frozen food Archives - Wild Blueberries

Why Choose Frozen Wild Blueberries?

Frozen foods tend to get a bad reputation for being unhealthy and hyper processed, but truth be told, you can actually find amazing and nutritious healthy food options in the frozen foods aisle – especially when it comes to frozen fruits and vegetables. Since the concept of flash-freezing fruits and vegetables was invented in the 1920s, frozen foods have become a staple many people rely on for weekly meals. As of 2022, the American Frozen Food Institute reported that 99.4% of U.S. households consume frozen foods. And while many people question the nutritious benefits of frozen fruits and veggies, it’s actually been found that they possess a higher nutritional value than those of their fresh counterparts.

Exhibit A: Naturally grown and nutritiously delicious wild blueberries.

These tiny, potent berries are tasty whether they’re consumed frozen or fresh, but frozen wild blueberries are frozen at peak of ripeness, locking in nutrition benefits and taste. So, in this case, frozen is actually fresher. In honor of March being National Frozen Foods Month, we’re dishing on why this is the case.

The Benefits of Flash Freezing Wild Blueberries

Did you know that:

Flash freezing fruit locks in fresh taste, nutrition, and convenience
Research shows frozen fruit is often nutritionally superior to its fresh counterpart
40% of all food produced in the United States is not eaten before expiration. Frozen food can help reduce the food waste epidemic in the United States.
Frozen food generates 47% less food waste than ambient and chilled food in the home

What can we say…the facts don’t lie!

The Wild Blueberry Journey: Harvest to Household

Wild blueberries are harvested in Maine, right where Mother Nature put them more than 10,000 years ago. Harvest season takes place annually in July and August and over 90% of the crop is flash frozen at the peak of ripeness so you can enjoy the taste of Maine summer all year long. To make sure you’re getting true wild blueberries, you’ll want to visit the frozen fruit section of your local grocery store and double check that the package says “wild” on it.

So, how do these little blue gems get from harvest to your table? Here’s the journey of frozen wild blueberries:

Hour 1: Picked at peak of ripeness
Within 24 hours: Washed and flash frozen to lock in key vitamins, minerals, and tasty goodness
Ready to enjoy, well…whenever: delivered to the frozen foods aisle of your local grocery store, ready for you to bring home!
Extended shelf life: Good for about 6-9 months if kept constantly frozen

Unlike wild blueberries, ordinary blueberries can be planted anywhere and grow year round. Their journey is a little different than frozen wild blueberries. Let’s dive into the differences in the journey of an ordinary blueberry from farm to table:

Day 1: Picked before they’re ripe
Day 2-8: Transported, packed, and distributed to grocery stores
Day 9-14: Arrival at grocery store
Day 15-20: Purchased and eaten at home
Short shelf life: Should be eaten within one week of purchase

So, now you know, frozen is fresher – and just as nutritious and delicious as fresh.

And the best part? Wild blueberries are versatile! Keep your freezer stocked so you have easy access to frozen wild blueberries to blend in your smoothies or to top off your oatmeal year round.

If you want to learn more about why frozen really is fresher, check out the Wild Blueberries website for more information. Happy Frozen Foods Month! Celebrate by picking up some frozen wild blueberries from your local grocery store (just make sure it says “wild” on the package).

5 Reasons to Buy Frozen Fruits and Veggies + Wild Blueberry Buddha Recipe

You may remember the saying, “Fresh is best.” You might even still believe it! But thanks to a growing body of research on the nutrition benefits of produce we now know that fresh produce isn’t any better than frozen. In honor of National Frozen Food Month this March, we’re going to be busting some myths today around frozen fruits and veggies!

Great Nutrition: A number of studies show that there are minimal differences in the nutrient content of frozen versus fresh produce and in some instances, frozen has even more nutrients than fresh! Frozen fruits are generally picked at peak ripeness, when they’re most nutritious and the freezing process helps lock in those nutrients. In fact, Wild Blueberries are frozen fresh within 24 hours of harvest, when their flavor and antioxidant goodness are at their ultimate peak!

Less Food Waste: Another benefit to choosing frozen fruits and vegetables is their long shelf life! Fresh fruits and vegetables are at greater risk for spoilage and food waste, but frozen allows you to buy in bulk without the worry of your produce going bad.

