Slimy veggies and meat you wouldn't feed to your enemy's dog. When it comes to these dollar store canned staples, we recommend ditching the tin.
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00:00Slimy veggies and meat you wouldn't feed to your enemy's dog.
00:05When it comes to these dollar store canned staples, we recommend ditching the tin.
00:11Collard greens are one type of canned food you shouldn't put on your dollar store shopping
00:16list.
00:17Collard greens themselves are nutritious vegetables.
00:20The greens are high in vitamins and nutrients, such as fiber, iron, and vitamin A. Cooked
00:27collard greens are a typical side dish popular in southern recipes.
00:32And with the canned version, the greens come pre-cooked, allowing you to save time.
00:38Despite these positive aspects, buying this canned good is not worth it.
00:43Canned vegetables, such as collard greens, lose some health-boosting properties when
00:48packed in brine.
00:50Unfortunately, this is the case with Chestnut Hill's seasoned collard greens sold at Family
00:55Dollar.
00:57This particular product is packed with salty, briny water to give it its seasoned quality.
01:03The same goes for Glory Foods' seasoned collard greens sold at Dollar General.
01:09To make matters worse, canned collard greens like these can be purchased for lower prices
01:14at traditional grocery stores, such as Walmart.
01:18Although it's a vegetable, you shouldn't buy canned asparagus at the dollar store, if you
01:23can help it.
01:25Fresh asparagus is an antioxidant-rich piece of produce that keeps your eyes healthy and
01:30prevents blood clots.
01:32But the diminished nutritional profile of canned asparagus may outweigh the vegetable's
01:38natural health benefits.
01:40Canned asparagus usually comes with added salt and sometimes reaches shocking levels.
01:47This is the case with Lady Liberty's canned asparagus sold by Family Dollar, which contains
01:5314 percent of the daily recommended serving of sodium.
01:57Additionally, the canned stuff has less fiber, less protein, and fewer nutrients than the
02:03fresh stuff.
02:04Canning asparagus also worsens its appearance and texture.
02:08For one, you lose all that natural crunch.
02:11Additionally, the veggie becomes an off-putting brownish-green once canned.
02:17We're laying into the humble asparagus pretty hard here, but facts are facts.
02:22Nobody has ever asked a puma its opinion or a stalk of asparagus how it feels.
02:28Either way, since Dollar General sells its product for over $3 per can, you can find
02:34cheaper and better asparagus elsewhere.
02:38Another type of food best avoided at the dollar store is deviled ham.
02:44This canned meat is used as a sandwich spread, and the recipe has remained mostly the same
02:50since the 1800s.
02:52Deviled ham usually consists of ground ham that's been deviled or had spices added to
02:58it.
02:59Although it may sound okay, deviled ham is something you'll want to avoid at the dollar
03:03store due to its poor nutritional value and, frankly, unsightly appearance.
03:10You're better off making your own deviled ham.
03:12The canned version is high in sodium nitrate, salt, and sugar, which are used to cure the
03:18meat.
03:19According to Healthline, excessive consumption of sodium nitrate has been linked to diseases
03:24like colorectal cancer.
03:26Canned deviled ham products can also be extremely high in fat, while the taste may make up for
03:32this in some people.
03:35Others won't be able to get past the appearance, which is similar to wet cat food.
03:40If you come across deviled ham at the dollar store, we say skip it.
03:45My mom always gives me meat sandwiches to keep me going.
03:49Like deviled ham.
03:51Canned green beans are another vegetable that you'd be better off buying fresh from the
03:56grocery store.
03:57Fresh green beans are extremely high in vitamin K, which is useful for maintaining strong
04:02bone health.
04:04Plus, fresh green beans are far from pricey.
04:07But while canned green beans may still help you with your vitamin K intake, these preserved
04:12vegetables come with additional downsides.
04:16As Food Insight explains, canned green beans are lower in protein, while the amount of
04:22salt skyrockets.
04:24Such is the case with Del Monte canned green beans sold at Family Dollar, in which one
04:29serving contains 16 percent of your daily recommended sodium intake.
04:34While some people may prefer the soggy, discolored green beans found inside the canned version,
04:41we're betting that most people do not.
