Getting Down with Frozen Veggies

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This post brought to you by The Frozen Food Foundation. The content and opinions expressed below are that of The Bold Abode.

So, how do you feel about frozen veggies?

I’m in a pretty serious relationship with them. In fact, we’re pretty much tied at the hip these days.

And believe me, it’s a good thing. Otherwise, if my significant other was a plate-load of chocolate filled cream puffs, I’d be headed down the road paved with elastic waistbands and jersey sweat suits.  Shudder.

If you know me at all, you know that I’m a gluten-free nut.  But this past month or so, I’ve gone nuclear on my diet.  I was starting to feel a bit sluggish… getting lazy in my food prep arena and eating way too much protein and not enough green stuff.  So I went on a reboot and have been toying with the Gluten-Free Vegan option.  

What on the planet Mars do I eat, you ask?

Lots and lots of veggies.  And when time is short, that translates to lots and lots of the frozen kind.

Big Hunky Lifesavers, they are. {on the pocket-book, too.} 

Mambo with me Green Beans and Almonds! Electric slide with me, Single servings of Green Peas! Run the Bulls with me, Chopped Spinach!

And why ever not?  Especially when The University of California, Davis, in partnership with the Frozen Food Foundation, conducted a study that showed that frozen fruits and vegetables are most often (or generally) nutritionally equal to – and in some cases better than – their fresh counterparts. For the study each fruit and vegetable was analyzed under the following conditions: frozen (analyzed within 24 hours of harvest and after 10 and 90 days of storage in a freezer) and fresh-stored (analyzed within 24 hours of harvest and after three and 10 days of storage in a refrigerator).

Yeah, baby!

The best part of freezing fruits and vegetables is that it’s nature’s pause button and a super easy way to overcome the challenge of  things like the cost of fresh produce, the cost of fresh ‘out of season’ produce and issues like fresh fruits and vegetables spoiling before you’re able to prepare and eat them.

Huzzah!

And my favorite?  

It’s this joyous mix of Broccoli, Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas and Water Chestnuts.

It’s so quick and easy to make and saves me boat loads of time when feeding my team of monkeys. Here’s my favorite way to serve it: After you’ve steamed the veggies in the Microwave…

 

Toss with a 1/2 TBS of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1/2 tsp minced garlic.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

I just adore the crispy Water Chestnuts mixed in with that bowl of healthy goodness!  Delish.

Being on an all veggie diet has been a very good thing for me. Did you know that fruits and vegetables are major contributors of essential nutrients in our diets, and consuming fruits and vegetables is associated with reduced risk of many chronic diseases?  Well, it’s true.

Given the increase in the rates of chronic diseases among all age groups, eating a diet rich in a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables is more important than ever. I should know. I’ve dealt {and am working to heal from} Leaky Gut Syndrome. {Again.}  

It’s no fun, and eating veggies is the only way to heal it for me. And since nearly 80 percent of Americans fail to consume the recommended amounts of fruit, with nearly 90 percent failing to meet dietary recommendations for vegetables, we girls have to be diligent. We have a lot to take care of in this life, and putting our own health first is simply the most important.

If you’d like to know more about the benefits of frozen food, just visit the Frozen Food Foundation. 

You can like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter for more insights and uses of frozen foods.

Frozen Food Foundation Twitter

Frozen Food Foundation Facebook

And if you should decide to get out and Tango, I know an asparagus stalk I could hook you up with.