National Frozen Food Month

By: CP

It’s the month of March, which means it’s National Frozen Food Month! Did you know there was such a thing? This makes it a fitting time to appreciate and take a look at frozen food! Frozen food can have a bad stigma when it comes to its nutritional value or being compared to fresh produce. The reality is, there are many different benefits to buying frozen food, and thanks to the American Frozen Food Institute we know that freezing food is a valuable solution to reducing food waste. Freezing your food or buying frozen food means less wasted food, and is a really simple and flexible method for anybody to prevent food waste that caters to all different kinds of food! Not only does frozen food help reduce food waste, there are also many personal and nutritious advantages that one can enjoy.

What Are the Benefits?

Frozen food doesn’t just have environmental benefits, it is extremely beneficial when it comes to convenience and affordability. Especially in a COVID-19 world! Frozen food has a long shelf life and doesn’t expire, helping alleviate and extend time in between grocery trips. With everything going on in our busy lives, it’s also good to sometimes take a step back and feel at ease knowing there is a frozen meal you can make quickly and conveniently. Frozen fruits and vegetables are also a big time saver as they’ve already been cut, peeled and washed. Not only is it quick to make, but frozen food is also much cheaper than fresh and fast-food. You can even get out of season produce and have it at any time! Overall having frozen food helps relieve the pressure of having to use something right away. One less thing to worry about! It is important to note that although your frozen food will not spoil, the longer you leave it in the freezer, the more it may lose flavor.

Nutritional Value

Many people aren’t aware that fresh produce is one of the top contributors to food waste. When buying frozen fruit and vegetables they don’t spoil like they do sitting on your counter top. This is great for sustainable living, and also has a lot of nutritional values. One of the many benefits of using frozen fruits and vegetables is that they’re picked at ideal ripeness and when frozen, lock in the nutrients by stopping oxidation! Pretty cool right? Frozen vegetables are always great for a side or can be incorporated into a main dish. When it comes to using frozen fruit everyone thinks of smoothies, but the possibilities are endless! Here are some yummy and creative ideas for what to do with frozen food given by Well and Good:

• Add flavor to your water
• Make berry pancakes
• Mix up a vinaigrette
• Have them as a snack
• Make freezer fudge

Make the Switch!

Frozen food can truly improve your life, as well as the planet! By switching to frozen food you’re even helping make your everyday life a little easier. Not only is it convenient and affordable, but you can also live a nutritious and healthy lifestyle by incorporating this food hack. Help reduce food waste and give frozen fruits and vegetables a try!

Edited by: MG