04:43If so, skip the canned stuff.
04:46A typical Sloppy Joe recipe consists of ground beef coated in a sauce made of ingredients
04:52like ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and sugar, then placed between two hamburger
04:59buns.
05:00When you buy canned Sloppy Joe sauce, though, you mainly just get the juices meant to season
05:05your ground beef.
05:07All slop, no Joe.
05:08Have some more Sloppy Joe's!
05:13I made them extra sloppy for you!
05:17Made fresh, Sloppy Joe sauce isn't that bad nutritionally.
05:21The main ingredient is typically tomatoes, which are high in nutrients like potassium,
05:27vitamin A, and vitamin C.
05:29Of course, that's in their fresh state.
05:32You lose a lot of that when tomatoes come canned or in a ketchup-like substance, which
05:37is the case with Manwich Sloppy Joe sauce sold by Family Dollar.
05:42The product is also very high in sugar, containing about 12% of your daily recommended intake
05:49per serving.
05:50To avoid these negative factors, if you have the time, we recommend going to a traditional
05:55grocery store to make your Sloppy Joe sauce from scratch.
05:59It will be fresher and healthier, and really isn't much more expensive.
06:05For some people, gravy is not just a Thanksgiving Day treat.
06:09Gravy can be used to spruce up dishes like steak, mashed potatoes, and biscuits at any
06:14time of year.
06:16For those looking to add a splash of gravy to their weeknight dinner, canned gravy seems
06:21like a useful hack for shortening time in the kitchen.
06:24However, we don't recommend buying pre-made gravy, especially not from the dollar store.
06:30For starters, canned dollar store gravy is, spoiler alert, going to have a whole lot of
06:36salt.
06:37But by far, the biggest downside is the flavor.
06:41The canned stuff just doesn't taste as good, and let's be honest, few things in the world
06:46taste as good as homemade gravy.
06:48Why give that up?
06:50Chicken and dumplings is a classic, affordable meal that's popular across America.
06:55In fact, it's a dish that's so common across the country that there are multiple variations
07:01and arguments concerning its origin story.
07:04But there are a few things about it that we can all agree on regarding chicken and dumplings.
07:10The dish consists of chicken, flour-based dumplings, and broth, all of which are found
07:15in canned versions.
07:16However, buying this from the dollar store is not going to yield a similar home-cooked
07:21feel.
07:22You can always get around the high salt content by buying the low-sodium versions of this
07:27canned product, but those may not be available among the limited options at the dollar store.
07:33The Swanson Chicken and Dumplings sold by Dollar Tree come with 990 milligrams of sodium
07:40per serving, amounting to 43% of your daily recommended sodium intake.
07:46The dollar store doesn't even have competitive pricing for this particular item.
07:51Walmart sells a larger can for less money.
07:55Potted meat doesn't have the best name for food.
07:58It doesn't have much going on for it at all.
08:01But if you must try this outdated form of canned meat, don't do it at the dollar store,
08:06where cans may have stayed on the shelves so long they've become expired.
08:12If there's one thing worse than potted meat, it's expired potted meat.
08:17Potted meat is more of an umbrella term that can be used to mean a few different things.
08:22But in general, it refers to meat that's cured, smoked, and spiced.
08:27The brand Armour's potted meat sold at Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and Family Dollar is
08:33made the same way.
08:34The two main types of meats used are chicken and pork.
08:38However, what's contained inside those cans no longer resembles anything you've eaten
08:44before.
08:45Potted meat looks like it's meant for animals, not humans.
08:49It's also non-nutritious, containing more than 20% of your daily recommended servings
08:54of cholesterol, sodium, fat, and saturated fat per serving.
09:00You probably shouldn't bother with this type of canned food at the dollar store or anywhere
09:05else.
09:06Compared to some dollar store canned foods, canned beef stew almost seems like a normal
09:12choice.
09:13But if you're really hungry the next time you're there, just get something else.
09:17The canned beef stew made by affordable brands like Dinty Moore contains shockingly high
09:22levels of most stuff that people consider unhealthy.
09:26This canned beef stew is loaded with sodium, cholesterol, fat, and saturated fat.
