Chill Out in the Frozen Foods Aisle
Picture it: You’re at your local Giant Eagle buying your usual items. You approach the frozen foods section and ask yourself “should I buy these frozen foods or stock my cart with only fresh foods?” You may think that fresh foods are the only healthy option, but it turns out there are a lot of reasons you can feel good about buying frozen foods. They have a higher nutritional content, are less expensive, save time, and may even limit your carbon footprint.
How Fresh Is Fresh?
Food that is labeled as “fresh” often takes weeks to reach shelves. Even if you live right near a lake or ocean, the “fresh” fish you buy are caught miles away and have to travel on trucks to get to your stores. Frozen foods are “flash frozen” meaning they are quickly frozen right at their peak freshness, trapping in all their taste and nutritional value until you’re ready to eat them. Fresh foods, on the other hand, continually age and ripen.
Cool and Convenient
Prepping to cook a meal is often the most time-consuming step. The chopping, peeling and mixing can take far longer than the baking or sautéing. With frozen foods, you get to skip that part of the process. Everything is prepped and ready to pop in the oven, microwave or pan. Frozen foods’ storability creates even more convenience. You don’t have to worry about wasting it because it won’t go bad for quite a while, and you can stock up on the frozen meals and sides you like most knowing they’ll be there to enjoy the moment you want them.
Quality Time
The entrées, sides and snacks you find in our freezers are made to exacting standards, so you can be sure you’re getting the same quality every time. You also have the benefit of knowing exactly what you’re consuming thanks to the nutritional labels and other details found on the packaging. Check the label before you buy to make sure you’re only eating the ingredients you want. Lastly, the cooking instructions are easy to follow, meaning there’s little chance of error. Even if you’re not the strongest cook, you can make a delicious meal for your family by following the short list of instructions.
Enjoy Year-Round
Enjoying frozen foods also means you no longer need to worry about seasonality. Those delicious strawberries that are only grown during the summer months can now be enjoyed year-round thanks to freezing.
Good for You (and Your Wallet)
Frozen foods are inexpensive ways to enjoy the fruits, vegetables and fresh fish health bloggers are always telling you to eat. Since frozen food doesn’t spoil, you don’t need to worry about it going to waste like fresh food would.
A Smaller Carbon Footprint
Buying frozen foods generally means fewer trips to the grocery store, meaning you reduce your impact on the environment by using less gas and wasting less food. Access to healthy, easy-to-prepare foods also makes you less likely to order in, or go out to eat, again, saving gas and all the packaging, containers and useless utensils that go along with ordering in. That junk drawer in your kitchen full of old ketchup packets, chopsticks, and sporks will thank you.
Stock Up
So, the next time you go grocery shopping, in addition to the fresh food your family already loves, head over to the frozen food section for even more healthy, sustainable food. What you’ll lack in fridge space, you’ll make up for in delicious meals for you and your family. Check out the full selection of frozen items available for curbside pickup or delivery today.
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