Freeze Out Those Frozen Foods

With an increasing number of working adults who manage busy schedules, daily chores, project deadlines, they don't have much time to cook and eat fresh meals every day.

Logic behind frozen food

Frozen meals like frozen parathas, fries, meats, pizzas and even frozen vegetables make up a large percentage of their diets. Frozen foods are convenient, often appetizing and a budget solution to eating out.

Nutritive value of frozen foods

Ingredients in readymade processed frozen foods are never the same as freshly made home meals. The health properties of frozen foods are often questionable. They contain ingredients like refined flour, chemicals, preservatives, extra salt, trans fat and sugar. These ingredients are considered harmful for our health. A major concern is the use of partially hydrogenated palm oil which might have hidden, dangerous trans fat. The sodium content in many frozen meals consumed once is between 700 and 1800 mg and the daily recommended maximum dosage is 2300 mg of sodium. Consuming readymade frozen meals makes it hard to stay in this limit. While excessive intake puts people with high blood pressure at further risk, excessive calories from sugar and fat can lead to weight gain. Chemicals and preservatives can be harmful for our digestive health and lead to even greater health problems.

Mid way solution to consuming frozen foods

It is essential to read and examine the nutrition labels of frozen foods carefully before you toss them into your shopping cart. Check the nutrition label to understand the contents of the food item. A frozen meal must be low in calories, ideally lower than 300 calories per serving. Frozen meals should also contain at least 2-3 grams of fiber per serving. Look for fat content, especially saturated and trans fat. Saturated fat should be lower than 3 grams of saturated fat/100 kcal. Look for meals with less than 140 milligrams sodium per serving ideally; and definitely try and stay under 700 milligrams; anything over that is considered high in sodium content.