{"id":7627,"date":"2013-03-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/togethercounts.com\/celebrating-national-frozen-food-month\/"},"modified":"2013-03-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-21T00:00:00","slug":"celebrating-national-frozen-food-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/togethercounts.com\/es\/celebrating-national-frozen-food-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating National Frozen Food Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Have you ever bought fresh fruits and veggies only to have them go bad a few days later due to hectic schedules or picky eaters? If you\u2019re anything like my family, this scenario happens quite regularly. For those who don\u2019t know, March is National Frozen Foods Month, the perfect time to remember all the great reasons we love our frozen foods! As an ambassador for the Together CountsTM<\/sup>\u00a0program, I\u2019ll be sharing ways to incorporate frozen foods into your daily meals.<\/p>\n

Frozen food is real food<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/strong>Vegetables and fruits are picked at the peak of their ripeness providing us with all the nutrition when eaten. As a working mother of two little ones, I am always looking for shortcuts in the kitchen. Keeping a variety of frozen fruits and veggies in the freezer saves meal time prep and makes it easy to make my kid’s favorite snack – smoothies!<\/p>\n

Make meal planning a family affair<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/strong>The busier our lives get, the more essential meal planning is. I make it a priority to include each member of my family in the meal planning process, all the way down to my kid’s school lunches. This makes meal time more enjoyable and provides quality family time as well. We love frozen foods because it makes last minute meal planning a synch.<\/p>\n

(See also Making the Most of Mealtime<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Make vegetables the main event<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/strong>Making vegetables the main entree of our meal will not only provide us extra nutrients, but will also help lower the calories of our meal. We love incorporating frozen edamame into our dishes as well as a variety of legumes.<\/p>\n

Save time, save money<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/strong>By purchasing frozen foods, we avoid over-buying because the foods are pre-cut, thus reducing waist and prep time, and pre-portioned, providing us with just the right amount of food. This not only saves time and money, but also leaves us with those few extra minutes in our busy day to spend quality time with our family.<\/p>\n

So get out there and stock up on some frozen foods to make simple meals. They\u2019re a great option for on-the-go families, and you may just save a few pennies in the meantime!<\/p>\n

How do you utilize frozen food for your meal plans? Any great recipes to share?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Estela is a Registered Dietitian & stay-at-home mom living in Southern California. You can often find her writing on her personal blog <\/em>Weekly Bite<\/em><\/a>, a lifestyle blog centered around food, life and mommyhood.<\/em><\/p>\n

For more meal planning tips check out these additional Together CountsTM<\/sup> program resources:<\/em><\/p>\n