Canned Food and Paleo- Is There a Match?

There can be… but the caveat is that it should be for those ‘in a pinch’ occasions.

Please don’t go stocking your pantry with canned tomato paste, coconut milk and chicken broth.

All place a far second to True Paleo foods (fresh tomato, fresh coconut an homemade pastured chicken broth) rendering a much cleaner and far less processed product.

So when do the ‘in a pinch’ times come into play?   Well, when you’re in a pinch!  Any situation where you have to decide between two or more not very good options, sometimes the canned choice is the ‘least worse’ of the lot.

For example- you’re in the middle of nowhere and have been gone far longer than you thought you’d be.  You come across a hole-in-the-wall grocer and the best protein option you can find is a can of tuna.   Not great to eat regularly, but if the only other choice is Oscar Mayer Bologna, the tuna is definitely less offensive.

In the big scheme of things, eating a can of tuna now and then is not going to put you at risk of Mercury poisoning, nor will the sodium content in a single serving cause your blood pressure to skyrocket.

Relying on canned items, though, as a day to day part of your diet is not what Paleo is all about.  I continue to be more surprised and bothered by how many “Paleo” recipes suggest using canned tomato paste (high in sodium and added white sugar), canned coconut milk (often contains the stabilizer guar gum, derived from a bean and very high in anti nutrients)…even some that are using bottled soy sauce (huh?), but claim that since it’s just a little, it’s not a big deal.

Well, it may be that some who eat a little bit of soy sauce don’t feel sick right away, but that doesn’t make it Paleo!

Right, now back to the topic…

Take home message- if you have no better options, eating something out of a can on occasion can  be Paleo OK, as long as what’s inside is Paleo in the first place!