Frozen Foods
By Leanne Ely CNC
If it's March, it must be National Frozen Food month, queue the merry music! That means that we should all be running out and celebrating by buying up frozen food left, right and center.
Or should we? The deal is, it all depends on what you plan to place in your cart. Yes, there's always a catch. Just when you thought it was time to party in the frozen food aisle too, right?
But not so fast. The bounty is plentiful; let's just make sure it's the right kind so it won't end up on your booty plentifully, if you know what I mean! Here then is your list:
1. Chests o' Chicken. You know the kind I'm talking about--the ever-present, almost always on sale boneless skinless chicken breasts. Yes you want those.
2. Veggies Galore. The frozen food aisle is full of frozen veggies of every kind. A great budget saver and picked at their peak, this is something to stock up on.
3. Wacky for Waffles. There are great whole grain, ready to go waffles, even the gluten free ones for those who need them. A terrific canvas for a swipe of nut butter for a quick breakfast.
4. Fruitopia. Bags of berries, peaches, mangos, pineapple--the makings for a perfect smoothie. I buy these bags by the barrelful and keep my freezer flowing with fruit!
5. Garlic and Herbs. A particularly fabulous product--little ice cube-like trays of fresh herbs (cilantro, basil) and garlic and ginger, too. These herbs and garlic are something I always have on hand for convenient cooking. Made by a company called Dorot, check your local grocery store for availability.
There you have it; 5 healthy frozen foods, ready to help you eat well. But beware, there are 4 dangers to be aware of:
1. Mistaken Chicken. Don't get the breaded, fried and ready to go stuff that you heat and eat. Read the nutritional info on each pack. Not so bad? Go back and look at it again, this time with what a real serving size would be. Uh huh. See what I mean?
2. Vicious Veggies. Oopsie doo on the veggies that are afloat with sauce, goo and cheese! Talk about turning to the dark side! Run, don't walk. This is a case of veggies gone bad.
3. Botched Breakfast. Waffles with a bit of nut butter is one thing; the other breakfast stuff in the freezer section is cause for alarm! You don't need hundreds of calories, gobs of fat and sugar taking you down before noon. Keep it safe with aforementioned waffles.
4. Felonious Fruit. The plain jane stuff is great, highly nutritious and naturally low in sugar (especially the berries). But juice is another thing, even 100% fruit juice; it can be hard on blood sugar levels. If you do juice at all, go EASY. There's a reason why there is such petite things called juice glasses--because you don't need much!
That's it from your friendly Dinner Diva. I've got to go shopping! Go look in your grocery store's flyer this week for the deals--now's the time to hit that frozen food aisle and stock up!
Or should we? The deal is, it all depends on what you plan to place in your cart. Yes, there's always a catch. Just when you thought it was time to party in the frozen food aisle too, right?
But not so fast. The bounty is plentiful; let's just make sure it's the right kind so it won't end up on your booty plentifully, if you know what I mean! Here then is your list:
1. Chests o' Chicken. You know the kind I'm talking about--the ever-present, almost always on sale boneless skinless chicken breasts. Yes you want those.
2. Veggies Galore. The frozen food aisle is full of frozen veggies of every kind. A great budget saver and picked at their peak, this is something to stock up on.
3. Wacky for Waffles. There are great whole grain, ready to go waffles, even the gluten free ones for those who need them. A terrific canvas for a swipe of nut butter for a quick breakfast.
4. Fruitopia. Bags of berries, peaches, mangos, pineapple--the makings for a perfect smoothie. I buy these bags by the barrelful and keep my freezer flowing with fruit!
5. Garlic and Herbs. A particularly fabulous product--little ice cube-like trays of fresh herbs (cilantro, basil) and garlic and ginger, too. These herbs and garlic are something I always have on hand for convenient cooking. Made by a company called Dorot, check your local grocery store for availability.
There you have it; 5 healthy frozen foods, ready to help you eat well. But beware, there are 4 dangers to be aware of:
1. Mistaken Chicken. Don't get the breaded, fried and ready to go stuff that you heat and eat. Read the nutritional info on each pack. Not so bad? Go back and look at it again, this time with what a real serving size would be. Uh huh. See what I mean?
2. Vicious Veggies. Oopsie doo on the veggies that are afloat with sauce, goo and cheese! Talk about turning to the dark side! Run, don't walk. This is a case of veggies gone bad.
3. Botched Breakfast. Waffles with a bit of nut butter is one thing; the other breakfast stuff in the freezer section is cause for alarm! You don't need hundreds of calories, gobs of fat and sugar taking you down before noon. Keep it safe with aforementioned waffles.
4. Felonious Fruit. The plain jane stuff is great, highly nutritious and naturally low in sugar (especially the berries). But juice is another thing, even 100% fruit juice; it can be hard on blood sugar levels. If you do juice at all, go EASY. There's a reason why there is such petite things called juice glasses--because you don't need much!
That's it from your friendly Dinner Diva. I've got to go shopping! Go look in your grocery store's flyer this week for the deals--now's the time to hit that frozen food aisle and stock up!
Copyright (C) 2010 www.savingdinner.com Leanne Ely, CNC All rights reserved.
Here is a snap shot of the fresh goods I got from my local farmer's market this weekend.
On the menu this week is:
Meatloaf, mashed potatos and green beans
Cabbage Burgers, salad
Zuchinni Penne Pasta casserole
Chili with Rice and salad
Beef Stir-fry
I'm lucky that the local markets carry beef from the area I live in. The meat is frozen in one pound sizes. Adding veggies, beans and pasta really helps to make your meats go farther.
I bought freash eggs from 
