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Canned Food Convenience

Canned Food Convenience
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February is Canned Food Month but you can celebrate the convenience and affordability of canned food all year ‘round'! Keep your pantry stocked with a variety of nutritious canned foods such as canned “no-salt-added” black beans, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), diced tomatoes, and more. 

Canned fruits and vegetables are great to incorporate into your healthy lifestyle. Some canned fruits have a lot of added sugars or syrups, so choose fruits packed in 100% juice or water. Some canned vegetables contain added salt, so choose the "no-salt-added" option when available. Drain and rinse regular salted canned vegetables to remove about 40% of the sodium.

Black Bean Brownies

Easy Black Bean Brownies

Download Handout Spanish Handout
Yield: 24 brownies
Ingredients:
  • 1 (15 ounce) can “no-salt-added” black beans
  • 1 (18.4 ounce) box brownie mix

Directions:

  1. Wash hands with soap and water.
  2. Preheat oven to temperature according to directions on the box. Spray a baking pan (size recommended on box) with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
  3. Pour the can of black beans with liquid into a food processor or blender, and blend until well mixed and no chunks of beans remain.
  4. Add brownie mix to the blender, and blend until well combined. Pour into a 9 x 9-inch or 9 x 13-inch baking dish and bake according to the directions on the box.
  5. Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Information:

  • Serving Size (1 brownie):
  • Calories: 100
  • Total Fat: 1.5g
  • Sodium: 55mg
  • Total Carbohydrates: 20g
  • Fiber: 2g, includes 13g Added Sugars
  • Protein: 2g
  • Iron: 6%
  • Potassium: 2%
Nutrition Software Used: ESHA Food Processor

Recipes using canned foods:

blender-salsa Blender Salsa
Mango Tango Black Bean Salsa Mango Tango Black Bean Salsa
Three Bean Chili Three-Bean Chili

Sources:

  1. Basic Foods Checklist: How to Stock Your Kitchen for Simple Meals (Source: Nebraska Extension)

  2. Combating Canned Food Myths (Source: Canned Food Alliance)

  3. Home Food Storage (Source: Nebraska Extension)

This article was originally written by Laura DeWitt. It was reviewed and updated in 2025.

Tags:

basic foods canned food children winter

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