Organic canned chili?

Question

I bought organic, no salt added, no preservatives canned vegetarian chili and im wondering if it is healthy? A serving is 150 cals, 1g fat and 70mg sodium. Im gonna add some tofu and a little brown rice. The only thing that is buggin me is that its a canned food. I eat a mostly unprocessed diet of fresh veggies, grains and veggies.

fresh veggies, grains and *Fruit*

Answer 1

It sounds to me like it actually is fairly healthy. I recently heard a man named Jeffrey Novick speak (he is Director of Nutrition at the world-renowned Pritikin Longevity Center in Florida, and has earned many awards in nutrition and health sciences) and he had an interesting ratio for determining if a packaged food is healthy or not.

When you look at the fat, it should be 20% or less (preferably less) of the number of calories in the food. Your 1 gram is far less than 20%.

Sodium, which is often very high in processed foods, should be no more than a 1:1 ratio with the number of calories. So, for your chili, it should have no more than 150 mg sodium. The 70 mg sodium that it contains is far below what he recommends for a healthy food.

I hope I wrote all of that out clearly enough and that it makes sense. Jeff Novick's way of looking at it is obviously just one viewpoint, but his seemed like a very reputable perspective. For a processed food, it seems like your chili fairs pretty well! I hope it tastes good too!

Answer 2

I see no harm in having something canned now and again, just for the convenience. Due to chronic food allergies, I too eat no processed foods, and make everything from scratch. Adding your own tofu and brown rice will boost the nutritional value (make sure your tofu is NON GMO-MOST soy is genetically modified, making it an unnatural food source-very unhealthy-google "roundup ready soy for more info) Enjoy it now and then, indulging in the sheer convenience. I like to make chili in my slow cooker, then freeze it in quart sized bags to have on hand. I would most certain use the canned stuff once in awhile if it didnt all contain soy and other things I am allergic to. Bon apetit! enjoy! OH, and kudos to you for chosing healthy foods-your body thanks you, I am sure!

Answer 3

Yes it is healthy and a lot of canned foods have added vitamins and nutrients as long as you don't eat that just alone it is good for you and you do need about 60 grams or so of fat a day i believe.

Answer 4

Sure. Or if you want to know exactly what's going into it, make a huge pot of your own chili and freeze it.

Answer 5

Depends on the serving size, but that sounds pretty good to me.