoid cans as much as possible. WHY?
- Usually, canned products tend to contain more chemicals to help preserve the contents when compared to the same product in a different package format. These chemicals and preservatives are only harmful to our health.
- Canned products have been cooked previously a long time ago by the time they reach your home and this devoids them of many nutrients.
- Cans can’t be recycled the way plastic or glass containers can be…
I understand how convenient it is to purchase canned goods. How they’re economical, there always there in your pantry when you needs them… and hey, they give you comfort in times of need, like when preparing for a hurricane. But, instead of purchasing this that typically you buy in cans, you’ll start buying them in another packaging format with many of them still getting the convenient pantry shelf life. Here are some examples:
| Instead of buying CANS of: | You’ll now buy: |
| Vegetables | Frozen Vegetables
|
| Tomato Sauce Spaghetti/Pasta Sauce | POMI brand of Tomato Sauce which comes in UHT boxesPasta Sauces in glass jars |
| Stewed TomatoesWhole Tomatoes | Stewed Tomatoes and Whole Tomatoes in glass jars |
| Evaporated Milk | Buy Evaporated Milk in UHT boxes |
| Roasted Bell PeppersRoasted Piquillo Peppers | Buy them now in glass jars |
| Fruit CocktailsPineapples in syrupPeaches in syrup | Buy these preserved fruits in plastic or glass jars and better if they are in natural juice or light syrup. |
| Beans | Buy dried beans and soak them overnight
|
| Cranberry Sauce | Make it yourself… it’s so easy!!! |
| And I understand that nota ll you readers are 100% vegetarian yet… so here are additional considerations when purchasing goods: | |
| Vienna Sausages (Salchichas) | Buy refrigerated sausage productsOr even better… Use veggie hot dogs |
| Tuna | It’ll be preferable if you bought the pouches to transition away from the cansOr buy frozen TuNo product from a health food store |
KarmaFree Cooking 