Higher Consumption: In fact, one study found that people who purchase frozen fruits and vegetables consume significantly more produce than those who don’t purchase frozen. So if you’re looking to increase your fruit and veggie intake, frozen produce may be your answer!

Smaller Grocery Bill: Purchasing frozen produce can also help keep your grocery bills down. Frozen fruits and vegetables are generally less expensive than fresh. For instance, a 10-ounce bag of frozen fruit is about the same price as six ounces of the fresh fruit. The USDA has a nifty interactive chart you can use to compare the cost of fresh vs. frozen produce.

Enjoy When Ready: I love stocking my freezer with frozen produce because it takes the pressure off of having to consume it all within a short period of time. With frozen produce, I can eat it when I’m ready for it, rather than when it’s ready for me. With 99% of the Wild Blueberry crop being frozen, I can always count on having Wild Blueberries on hand in my freezer.

My latest recipe using frozen Wild Blueberries capitalizes on the trend for grain bowls or “Buddha Bowls.” While this recipe calls for fresh produce, feel free to substitute it with frozen. You can easily substitute Swiss Chard for frozen spinach, and I recently heard that you can now find frozen avocados on the market, too! Wins for frozen produce all around!

How Much Food are You Wasting? Probably More than You Care to Admit.

I turned 50 this year and along with facing my mortality directly in the mirror, I also embarked on – along with my reluctant husband Eric – some serious financial planning. This started with scrutinizing our monthly budget. When Eric said he thought we spend too much money on food, I was frankly a little hurt.

“What?!” I pleaded, I’m the person who cooks nearly everything from scratch, who brings leftovers to work everyday, and who considers it a personal challenge to keep our food costs down, while simultaneously providing colorful, tasteful, super-healthy, superfood-inspired meals. I could go on, but you get my drift.

As a family of three, we typically spend about $100 on food per week and I thought this was pretty outstanding, especially given the fact that I shop at Whole Foods and buy a fair amount of organic food. But when I read Liz Weiss’s recent blog about shopping the freezer isle, I admit, it was incredibly revealing. “Gosh—maybe I am guilty of throwing away an unjustifiable amount of fresh food, and in so doing, contributing not only to my own financial woes, and to the crisis of world hunger, but also to a set of serious environmental problems,” I thought.

As I began to read more about food waste, I quickly grasped that it is becoming one of our nation’s top environmental concerns – and for a variety of reasons:

Most Americans are throwing away an astounding 30 to 40 percent of their food;
An American family of four wastes an average $1,484 worth of edible food a year;
Fruits and vegetables represent the highest percentage of food waste in America at 52 percent, followed by seafood (50 percent).
Americans throw away more food than paper, plastic, metal and glass.
Growing food that never gets eaten squanders vast quantities of fuel, agricultural chemicals, water and land, needed to produce it; and finally,
Rotting food that ends up in landfills releases dangerous methane, which is at least 20 times more lethal than carbon monoxide.

Needless to say, all of these facts – and many more – have sent me back to the drawing board of my food buying habits. From what I have learned, it now seems unambiguous that one of the most obvious ways I can reduce my food waste is to examine my fresh food habits and spend more time shopping the freezer isle. Frozen fresh Wild Blueberries, Frozen Brussels Sprouts, Frozen Spinach and Kale and, yes, even Frozen Haricots Verts (my newfound favorite from Trader Joes) are all perfectly delicious, nutritionally sound, and environmentally respectable choices.

As someone who is passionate about local fresh fresh food and who participates in a local CSA, I won’t promise to buy frozen foods year round, but I can certainly do so when it makes sense. In some cases —Wild Blueberries, for example—buying frozen is the only logical choice. These delicious little fruits come into ripeness only once a year – in August – and are harvested at the peak of ripeness. Fresh Wild Blueberries are only available in the summer and only in close proximity to where they grow in Maine and Eastern Canada, so buying them frozen and keeping them available in your freezer year round makes good common sense.

Now that I am buying more food from the freezer isle, I am noticing a whole lot less food waste (compost) at home. And, as Liz Weiss promised, I’m also spending less time in the kitchen chopping, culling and cleaning all of those fresh veggies.

My husband is happy, our budget has been favorably adjusted, the food we aren’t wasting is available for others, and our awareness about the effects of food waste just took a quantum leap forward.

