Does Our New Kitchen Friend 'Frozen Food' Have Nutrition?

Yesterday, we went grocery shopping and as usual I was standing before the Frozen food aisle and asking permission from my better half for buying frozen vegetables , corn and coconut. It happens always with us. Every time, there will be a series of advice for me before the frozen food aisle from my husband. This time, It was different. He did not say anything. Am I dreaming? Of course not! He could not say anything because I had shown him few articles related to Frozen food and its nutrients. Don't know if this is the case with you, but the information sure is useful.

Frozen food, as we all know is food preserved by the process of freezing. Ask a working women, I bet she will bless the Frozen food companies. Because of this new boom in the super market, people lead a easy 'kitchen life', I would say. For most of the people, cooking is a 'chore'. Only few people love to cook and others cook just to live.

All those who don't like to spend more time in the kitchen, have a common friend named 'Frozen Food'. But is it healthy to live a lifestyle based on frozen food? There is a general thought among people that frozen food is bad for health. But is it really true? Are we eating just junk? Frozen food can save time but is it taking away our health in return?

This made do some research in the Internet to find few facts about this hot frozen food aisle! A Study reveals that last year sales increased by 4.2 per cent, and the frozen vegetable market is growing even faster, with a 6.4 per cent rise. Does it mean that there are more working women/men?A big No. Maybe people have become lazy! Don't hit me. I am one among them too. C'mon frozen food does make life easy in the kitchen.

Nutrients in Frozen Food Vs Fresh Food:

To be very frank even I believed that frozen food are crap! But, after reading the results of various studies, which all produce the same results, made me realise that 'frozen food are not bad afterall'.
Nutrious frozen food can play role in weight loss programs - Research dietician LeaAnn Carson found that packaged frozen entrées helped loose more weight compared with those who made their own meals.

More studies revealed that the nutrition in frozen food is more or less the same as that of fresh food. Fresh food has marginally more Calcium and potassium to it, but when it comes to Vitamin C, frozen food is the winner. We have to accept that the fresh vegetables lose their nutrients the longer they are out from the ground.Whereas frozen food is carefully packed helping it to hold on to vitamins.

Check out the Frozen Assets from Women's health magazine.

Note that frozen food do have high chances of getting contaminated if not stored properly.

How to tell if the frozen food has gone bad:

This is a highly sensitive issue. Most of the time we end up eating because we bought them. Most of us really can't digest the fact that we are wasting food, in turn our hard earned money. But think. Just think. Is it better to throw the spoiled food or sit in our doctors clinic due to food poison. Again, Food poison is a different issue.

The first and foremost rule is, 'When in doubt, throw it out!'. There are specific rules to be followed for each type of food. For example, beware of lettuce which is watery and has a foul smell. Not only lettuce, any frozen vegetable/fruit/meat, if spoiled can be easily identified by its smell and appearance. Our Nose is our weapon here.

Any canned goods that have become the size or shape of a softball should be disposed of. Carefully.

And there is always the simplest way of finding if the food is spoiled . Check its expiration date.Duh!

Few Do's and Don'ts in Frozen world:

1.Make sure you do your frozen food shopping last, so that the food is preserved till you get to your home.

2.Make sure that most of the air is removed from the bag which contains the food.

3.Place the frozen food in the freezer immediately after reaching home.

4.When boiling the frozen food, place the food directly from the freezer into the boiling water and serve hot.

5.Microwave the frozen food before cooking. This helps to retain most of the nutrients.

6.Wrap meats and baked goods tightly with foil before you place them in freezer bags to prevent freezer burns.

7.Do not store frozen food for more than 3 months in the case of vegetables, corn, peas,coconut etc.

8.In case of fish,meat, try to use them within a week.

9.Place the food items in the coldest part of your freezer, until they're completely frozen.

10. Checkout the Frozen Food Guide which gives an idea of how to do Frozen food shopping .

How is our experience with frozen food?

Do participate in the survey I am conducting about frozen food, just to learn how many more are like me! Voting poll is placed in my sidebar.

Was there a time your frozen food got spoiled?

Did you experience food poison?

Or Do you give a 100% support to frozen food?

Do Share it with us by leaving a comment. Help us sort out what is best !

Conclusion: I am not promoting Frozen food! These are few facts which I learnt browsing the Internet. It is completely your choice to go with frozen food. But, I can surely say that frozen food are not a bad substitute for fresh food. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, we have to choose wisely between these two so that it best suits our lifestyle and our health.