Unopened canned foods can last a few years in the pantry. They never taste totally fresh, but are edible in case of emergency. They can provide you with a certain level of energy and some nutrients, but they take their toll on your body too, with an unhealthy waste to nutrient value compared to fresh foods. For best health when living off canned foods, you’ll ideally still supplement them with a diversity of fresh foods.
Recommended canned foods to buy online
Sweetcorn by Green Giant
Like most starchy staples, these have a narrow nutrient profile but are a fairly clean source of slow-burn energy. Not as healthy as fresh or frozen, but one of the next best options. Top with any fresh sauce, relish or spice (salad cream works well) for a quick emergency meal. Or combine with fresh salad ingredients (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, mushroom, olives – even stinging nettle) for a healthy side-salad dish that can be enjoyed alone or seamlessly combined with something terribly greasy.
Peach Slices by Del Monte
This is one of the freshest tasting canned fruits on the market. Obviously not the same as fresh fruit, but about as good as canned fruit can be.
Mixed Beans in Chilli Sauce by Free & Easy
Buy via Ocado / Buy via Amazon
Baked beans are a popular emergency food, but these mixed beans in chilli sauce are much more interesting. Again, they’re not as healthy as fresh food, but they’re about as clean as spicy saucy canned foods come. Like sweetcorn, these beans are easily combined with a wide variety of fresh foods to form a more palatable balanced meal – anything from leafy greens to greasy animal derived foods, to other starchy staples – they can all complement these spicy beans in an emergency.