On this Earth Day, let’s all think about our own impact on this beautiful planet of ours. Let’s share the message about food waste in our communities and start to solve this senseless problem for the planet. Here are some useful techniques for reducing your food waste:

Make shopping lists and plan ahead
Reduce the number of impulse buys at the market
Buy only what you need; (resist the 2 for 1 offers)
Don’t be lured into buying larger quantities
If you do buy too much, try freezing some of the ingredients before they go bad
And remember to shop the frozen aisle.

A large number of websites and articles are devoted to the topic of food waste. Here are a few websites and articles I particularly liked. Share them this Earth Day and spread the word….

End Food Waste Now

http://www.endfoodwastenow.org

American Wasteland

http://www.americanwastelandbook.com

Think Eat Save

http://www.thinkeatsave.org/index.php/about/eat-tips

World Food Day

http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/food_waste_the_facts

New York Times
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/from-farm-to-fridge-to-garbage-can/

National Geographic

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141013-food-waste-national-security-environment-science-ngfood/

World Resources Institute

http://www.wri.org/publication/reducing-food-loss-and-waste

Recipe: Wild Blueberry Salsa from the Freezer Aisle by Liz Weiss, MS, RD

Part three of a three-part series with Liz Weiss that celebrates the advantages of frozen food. Also see: Part 1, Part 2.

Did you know that 40% of the food grown in the United States is wasted? From farm to fork, nearly half of all our food goes uneaten. That statistic takes my breath (and my appetite) away! I can’t control what goes on in supermarkets, restaurants, or cafeterias, but I can reduce the food losses in my own home kitchen. How? By planning family meals, preparing smaller portions (i.e. only what I know we’ll eat), and turning more to my trusty freezer.

Meal Planning: I wasn’t born with the “organized” gene, so I use a weekly Meal Planner to keep track of the recipes I plan to make each week. Adding more structure to mealtime leads to fewer impulse purchases, less overbuying, and it forces me to take stock of what’s in my pantry before I head to the grocery store. Having a Supermarket Shopping List also comes in handy.

Prepare Smaller Portions: My family happens to love dinner leftovers, and it’s not uncommon for my teenage son to eat them the second he gets home from school. So for me, making extra food at dinnertime makes sense. Being mindful of the amount of food your family consumes at mealtime can minimize spoilage of leftovers that go uneaten. If you’re inclined to freeze what you don’t eat, it’s always a good idea to label it with the name of the item and the date.

Fill Your Freezer: One of the best things about frozen fruits and vegetables is that you only use what you need, so you can say goodbye to rotten fruit and wilted greens. While I’m a huge fan of fresh, local produce, after 100 inches of snow in Boston this winter, I don’t think we’ll be eating a lot of local produce any time soon. That said, I can still enjoy the bright flavors and nutritional benefits of “fresh” by purchasing frozen fruits and vegetables, like frozen fresh Wild Blueberries. They’re frozen right after harvest just a few short miles from where they’re picked, which locks in flavor and nutrition.

Wild Blueberry Salsa
Makes 4 Servings

This salsa calls for two of my favorite freezer staples: frozen Wild Blueberries and frozen corn. Paired with crunchy, colorful red bell peppers, green onion, fresh cilantro, lime juice and zest, and some common spices, this sweet and savory topping is a natural addition to my family’s make-your-own taco night. For the tacos, anything goes, but I’m especially fond of this combo: 8 soft corn tortillas as the base served with shredded rotisserie chicken, guacamole, light sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, fresh cilantro, and my Wild Blueberry Salsa. (You’ll have about 4 tablespoons salsa per taco.)

LATEST NEWS: Victory for the Frozen Message

Dr. Oz & TIME Magazine Help Bring Frozen to the Public

The American food supply is abundant, nutritionally sound and affordable – and it can be found in your supermarket.

An article written by Dr. Mehmet Oz, well-known surgeon, author and personality, in a TIME cover story called “What to Eat Now,” might include the most important message today’s families can hear when it comes to their diet. Though the idea is not exactly new, talking about it in a new way has been tectonic, and it may change, once and for all, the way we think about nutrition.

