I Ate Only Canned Meat for 6 Months and This Happened

Fresh meat is tough to keep in your homestead pantry, especially if you ate only canned meat for an extended period. It’s an excellent source of protein, but it spoils quickly. Even in the fridge, it only lasts a few days.

Frozen meat keeps longer, maybe a year or two, but can you run a freezer during a power outage? For most homesteaders, the go-to solution is to store canned meat instead.

Canned meat works well for several reasons. It lasts for years, provides variety, and comes pre-cooked. In an emergency, you can eat it straight from the can.

Options include Vienna sausages, Spam, chicken chunks, and even ready-to-eat chili. Don’t forget about fish, like tuna, salmon, or sardines, which also come in durable, shelf-stable cans.

Canned meat isn’t just long-lasting—it’s practical. While beans and rice are great staples, they can get dull fast. Canned goods, especially meats, make meals more flavorful. Good food lifts spirits, and morale is essential during tough times.

What I Learned When I Ate Only Canned Meat from My Supply

I recently took a closer look at canned meat for the homestead pantry. With the economy being tight over the last couple of years, I couldn’t rotate my stored food as often as I wanted. Eventually, I found shelves of food nearing their use-by dates, and I knew it was time to act.

My solution was simple: I stopped buying fresh meat and used that money to restock my canned meat supplies. In the meantime, I decided to use up the oldest cans to replace the fresh meat I wasn’t buying. What could possibly go wrong?

Related: What Is the Best Canned Meat?

Right away, I noticed how easy canned meat is to use. Since it’s precooked, it saves fuel, which would be a huge benefit in a crisis. It’s also pre-seasoned, making meals quicker to prepare.

Some of my supplies, like canned chili, were ready to eat. I just heated them up, cooked some rice to stretch the meal, and added some much-needed carbs for energy.

Other canned meats worked great in recipes. A can of chicken chunks with some canned vegetables and seasonings made a decent stir-fry, especially served with rice. A can of tuna, rehydrated dried vegetables, and a pack of ramen made a fast and tasty meal.

Using about eight cans of various meats and fish a week—mostly tuna—gave me plenty of protein. It also kept my meals far more exciting than plain beans and rice. It’s proof that eating only canned meat for an extended period can be a practical, flavorful addition to any homestead meal plan.

How Healthy Is It?

It wasn’t all good news, though. I checked my blood pressure weekly, and after a couple of months, I noticed it creeping up. It wasn’t enough to alarm me, but it was definitely rising. The reason stood out easily—most canned meats contain more sodium than fresh meat.

For example, half a can of Spam contains your entire daily recommended salt intake. If you eat a tuna salad sandwich for lunch and half a can of grilled Spam for dinner, you exceed the healthy sodium limit. That’s without adding any other salt throughout the day.

That’s why, if you raise livestock, hunt, or just have a little extra cash to buy fresh meat, I highly suggest trying this canning method—it can preserve it for over a decade. Plus, it tastes way better than the canned stuff from the store, and you get to control exactly what goes in it, unlike the store-bought versions that sometimes sneak in all kinds of preservatives and unhealthy additives.

Related: Recipes I Made From The Lost Super Foods Book: Canned Hamburger Meat

I finished eating all the cans that had less than a year left on their use-by dates. This was just over six months. After that, my blood pressure increased from low normal to the upper part of the normal range.

That wasn’t a big problem for me. However, if your blood pressure is high, eating too much canned meat could make it worse.

Canned meat can also be high in fat. This is more common with options like Spam or canned hams, while good-quality canned chili or chicken chunks tend to have less fat. In an emergency, I wouldn’t stress over the fat since you’re likely burning it off anyway.

If you eat a lot of canned meat and stay inactive, you may notice your waistline getting bigger. This could happen if you are sheltering in your root cellar during a nuclear fallout.

Overall, I didn’t have any serious health issues during my canned meat experiment, aside from gradually rising blood pressure. Still, I know some people might have other concerns.

Related: DIY Meat Powder That Can Last 5 Years

Food cans are usually lined with plastic to keep acids and salts in the food from corroding the metal. However, this plastic can release bisphenol-A (BPA) into the food over time.

People who eat a lot of canned food, including those who ate only canned meat for extended periods, often show higher BPA levels. But is that a problem? Honestly, I’m not sure.

Some studies link BPA to health issues like cancer, infertility, and asthma. Other studies don’t find any effects. Even the studies that do show risks usually point to levels far higher than what you’d get from eating canned meat.

For me, BPA isn’t something I lose sleep over.

So How Did It Go?

My canned food supply is now fully restocked, and I’m back to my usual rotation. When I shop, I grab a couple of extra cans of meat or fish, place them at the back of the shelf, and move the oldest ones to this week’s meals.

After a stretch where I ate only canned meat, it’s nice to have fresh meat again. Still, I’m happy with how that phase turned out. I didn’t feel malnourished, which makes sense since industrial canning does a good job of preserving nutrients.

The only health issue I noticed was slightly higher blood pressure. I didn’t even get tired of canned meat, thanks to the variety available and the many ways to prepare it. If you plan on eating canned meats like Spam, tuna, or hot dogs after a crisis, it’s likely to work out well for you.

Related: This Common Mistake Can Ruin Your Entire Food Stockpile

This experience showed me that canned meat is a good and helpful addition to emergency food supplies. Its long shelf life, variety, and convenience make it a solid choice for any homesteader’s pantry.

However, if you want to ensure you have a more comprehensive plan for keeping your food supply fresh and abundant during a crisis, you will find valuable insights inside this guide.

It’s packed with practical tips for creating a durable food supply that doesn’t need refrigeration. Whether you are new to homesteading or want to improve your setup, this guide offers important tips. It will help you make your home a stronghold of food independence.

During my six-month experiment eating only canned meat, I learned a lot about the health benefits and drawbacks of relying on this type of food. One surprise was how many high-quality options exist. In the United States, there are several healthiest canned meat brands that focus on good ingredients and minimal additives.

As for weight loss, I didn’t expect much, but portion control and the simplicity of canned meats helped me shed a few pounds. Some products, like Vienna sausages, were convenient but lacked the nutrition I needed for the long term. Still, canned meat proved to be a reliable pantry staple for emergencies or quick meals.

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