Eating healthy & easily at any time: These are the foods you should have in the freezer
No time to cook balanced, healthy, and delicious meals? Then fill your freezer with healthy options from the frozen food section. We will show you which convenience food is healthy and how to quickly prepare a nutritious meal from it.
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Is there healthy convenience food?
In the freezer compartment, frozen pizzas, fish sticks, and other convenience foods are piling up? This is practical when you have no time or desire to cook, or when you need something quick for lunch. However, as tempting as these convenience products may be, it's better to enjoy them only occasionally. Because of their often high-fat and high-calorie ingredients, as well as unnecessary additives, they offer little health-relevant nutritional value for us.
There are also many delicious and healthy dishes that can be prepared in no time from the freezer or minimally processed basic ingredients. It is not necessary to completely avoid convenience food, and if the health aspect is important to you, we have some easy, healthy ideas from the freezer for you. Of course, we should mainly cook healthy, balanced, and fresh. But in some moments, everyone is surely glad to have a healthy alternative in stock. It's great that there are now some products available with good ingredients, and the vitamin content of high-quality, shock-frozen vegetables and fruits should not be underestimated.
Well-chosen frozen food is...
vitamin-rich, because shock freezing helps to preserve many vitamins.
divisible, as you can take as much as you need.
practical for small households.
versatile, because this way you have a stock of different varieties at home that you can combine as you please.
Healthy frozen food: What to look for
a very short list of ingredients
Low salt: <0.5 g/100g, otherwise you will quickly reach the daily maximum intake of 6 grams with one portion
no added sugar (or sugar substitute)
no unnecessary additives such as flavor enhancers, aromas, and artificial ingredients
a high proportion of vegetables (the further vegetables appear at the beginning of the ingredient list, the more is included)
Balanced main meals should include a good source of protein and fiber such as legumes (e.g. chickpeas) or whole grains
High-quality fats like rapeseed or olive oil instead of hydrogenated (trans) fats
Vegetarian dishes are often lower in calories and contain more vegetables
By the way: The Nutri-Score serves only as a guide, even "green" products are not automatically healthy, as the quality of ingredients, the content of micronutrients, or certain additives are not taken into account.
4 healthy foods you should always have in the freezer
1. Vegetable stir-fry
Leek, carrots, zucchini, broccoli - a frozen vegetable mix is a good base for many dishes and still contains plenty of vitamins and trace elements. And if you make sure that there are no additives such as flavors or sugar in the ingredient list, you can't go wrong with it. A dish that is ready in a few minutes would be, for example, a vegetable stir-fry with canned chickpeas - providing you with micronutrients, plant-based protein, and fiber in record time.
2. Broccoli and spinach
Frozen broccoli is ideal both as a side dish and for a quick soup. It can also be easily portioned out when a whole head is too much. Spinach is also very useful in the freezer - for extra vitamins in smoothies, on bread with fried eggs, or with (whole grain) pasta.
3. Berries
Whether for muesli, overnight oats, yogurt, nice cream, drinks, or pancakes: Berries of all kinds are a versatile ingredient in the kitchen, not only delicious but also a true superfood in terms of nutrients and secondary plant compounds. When shopping, make sure no sugar is added and feel free to freeze fresh produce during the season for later use.
4. Fish fillet
Fresh fish fillets from sustainable fishing taste delicious when fried in a pan or cooked in the oven with lemon and herbs or ginger, accompanied by some bread and either a bit of raw vegetables or, for example, pickled peppers or pesto from the pantry - and a healthy meal is ready to be served.
Upgrade frozen pizza to make it healthier
And if nothing helps and you still have to resort to a frozen pizza? No need to panic: Here we have some ideas for you on how to easily enhance it with healthy ingredients.
Start with your shopping. Nowadays, organic stores offer a great range of frozen pizzas with good ingredients such as spelt (whole grain) flour and many vegetarian options. For an extra dose of vitamins and trace elements, add some additional vegetables on top, such as a few slices of frozen mushrooms, fresh halved cherry tomatoes, sautéed baby spinach, or even some cooked legumes like chickpeas, or if you prefer, even organic smoked salmon. Alternatively, you can enhance your pizza after baking by adding fresh basil.
And remember: Healthy eating mainly means eating balanced - being too strict and feeling guilty won't help. Ensure a healthy basic supply and make the best of it on hectic days.