It’s a message consumers and their families are prepared for. Dr. Oz’s clear statements about frozen and canned food speak to nagging myths we’ve lived with too long. For example, is frozen food as nutritious as fresh? Today, technology allows us the taste and nutritional advantages of fruit and vegetables harvested and preserved at their peak. (In his article, Dr. Oz explains the shift in freezing that began with Charles Birdseye.) Nutrition, in fact, comes in many forms, and one is certainly frozen. Eating frozen and canned foods is an important part of how most of us can eat healthily now.

Eating for Our Time

Today, the message to consumers that affordability, convenience, and ease is not just OK, but it can also be nutritionally sound is one embraced by families tasked with providing meals nutritious enough to stave off the increasing threat of obesity and disease. Healthy food should be, and is, achievable for all of us by shopping right at the supermarket where we can take advantage of frozen and canned food as well as fresh or when fresh is not available. Families facing squeezed food budgets and precious little time for food preparation can turn to frozen and feel good about their nutritional choices.

Dr. Oz makes his case, he says, after years of research and experience. “The American food supply is abundant, nutritionally sound, affordable,” he said of what he calls the 99% diet. (You can hear Dr. Oz talk more about this on CNN.) It’s time for all of us to throw our hats skyward to join him in celebrating frozen and the opportunity for good health for everyone.

Wild: The Best of Frozen

According to Dr. Oz, canned salmon and frozen peas are a part of eating well on a budget without sacrificing nutrition – and with no concerns about waste, a major food budget killer. Dr. Oz is also a notorious proponent of wild blueberries), and wild blueberries offer a perfect case in point: while they are harvested in Maine and parts of Canada, the frozen fresh method of freezing allows our region to supply the entire country and parts of the world all year round with the berry’s wild nutritional advantages. Live outside of these regions? Not the harvest season? Buying affordably in bulk at the supermarket? Wild blueberries are there to oblige in the supermarket’s frozen aisle, easily purchased in large bags to be used as needed anytime, always at the peak of taste and nutrition, just like they were at the moment they were frozen.

Among its many rewards, frozen allows for variety, which is one of the best way to eat nutritiously. Wild blueberries lead the pack when it comes to nutrition. A wonderful way to introduce color into your diet, wild blueberries stand out because they outperform other fruits when it comes to measuring total antioxidant capacity per serving. Because of their powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, they can help protect against diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Wild blueberries are an important component of an affordable, nutritionally sound diet, not to mention a gift to mothers everywhere: have you ever heard a mother warn their child to “finish your wild blueberries”? Of course not – they are already gone.

Forging A Path to Frozen

We’ve assembled some of our favorite frozen-focused posts that have helped herald this new age of nutrition. In light of frozen’s passionate support from Dr. Oz and countless other experts, we thought it would be appropriate to look at them in a new light – as part of a revolution to bring good nutritional health to one and all.

Here are some highlights from past posts that have helped forge a path to frozen.

Saving Your Frozen for Processing? You’re Missing Out
That frozen is only for food processing is a once widely held belief is changing rapidly. Today, frozen wild blues are an ingredient that works in more than smoothies. IQF freezing means each berry maintains its size and structure. That means we can bake with frozen when the individual berry is important, or thaw them for use in any number of toppings, salads and entrées.

Frozen Fruit Myths…Debunked!
Here, the myths of frozen face incontrovertible evidence to the contrary. Think frozen means a glob of ice or a square of green? Not a chance. Not premium quality? Nope. Less nutritious than picked from a field? No sir. Get hip to the next generation of frozen and dispense with the old school beliefs.

Milk, Eggs, Butter….and Frozen
Got frozen on your list? Here’s why you should. Frozen can eliminate kitchen prep time, it’s easy to work with, and it’s there when you need it – in your freezer, as good as the day you purchased it.

Frozen Bombshell: Why Nutrition No Longer = Fresh
Consumers have wisely tuned in to foods that offer competitive prices and low waste. They’ve had to. From the ultimate foodie to the frying-pan challenged, we all need healthy ingredients that are affordable and available. Thinking “frozen” as well as “fresh” offers the answer.

Embrace the Brrr! 5 Summer Fruits to Eat Frozen This Winter
Got a yen for summer fruit but the mercury is low? Enter frozen! Find out how you can eat mangoes, peaches and wild blueberries as if it’s the height of the summer (and not have to pay more.)

Help make the case for frozen! Check out these 10 Fruity Reasons to Visit the Frozen Aisle.