You CAN Build a Nutritious Plate with Canned Foods!
With only 24 percent of adults meeting their dietary requirements for fruits and only 13 percent meeting recommendations for vegetables,1 the fruit and vegetable consumption gap is large, chronic and growing. According to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, all forms of foods, including fresh, canned, dried, and frozen, can be included in healthy eating patterns.2 And, they can help ensure people are filling half their plate with fruits and vegetables.3 It’s important to note that canned foods have similar (or better) nutritional profiles as their fresh or frozen counterparts.4
Cans Get You Cooking® is a national campaign that increases awareness about the many benefits of canned foods and show how they easily fit into dietary guidance. The campaign includes partnerships with national brands and retailers to help engage, inform and inspire families to stock their pantry – or cantry® – and make more, healthy homemade meals.
This downloadable infographic illustrates how canned foods fit into MyPlate recommendations.5
References
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adults Meeting Fruit and Vegetable Intake Recommendations — United States, 2013. Washington, DC. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6426a1.htm
- Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015-2020. 8th Edition, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, January 2016.
- MyPlate: Selected Messages for Consumers. http://www.choosemyplate.gov/print-materials-ordering/selected-messages.html.
- Miller S and Knudson B. Nutrition and Cost Comparisons of Select Canned, Frozen and Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 2014. 8(6): 430-437.