Frozen fare: To eat or not to eat? :: Food and Nutrition

Frozen fare: To eat or not to eat?
by author Sandy Buemann

Frozen fare: To eat or not to eat?

Most of us don’t have time to make dinner every night, but rest assured—popping a frozen entrée in the oven isn’t as bad for you as you may think. Of course it’s important to read the ingredients listed on the label.

Heart healthy oils
When choosing a frozen meal make sure you look for healthy fats and oils. Olive oil and canola oil are good choices that can help lower your risk of heart disease, according to the Dietitians of Canada. Safflower, sunflower, soybean, and corn oils are also good as they help lower your blood cholesterol.

Make sure your frozen entrée contains no hydrogenated oils, a source of trans fats that raise blood cholesterol levels. These oils are created when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil. Hydrogenation can also convert unsaturated fats—the healthy ones—into saturated fats, the unhealthy ones.

Beware of trans fats
You’ll want to pick frozen meals that contain 0 grams of trans fats, according to Crystal Dow, a registered dietician and nutrition consultant in Vancouver, BC. Dow recommends looking for the lowest amount of saturated fats, ideally meals containing no more than 2 grams.

Dow says that most of us are well aware that trans fats should be avoided, but we’re still learning about saturated fats. Animal fats should also be avoided.

“Generally manufacturers have done a good job of reducing trans fats, but then they limit the hydrogenated oils and increase the saturated fat,” says Dow.

When it comes to frozen fare, Dow says it’s fine if you are crunched for time, but it’s not something she recommends on a regular basis. For those times you are in a pinch, though, there are plenty of healthy frozen foods available.

Super supper options
Amy’s Roasted Vegetable Tamale is made with roasted poblano peppers, zucchini, and organic corn; contains no trans fats, and only half a gram of saturated fat. Amy’s Veggie Loaf Whole Meal and Black Bean Enchilada Whole Meal are also options made with healthy fats.

Helen’s Kitchen can also help you put a quick and healthy meal on the dinner table. The Hearty Bean Chili with Vegetables and Tofu Steaks contains no saturated or trans fats. Helen’s Kitchen also makes a Rotelli Primavera with only 1 gram of saturated fat, and an Indian Curry with Tofu Steaks over Rice with half a gram of saturated fat. Both dishes contain no trans fats.

For guilt-free ethnic cuisine, Indian Life is also a healthy choice. The Mattar Paneer with Brown Rice and Naan meal, a delectable mix of fresh peas and Indian-style cheese lightly sautéed in a creamy sauce, has 0 trans fats and only 1 gram of saturated fat. The same can be said for the Bombay Garbanzo Bean Curry Entrée.

Tasty frozen meals from Ethnic Gourmet are another option. The Chicken Pad Thai, Chicken Korma, and Pad Thai with Tofu are all made with 2 grams or less of saturated fats and contain no trans fats.

So enjoy your frozen meal, but make sure you check the ingredients list first. No one says you can’t put on your fancy apron, even if it’s just to open the oven door. Bon appétit!

For more info on frozen dinners, check out alive’s “Frozen assets” article.

Source: alive #318, April 2009

Whole Foods and Your Metabolic Needs
Roman healer and philosopher Lucretius observed 2,000 years ago that "One man's food is another man's poison." Like other great medical thinkers, he recognized the importance of physiological individuality..

More Nutrition for Less Money
A nutrient-rich diet is important at any age, but even more so for seniors. Bone loss and physical degeneration means that seniors need to maintain their nutritional balance in order to lead a healthy, active life. One major stumbling block is that seniors generally live on a fixed income.

Whole Food for Thought
"It has not fully dawned on the medical community that there is a directed relationship between the decline of proper nutrition and the rise of disease." The old saying "You are what you eat" is valid now perhaps more than ever.

Whole vs. Processed Foods
The modern food industry has changed the way we think of food.

Physician Speaks Out for Whole Foods Nutrition
Thomas Cowan, MD, keynote speaker at the "Organic Goes Mainstream 22nd Annual Organic Agriculture Conference, held Jan. 23 to 26, 2003, at Guelph (Ontario) University Centre, drew a standing ovation for his talk stressing the importance of whole foods in human nutrition. Dr.

Heart Pains
Heart disease accounts for the death of more Canadians than any other disease with about 79,400 deaths annually. Yet, many Canadians do not understand, or perhaps refuse to believe, the potentially life-saving power of food.

