{"id":46184,"date":"2015-12-16T11:15:25","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T16:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=46184"},"modified":"2016-08-05T13:30:51","modified_gmt":"2016-08-05T17:30:51","slug":"frozen-food-taste-better-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/frozen-food-taste-better-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"This Is How to Make Frozen Food More Glamorous"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Frozen
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Frozen meals may sound less than appealing, but the grab-and-go option can actually provide you with a slew of health benefits. This is especially more prevalent than ever with organic lines like Amy\u2019s and natural ingredient-driven dishes from Kashi, for example. What\u2019s more, you can eat 95 percent of your weekly food just from frozen items \u2014 and average spending less than nine dollars per day on your diet according to new research<\/a>. (Pretty sweet, right?)<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 13 Healthy Freezer Meals to Prep Now and Eat Later<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen shopping, make sure to choose meals that have certain components,\u201d says Lauren Popeck, RD, dietician at Orlando Health<\/a>. \u201cThey should be 500 calories or less per serving, have three to four grams of saturated fat or less, have no more than 600 milligrams of sodium and ideally include lean protein, vegetables and whole grains like brown rice or whole-wheat pasta,\u201d she adds. But if your frozen dinner is a bit lackluster, we\u2019ve got great news: You can up the nutrition, taste and look of frozen food by just having a few tips and tricks up your sleeve.<\/p>\n

5 Ways to Upgrade Frozen Food Tonight<\/strong><\/h3>\n

1. Get a healthy flavor pop from herbs.
\n<\/strong>Lots of frozen meals get a bad rap for being bland \u2014 but\u00a0adding healthy-but-flavorful veggies and herbs, such as onion and garlic, can help. \u201cOnions and garlic both have sulfur compounds that boost our immune systems,\u201d says Liz Weinandy, RD and outpatient dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center<\/a>. \u201cChop up some and add to the frozen meal about halfway through cooking, or saut\u00e9 in a bit of olive oil and add to the meal once cooked through,\u201d she adds. Pro tip: Crush or mince garlic finely, allowing it to sit exposed to the air 10 minutes before cooking or adding to the meal. The air exposure sets off a chain reaction to activate the sulfur compound allicin, says Weinandy. Other herbs that provide flavor with little to no calories? Popeck likes cilantro, basil and parsley, \u201cwhich are all excellent sources of the antioxidant vitamin A.\u201d All the better for seeing you, my dear: Vitamin A promotes better eye health in addition to boosting immune function.<\/p>\n

2. Try stirring in some Greek yogurt.
\n<\/strong>To up the savory factor on an Indian or Mexican meal, Weinandy goes for an easy hack: adding a quick stir of Greek yogurt<\/a> into beans, rice or sauces. Think of it like a healthier sour cream, just lower in fat and packing good-for-you probiotics (win, win!). Plus, \u201cadding plain Greek yogurt to a meal will up the protein and calcium of your dish, so it\u2019s more satisfying.\u201d To ensure ideal texture, \u201cmake sure to add it at the end<\/em> of heating a meal,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>19 Ways to Add Flavor for 10 Calories or Less<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Add\u00a0in valuable greens.
\n<\/strong>A strategic side\u00a0medley of steamed veggies will add color (read: nutrients), plus a whole lot of\u00a0fiber to satiate you. \u201cOnly four<\/em> percent of all Americans get the recommended amount of vegetables in daily,\u201d says Weinandy. \u201cThink about throwing in a handful of pre-washed baby spinach<\/a> to any cooked meal, or stir in frozen vegetables like green beans, peas or broccoli halfway through cooking,\u201d she suggests. Popeck recommends serving up a side of broccoli, Brussels sprouts or asparagus for extra B vitamins<\/a> and beta carotene. Or, tack on a side salad, which will \u201cbalance high sodium content [typically high in frozen foods for preservation purposes), since fresh veggies are naturally low in sodium and high in water,\u201d Popeck says. \u201cPotassium-rich produce can counter the effects of the sodium, as well,\u201d she adds, “so think of throwing in some spinach, tomatoes or avocados<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Dip into any of your leftovers.
\n<\/strong>It\u2019s not a bad idea to add leftover protein from a dinner earlier in the week \u2014 or make extra one day, so you can add it to a frozen meal the next night. \u201cMany frozen meals are low in protein, since meat is usually the most expensive [component],\u201d says Weinandy. But just because manufacturers don\u2019t want to shell out, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s OK to skip. \u201cInstead, think about adding some leftover chicken, lean pork, beef or beans to a meal to get some protein in, and make the meal a bit more balanced,\u201d she adds. You want about 20 to 30 grams of protein per meal, so check the back<\/a> of your package and add accordingly; a chicken tenderloin or quarter-cup of black beans is around 10 grams of protein. (Consult this infographic<\/a> to see how much protein your favorite foods are packin\u2019.)<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 5 Healthy Fast-Food Breakfasts for Crazy-Busy Mornings<\/a><\/p>\n

5. And don\u2019t forget the (all-natural) sweet stuff.
\n<\/strong>Frozen meals almost always come without a major dietary component: fruit<\/a>! Not only does a dose of fruit up your fiber and antioxidant game, the high concentration of water can also help balance a meal with excess sodium. \u201cAbout 90 percent of us are not getting in enough fruit, so peel a mandarin orange, enjoy seasonal pears or apples, add grapes or berries \u2014 whatever is easiest,\u201d Weinandy says. Besides, a sweet dessert after a frozen meal is always <\/em>a good choice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Frozen food may get a bad rap, but it\u2019s great in a pinch (or when you\u2019re tired). Here\u2019s how to give those frozen foods a healthy, semi-homemade upgrade. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,425,7,11,9],"tags":[155,51,52,345,350,306],"class_list":["post-46184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-dinner","category-health","category-health-hacks","category-recipes","tag-dinner","tag-food-choices","tag-fruit","tag-tax1conditions","tag-tax2type-2-diabetes","tag-vegetables"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46184\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}