|
|
All available data shows that frozen products often contain more nutrients than fresh foods. That's because produce destined for commercial freezing is harvested at the height of ripeness and nutritive value. It is taken directly to nearby freezing plants for immediate processing which preserves the nutrient content. Fresh fruits and vegetables from the market are often gathered in an immature state and allowed to ripen "off the vine."
Because they frequently are transported long distances and stored before they even go on sale in the supermarket, they have lost vitamins by the time they are purchased. Nutrient depletion even continues while produce is stored in the refrigerator. Unless vegetables and fruits are truly "garden fresh," frozens are a better buy nutritionally.
Scientists at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation analyzed 51 different frozen foods regularly found in grocery stores and supermarkets. Their research proved that foods retain their nutritional value during freezing. Substantial and highly beneficial amounts of no less than 21 essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients were found in these products.
Freezing, per se, does not injure vitamins. Air exposure is much more destructive, particularly to volatile nutrients such as vitamin C and thiamine. For example, a four-ounce serving of frozen Florida orange juice contains nearly the whole amount of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamin C as well as folic acid, thiamine, potassium and other essential nutrients.
According to studies, the standard 11-ounce frozen chicken dinner supplies from 42.58 percent to 54.22 percent of the minimum average daily requirement of protein for an adult. The average frozen chicken dinner provides more than 100 percent of the RDA of vitamin A and contains substantial amounts of thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin C, niacin, iron and calcium. It contains only 1/35th as much cholesterol as a single egg.
The average 11-ounce frozen beef dinner provides the following amounts of U.S. RDA of nutrients for an adult: nearly 50 percent of protein, 25 percent of phosphorus, 60 percent of iron, 14 percent of vitamin A, 25 percent of thiamine, 30 percent of riboflavin and 95 percent of niacin.
Information Courtesy of U.S. Cold Storage
|
|
March is National Frozen Food Month. Has it been a while since you looked at the choices available to you? If so, you may be in for a surprise! Gone are the days of cardboard-tasting TV dinners; now you'll find foods that taste just like Mom used to make…or depending on your mother, maybe even better!
