February is National Canned Food Month: Check out this link for helpful tips & healthy recipes

February is National Canned Food Month. Here are some of the things to celebrate about canned food and links to several tasty and quick canned food recipes. You probably already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen. 

• Canned foods are always there for you as a safe source of nutritious food if the electricity goes out or if you can't get to the store.
• You can store canned foods in any cool, dry place in your house. Ample refrigerator and freezer storage is not an issue.
• The pre-preparation is done for you ... making it easier for you to get a healthy meal on the table in a hurry. 
• Canned foods compare favorably to fresh and frozen foods in nutrition. 
• Canned foods have a long shelf life. 

Here's a fun fact about canned tomato products from my Extension colleagues in Vermont: Canned tomato products have more lycopene, an antioxidant found in tomatoes and tomato products, than fresh tomatoes. The heating process makes lycopene more easily absorbed.

Enjoy eating foods in a variety of forms — fresh, frozen, dried and canned. Each of them can be part of a healthy diet! 

• Fruity Frozen Fudge Pops (Canned pears/Source: Canned Food Alliance)
• Apricot Pops  (Canned apricots/Source: Spend Smart. Eat Smart. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach)
• Mixed Fruit Salad (Canned mandarin oranges, fruit cocktail and pineapple chunks/Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, What's Cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl)
• Three Bean Pasta Salad (Canned kidney beans, chickpeas and green beans/Canned Food Alliance) 
• 10 Minute Chili (Canned tomato sauce/Source: Spend Smart. Eat Smart. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach)
• Easy Bean Dip (Canned refried beans/Source: Spend Smart. Eat Smart. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach)
• Slopppy Joe 5 Ways (Canned tomato sauce/Source: Beef It's What's for Dinner, Cattlemen's Beef Board and National Cattlemen's Beef Association
• Quick Black Bean Salsa (Canned black beans/Source: Spend Smart. Eat Smart. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach)
• Salmon Patties (Canned salmon/Source: Spend Smart. Eat Smart. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach)
• Tuna Melt Sandwich (Canned tuna/Source: Spend Smart. Eat Smart. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach)
• Three Bean Bake (Canned Great Northern beans, pork and beans, and light or dark kidney beans/Source K-State Research & Extension Family Nutrition Program, Kids A Cookin')