09:32The only time we'd recommend looking for this shelf-stable food is to sustain yourself
09:38in the event of a natural disaster.
09:40And even then, eating this stuff should only come as a necessity.
09:44In terms of taste, canned beef stew doesn't have a great track record.
09:49On Dollar Tree's website, customers tore the store's canned Southgate beef stew to
09:54shreds.
09:55One person wrote,
09:56"...smells bad, tastes bad, and looks bad.
09:59I'm not a picky eater at all, and I thought this was just plain nasty."
10:04One more Dollar Tree customer simply said,
10:07"...that was not edible."
10:09Reviews for Dollar General's canned beef stew were nearly as bad.
10:13If you must get canned food at the dollar store, put this at the bottom of your list.
10:20Mostly due to their diminished taste compared to the real thing, we don't recommend buying
10:25canned tamales from the dollar store.
10:28Authentic Mexican tamale recipes are a somewhat time-consuming food that, when traditionally
10:33made, requires the laborious task of making your own masa dough.
10:38It also requires gathering traditional ingredients like corn husks and ancho chilies, which may
10:44be difficult to find at some grocery stores in the United States.
10:49The length of time preparing tamales is what makes them a special occasion food, often
10:54enjoyed around the holidays.
10:56All of this serves to say that canned tamales will not compare to the real thing.
11:01One blogger took the time to point out the many flaws within Hormel's canned tamales,
11:07which is the brand sold by Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Dollar General.
11:12The blog complained that the canned tamales came wrapped in tiny pieces of wax paper,
11:17which had to be removed before reheating.
11:20The tamales themselves were also smaller than usual.
11:24Each was about the size of a cigar.
11:26In terms of both flavor and texture, the dish was subpar.
11:31As the report says, the masa fell apart, and the sauce wasn't spicy.
11:36Even if you find the taste acceptable, Hormel's canned tamales contain 82% of your daily recommended
11:43sodium intake per can.
11:46This product is definitely one to skip over at the dollar store.
11:51Canned is not the best format in which to eat chili.
11:55The meat in canned chili is often low quality, making it less tasty and nutritious.
12:01Thanks to the latest budget cuts, I'm down to using grade F meat.
12:05This is more likely to be true with canned chili products made without turkey, which
12:10is the case with the Southgate chili sold at Dollar Tree and the Hormel canned chili
12:15sold at Family Dollar.
12:17Both of those products are made with beef and pork rather than turkey.
12:21Additionally, canned chili is high in sodium and saturated fat.
12:26With both of the aforementioned dollar store chili products, this is true.
12:30Canned chili may not necessarily be bad, but if your only options are made by the low-quality
12:36brands sold at the dollar store, it's not a good option.
12:40Also, you're likely to find better prices for canned chili at a traditional grocery
12:46store.
12:47Dollar General and Family Dollar sell their canned chili products for around $2 per can.
12:53However, you can easily find cans of chili sold for less than $2 at Walmart or other
13:00supermarkets.
13:01If you're looking to feed yourself or your family some vegetables but happen to be shopping
13:06at the dollar store, grabbing a can of pre-packed produce can seem like a good idea.
13:11Because food insecurity and food deserts are real ongoing issues, if this is your only
13:17source of produce, then any vegetable is better than none.
13:21Unfortunately, however, there are a lot of factors that separate canned and fresh veggies.
13:28For starters, canned vegetables are visually much worse than the real thing.
13:33The color of every vegetable becomes dulled, unlike its natural self.
13:37Then, every piece is coated in a layer of shiny, slimy film.
13:41To top it all off, every vegetable is softened from being stored in a can of preservatives.
13:48Despite their best efforts, all the sodium nitrate in the world can't keep a carrot
13:52from getting mushy in a can.
13:55While they may still offer some of their original nutrients, vegetables from a can are not as
13:59good as the fresh stuff.
14:01These items contain less of certain beneficial vitamins and more unhealthy preservatives.
14:07As we said, if you are faced with no other option, then buy this canned food.
14:12But if you have the potential to score fresh vegetables and fruit, we recommend skipping
14:17this tin.