Snack Attack - Guilt Free!
"I hope you don't mind, said my friend Lynn as she unwrapped a cereal bar while riding in the car with me one morning. "My breakfast. It lets me sleep in an extra 15 minutes.

The Advantages of Whole Food Nutritional Supplements
Everyone knows whole foods are essential to a healthy diet, but can the benefits of whole foods also be found in nutritional supplements? Yes they can, if you get the right kind.

Great Greens for Health, Heart, and Head
Eating an abundance of fruit and vegetables may reduce cancer incidence by up to 50 percen.

Beyond the Food Guide
For optimum nutrition it is critical that we move beyond the recommendations of Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Living by choosing whole, non-processed foods from each food group every day.

Prepare for Winter with These Veggie Dishes
When the cooler months come rolling in I like to combine the earthy elements of mushrooms and autumn vegetables with reminders of summer such as cool and crisp fruits and lettuces.

Go Wild for Garlic

Is There a Cookie in the House?
We all enjoy baked goods, especially at this time of year when curling up with a warm cuppa and cookie is an antidote to the winter doldrums. Is it possible to prepare or purchase cookies that contain no overprocessed or chemical ingredients and are also satisfying and delicious?

Whole Food Nutrition No Fad
That's the opinion of Loren Cordain, PhD, author of the new book, The Paleo Diet. Meat is a rich source of protein, Cordain says, and we need plenty of it.

Relieve PMS with a Vegetarian Diet

Eat Early; Eat Less

High Fibre for Healthy Colons

Beautiful Foods

For a Picture-Perfect Smile, Eat Raisins.

Male Beauty Trap

Vegetarians Show Reduced Rate of Cancer

Foods for Cancer Prevention

Happy Hemp Harvest

Fill up on Fibre

Tired? Headaches? Hydrate Yourself

Wonders of White

Fight Cataracts with Veggies and Grains

Pomegranate Protects Prostate

A Natural Foods Revolutionary
Everything starts with a single seed. In 1971 when Alice Waters opened her restaurant, Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, California, she launched what has now become a North America-wide food revolution.

Get Your 5 to 10 a Day!
Winter is here and local farmers' markets are closed. Getting your fruits and vegetables can be a challenge. Should you reach for frozen? What about juice? What is the best way to get your 5 to 10 a day when the fresh produce of summer is just a distant memory?

Organic Supplements
Though we know that we should get as many of our vitamins and minerals as possible from the whole foods we eat, supplementing is sometimes necessary for good health.

Health From the Vine
There are few fruits that can rival the flavour of a just-picked, ruby red tomato still warm from the summer sun. It turns out they're hard to beat when it comes to nutrition, too.

Whole Foods to Go
I was raised by devout picnickers. My mother thought nothing of packing a picnic dinner of salmon sandwiches, milk, fruit, and cookies-nothing fancy.

Lycopene & Bone Health
Osteoporosis is known as the silent disease. This metabolic bone disease occurs primarily in women over the age of 50 due to estrogen loss at menopause. It not only affects one in two women-it also affects one in four men.

Sooke Harbour House
A pedigreed renegade with a penchant for doing the right thing, Sinclair Philip has called Vancouver Island's Sooke Harbour House home for long enough to entrench its reputation as one of the country's most eco-minded retreats.

Mushroom Magic
I owe my awe of mushrooms to Hollyhock Centre on Cortes Island, BC. It was there, in a four-day workshop, co-led by mushroom aficionados Paul Stamets and Dr. Andrew Weil, where I began to awaken to the enchanted world of mycelium.

Spotlight on Diabetes
Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in Canada and affects approximately 5 percent of the population. According to Statistics Canada, rates are significantly higher in the eastern provinces.

Soluble Fibre
To your body, all carbohydrates equal sugar, so you may wonder, "If food turns into sugar in our bodies anyway, why are refined sugar and white flour so bad?

Frozen Assets
Thankfully, good-for-you frozen dinners, pizzas, and lasagna are finding more grocery store freezer space and may even offer a nutritious option when the daily grind leaves little room for home cooking.

Deal Out Cancer
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, about 40 percent of women and nearly 45 percent of men in this country will face a personal battle with this fearful disease.

Chocolate chocolate everywhere
Chocolate has been catapulted from a little treat you buy at the corner store to an antioxidant superstar with health claims.

Stress Less
Many Canadians suffer from stress. It’s the root cause of numerous health challenges we experience. Finding ways to reduce stress is essential to improve our health and our quality of life.