Canned Foods.  They may be easy and inexpensive, but they are nutrient depleted, loaded with processed salt and the cans are lined with toxic BPA. The chemical BPA is an endocrine disruptor and has been shown to interfere with reproductive development in animal studies and connected to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity in humans.  Yuck. 

 "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently is reassessing what it considers a safe level of exposure to BPA, which some studies show is linked with increased risks of certain cancers, diabetes, reproductive abnormalities, and heart disease...BPA is now one of the highest-volume chemicals in the world, with more than 100 tons released into the atmosphere per year. Various studies have found BPA in dust and water samples from around the world. This unavoidable environmental exposure makes it all the more important to eliminate the use of BPA in can linings and all materials that come in contact with food. Consumers Union is calling upon manufacturers and government regulators to do just that." [1]

"People who ate canned soup for five days straight saw their urinary levels of the chemical bisphenol A spike 1,200 per cent compared to those who ate fresh soup, U.S. researchers said.  The randomized study, described as 'one of the first to quantify BPA levels in humans after ingestion of canned foods,' was done by Harvard University researchers...'We’ve known for a while that drinking beverages that have been stored in certain hard plastics can increase the amount of BPA in your body,' said lead author Jenny Carwile, a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health.  'This study suggests that canned foods may be an even greater concern, especially given their wide use.'" [2]

Toss out canned foods and reduce your family's exposure to toxic BPA. Look at any canned food products you currently serve on a regular basis and replace them with a fresh, jarred or frozen version of that food. Or buy from companies that have eliminated BPA in the lininng of their canned products, like Eden Organic Foods.  

Source: 
1. 2009, November 2. Testing for BPA: Concern over canned foods. Consumer Reports. Retrieved September 4, 2011, from http://news.consumerreports.org/safety/2009/11/testing-for-bpa-concern-over-canned-foods-.html
2. 2011, November 23. BPA Spikes 1,200 Percent after Eating Canned Soup. Canada.com. Retrieved November 28, 2011 from http://www.canada.com/health/spikes+cent+after+eating+canned+soup+Study/5751216/story.html