Sometimes, Frozen Is Actually Better Than Fresh

FROZEN DOESN'T MEAN WHAT IT USED TO

While the idea of frozen food might bring to mind processed pizza or freezer-burned chicken nuggets, when it comes to produce, frozen is actually better. According to Michael Pollan, Author of Omnivore's Dilemma, “The nutritional quality is just as good-and sometimes even better, because the produce is often picked and frozen at its peak of quality." For example, studies show that even just three days after being picked, many fruits and vegetables lose a significant amount of nutrients. Somewhere between the TV dinners and that sad ‘vegetable medley’ bag, frozen food has gotten a bad reputation. I get it. But this is a whole new day—and it’s about to get crowded back there in your freezer, so move over gourmet ice cream and vodka! I’m bringing frozen back.

ENTER THE FLASH FREEZE

So how do we get these nutrients to you? Second only to picking off the vine yourself, flash freezing fruits and veggies preserves nutrients in their prime, and it delivers a better quality than most of the produce available at your local market. Did you know most apples you buy in the grocery store are picked over a year before you consume them (losing their nutritional value along their journey to you)? What exactly does it mean to be flash frozen? Flash freezing (also known as blast freezing) refers to freezing foods at extremely low temperatures with cold, circulating air. This quick-chill method keeps ice crystals small, which prevents moisture loss in the food when it thaws. And guess what, it’s nutrient content is not only unharmed, but often it’s better. A study published in 2010 in the journal of "Food Composition and Analysis" demonstrated that frozen clementines retain all of their original vitamin C content. In reality, while you might think your buying “fresh” fruit and vegetables, most of what you’ll find sitting around the grocery store was picked before it became ripe, which means it had less time to develop a full spectrum of vitamins and minerals. But when they’ve been flash frozen at the farm, they’ve been picked and preserved at their peak ripeness - i.e., when they’re absolutely bursting with their peak nutrients. It’s like buying it at a farm stand, just picked, and then frozen at that instant.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOU?

With frozen produce, you’ll have ripe, tasty, and nutritious fruits and vegetables year-round. That means prepped and ready meals that are both convenient and uncompromising. Personally, I was craving one of those beautiful Instagram-worthy smoothies. But with no time to research, prep, buy, measure and blend before work. I knew there had to be an easier way. Which is why I created Daily Harvest. Note: The Charlotte’s Book team is a HUGE fan of Daily Harvest Smoothies, so we invited Rachel Drori to write this informative post on flash freezing. Our favorite flavors are the blueberry hemp, banana and greens, and pineapple and matcha. We're also giving away some of these gorgeous smoothies in our GET HOT FOR THE HOLIDAYS sweepstakes. Learn more and enter now. Just for entering, you will get 20% off your next purchase with Dermstore and 25% off your first month of AKT on demand. What are you waiting for? Image: Daily Harvest

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Win a supply of Daily Harvest smoothies by entering our winter sweeps. It's awesome! Into juices & smoothies? Here, one if the industry's must renowned food scientists discusses how to buy green juice.

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