Milk, Eggs, Butter….and Frozen

Recently, we came across an article at EatingWell.com which posed the question, “Are we sacrificing nutrition by opting for frozen?”

Our first thought was: Are they living in the dark ages?

Then, we saw the date: 2007. It all made sense. Four years ago, they would have been forgiven for asking this legitimate nutritional question. Frozen myths circulated. The IQF method of freezing fruits and vegetables remained unclear to some consumers. And, because of a seemingly stable economy and a health crisis that was still in the nascent stages of publicity, consumer demand for solutions to eating well for less money was still at a dull roar.

Today, those frozen peas aren’t just taking up space until the next sprain. We know frozen preserves all the nutrition of fresh, and perhaps more, since frozen fruits and vegetables are processed at their peak, not before, as they often are in anticipation of the selling cycle. And, manufacturers have responded by providing bigger bags for bulk and economy, small serving sizes for convenience, re-sealable bags, and more variety. Now, when we head to the supermarket for staples, we get the milk, the eggs, the butter, and the bag of frozen.

The future is here. Nutrition, availability, and cost are immediate associations when we think of frozen. Here are a few other reasons to think of frozen as one the best things to happen this century besides phones smaller than shoeboxes: 

Frozen fruits and veggies eliminate kitchen prep. Stop thinking that you can only get your fruit and veggie nutrition if you have to cut, chop and peel. Suffering for your supper is simply not a requirement in the age of frozen. Frozen veggies, for instance, are often chopped (broccoli), peeled (squash) or prepared (spinach) for our convenience, as are fruits that can otherwise be time-consuming to denude – like pineapple, for instance.

Frozen is easy to work with. The IQF method preserves the individual integrity of the fruit or vegetable. That means that unlike regular freezing methods of yore, excess water is not an issue, and mushy product is avoided. The resulting quality is perfect for cooks. Frozen fruits like blueberries can be easily folded into other ingredients and can be substituted for fresh without sacrificing flavor.


Frozen is there when you need it. The convenience of having healthy food available anytime you need it cannot be overstated. A quick pour of bell pepper from a freezer bag can liven up a pasta dish. A sprinkle of kale can make a soup pop. Frozen spinach can take tortellini from dull to brilliant. Whatever you’re making, if you’ve stocked up on frozen staples, you can make a dish healthy and colorful at the drop of a hat and never waste a bit.

Expand Your Frozen Repertoire 

In their post, Frozen Produce: My favorite Kitchen Staple, Fruits & Veggies More Matters shares some fruits and veggies that might not be top of mind when it comes to frozen. While they are quick to point out that blueberries are a fabulous frozen staple because of their high nutritional content and versatility that spans oatmeal and beef (tell us about it!), their article reminds us of some other great frozen options as well.

Edamame, for example, is a healthy snack that can be stocked in the freezer, and frozen butternut squash is another great seasonless suggestion that makes preparation easy – none of the usual cutting, seeding and peeling.

They are all great ideas to use as inspiration for when you go browsing in your frozen produce section. You can see what you’re missing out on when it comes to expanding your frozen repertoire – and increasing the daily servings that are so important for your health and longevity.

Don’t Stand By While Fruit Suffers: An Open Letter to the Frozen Fruit Industry and IQF Companies

To Whom it May Concern:

The nutrition community and those committed to healthy eating are increasingly aware of the current enthusiasm for frozen fruit. Recently, in the “Science of Living a Healthy Life” issue of The New York Times Magazine, an ad touted the frozen obsession by stating that “Mother Nature put wild blueberries on earth to be frozen.” The loud voices and pretty pictures disseminated by these “pro-fro” conspirators are glossing over the facts, leaving consumers to accept tactics reminiscent of the Great Dairy Refrigeration Deception of 1922. Today, common ethics have guided our decision to be vocal on this controversial issue.  We urge consumers to consider the thoughtless inhumanity that quick freezing advances, and ask those in the frozen fruit industry to take a moment to weigh the desire to selfishly preserve taste and nutrition for our own convenience with its effect on defenseless fruits.

People didn’t always know what we know today – that wild blueberries are sensitive and unique and deserve respect, not the inhumanity of being picked and frozen. Some consumers may still be unaware that wild blueberries can live to be more than several weeks (one, recently discovered in a college dormitory, was determined to be over 5 months old), dying natural deaths by simply decaying, drying up or souring into mush. Without freezing, fruits and vegetables are able to live out their life span – they are free to languish into old age and are often eaten only when they have experienced an acceptable time of decomposition off of the bush. This is the way it has been since the beginning of time, before the introduction of the evils of individually quick freezing (IQF), and it should continue to be.

We also know that wild blueberries remember past acquaintances, and even engage in elaborate courtship rituals: they have been seen joining stems while one helps guide another along the winnowing belt. We realize blueberries actually have memories and can recall time spent in the field. They also possess sophisticated social structures: berries that remain a red or pink color often gather together as if in mutual support of one another. In fact, scientists that have devoted their lives to researching the berry say blueberries have the reasoning capacity of small children.

Only researchers who are funded by the IQF industry disagree with the assertion that fruits and veggies feel pain. These small, defenseless foods suffer when they are taken from the field and spiraled or tunneled and then blasted in a flash freezing device and subjected to unconscionable cryogenic temperatures that at worse, are terribly painful (though brief) and at best, just humiliating. Wild blueberries that are harvested at their peak thrash wildly trying to escape the harvester, and often spin incessantly in a state of confusion. In the journal Ursatt’s Science, researcher Tara Biulle described this method of freezing blueberries as “unnecessary torture.”

Further, today’s quick freezing method avoids cellular damage and prevents the formation of ice crystals on the fruit, and as a result, all the nutritional value of fresh is preserved while the fruit itself remains undamaged. This fact has been used by the pro-fro factions to convince the public that freezing is not harmful. This is not true. In reality, we know that in a time when quick freezing has become ubiquitous, wild blueberries that are pulled from their natural homes can sense imminent danger and experience several agonizing seconds of panic and dread. In short, freezing regularly condemns countless fruits and vegetables such as wild blueberries, mangoes, strawberries, even baby carrots to painful deaths.

We in the nutrition community urge all consumers to allow wild blueberries and all fruits and veggies to die either on the vine or on the shelf at room temperature, taking their nutritive value with them. That is what Mother Nature intended. In addition, we urge all compassionate consumers to walk by the frozen fruit in their grocery store, and instead, opt for foods that do not suffer outside its glass doors, such as pizzas or jalapeño poppers. Consider the dark lives these fruits and veggies lead before they reach us, and for the sake of wild blueberries and their brethren, please join us in declaring, “Freezing is for the cold hearted – not for me.”

Thank you for your time and consideration,
The Wild About Health Community

Thanks to PETA for providing us with the inspiration to speak out on this subject.

High Five Your Freezer – March is Frozen Food Month

A month that celebrates what is in your freezer? You bet. Consider that less than a century ago, before the launch of quick frozen foods, consumers were unable to take advantage of the convenience and nutritional value of fruits, vegetables, meats and fish. Today, “frozen” has truly caught on with consumers who seem poised to take full advantage of the benefits. The race is on to feed healthy foods to our kids at home and at school, and all across the country people are paying attention to rising rates of obesity and preventable diseases. As a result, the demand for available, nutritious foods has skyrocketed. Nothing comes to the rescue better than frozen foods.

In 1998, the Food & Drug Administration confirmed that frozen fruits and vegetables provide the same essential nutrients and health benefits as fresh. What’s more is that quick frozen foods can actually be better than fresh because they retain their nutritional value longer, and they don’t lose nutrients as they age during shipping and storage. Foods like wild blueberries, for example, are picked and frozen at the peak of freshness, locking in all that antioxidant power, thanks to individually quick frozen (IQF) technology, and that’s exactly how they show up on your plate. And, fruits and vegetables like frozen wild blueberries are available in stores everywhere.

Consumers have discovered the facts about nutritional value, and they are demanding food that is available year round without nutritional sacrifices. A rising interest in competitive prices and low waste has only contributed to the budget stretching trend known simply as frozen. So go ahead and give your freezer a little love this month by stocking it with the benefits of frozen!

You can also join the fun by entering a $10,000 sweepstakes sponsored by the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association. Check it out at EasyHomeMeals.com.