~ Frozen food magic and a bonus Seasonal Sweet Treat! ~
or many of us who lead hectic and busy lives, cooking healthy meals often gets pushed to the bottom of our never-ending to-do list. But here at Heartland, it’s our mission to help with that by taking some of that stress off your plate. Not only do we strive to provide the best, premium ingredients to our families, but we pride ourselves by saving them time with what we like to call: frozen food magic.
Enter your best friend: Your freezer. As many of our current Heartland members know, frozen food is not the enemy, but actually the biggest ally in the nightly dinner-time dash. And as many meal prep pros know, your freezer is the best tool to not only store ingredients safely, but reduce food waste and preserve optimal nutrition!
When you are asked to describe frozen food the first thing you may think of is cardboard or dull, freezer-burned TV dinners. Well, we’re here to dispel this dismal image. So, in honor of frozen food, we’re taking a stand against the bad wrap your freezer has gotten and diving into a few things you may or may not realize about the world of Farm-to-Freezer.
or many of us who lead hectic and busy lives, cooking healthy meals often gets pushed to the bottom of our never-ending to-do list. But here at Heartland, it’s our mission to help with that by taking some of that stress off your plate. Not only do we strive to provide the best, premium ingredients to our families, but we pride ourselves by saving them time with what we like to call: frozen food magic.
Enter your best friend: Your freezer. As many of our current Heartland members know, frozen food is not the enemy, but actually the biggest ally in the nightly dinner-time dash. And as many meal prep pros know, your freezer is the best tool to not only store ingredients safely, but reduce food waste and preserve optimal nutrition! When you are asked to describe frozen food the first thing you may think of is cardboard or dull, freezer-burned TV dinners. Well, we’re here to dispel this dismal image. So, in honor of frozen food, we’re taking a stand against the bad wrap your freezer has gotten and diving into a few things you may or may not realize about the world of Farm-to-Freezer.
Myth 1: Frozen Food is a Modern Practice
Un-Uh!
You may have been led to believe that frozen food is something that only recently came to us in the last mid-century. But that’s not true! After all, freezing is nature’s way of natural preservation and humans have been freezing food for millennia. In the past, (and even now!) freezing was the most optimal way to ensure that families had access to food that was out of season or only available at each harvest. Freezing ensured that any selection of food could be enjoyed fresh all year round. Before grocery stores or major food corporations were popularized, many families stored their food from local farms in a freezer for the whole year, only to be pulled out when needed. At Heartland, we’ve optimized this traditional method by bringing you the best of both worlds. We cut out the middleman and bring the farm back to your plate! Even before added preservatives were used, nature provided us a healthy way to preserve our food and our ancestors knew it too.
Myth 2: Frozen Food is Less Nutritious and Tasteless.
Not a chance!
It’s simple, if your food was nutritious before you froze it it will be nutritious after. Since the type of flash-freezing we do at Heartland requires NO added preservatives, our Sustainably-Sourced meats and veggies come right from the farm to your freezer, as fresh and nutritious as the day they were harvested. Standard grocery store meat and veggies have limited shelf space and because they aren’t frozen, quality and nutrients actually deteriorate each day. For this reason, frozen produce outperforms fresh produce because freezing allows all the nutrients to be locked in at peak quality. Not only this but, there’s no guarantee on how your standard grocery store meat was processed or where it came from. With Heartland Farms you always know 100% where all our products are sourced from. That’s our promise.
Myth 3: Frozen Food has Expiration Dates
Nope!
We hear you, you have concerns about the longevity of your frozen food. But we’re here to tell you to not fear the food that’s been sitting in the back of your freezer! This is because when you freeze something you are quite literally pressing the pause button on the aging process of that food! And, it’s important to note that according to FoodSafety.gov “frozen foods stored continuously at 0 degrees F or below can be kept indefinitely.” Of course, there are freezing guidelines on how to enjoy certain foods at peak quality, but freezer food magic ensures that as long your Heartland products are kept frozen, they will still be safe to eat. And if for any reason your food has defrosted as long as they are refrozen quickly the integrity of the food is not lost!
Myth 4: Frozen Food is Expensive and Wasteful
Wrong again!
Frozen meats and veggies in general require far less energy to transport and process than fresh produce, and therefore doesn’t require the same amount of packaging to maintain that delicate freshness. Not only is frozen produce significantly cheaper than fresh, it also can be stored at peak freshness for much, much longer. This means, it doesn’t have the possibility of going bad before you can consume it. You are saving money and reducing food waste and because of this, frozen foods can be more sustainable for the environment. We all would like to do our part in reducing our carbon footprint. So, for this reason, our meat and veggie portions are packaged individually and vacuum-sealed so you are only using the exact amount you need for each meal! Plus, this is a more convenient way to keep track of nutritional information so you can plan balanced meals accordingly.
Frozen food is your friend, especially when this age old preservation technique is used on the freshest and premium ingredients. So, thanks for coming along with us as we debunked these myths! We are so thankful to our families who continue to use Heartland’s freezer magic as a tool to craft premium and nutritious meals. We pride ourselves in bringing you your own personal organic grocery store right to your doorstep! As a special treat, we’re sharing with you our favorite and delicious fall-time frozen treat brought to you by: your freezer!
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
- 1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
- ½ tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 6 tablespoons sugar or sweetener alternative
(Recipe makes 4 to 6 pops based on the size of your molds!)
Instructions:
- Preferably in a bowl with a spout, mix together yogurt, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, honey and sugar until all ingredients are well incorporated.
- Pour your mixture into popsicle molds and add popsicle sticks if desired. (Some molds come with reusable holders! Tap your molds on a counter or table to remove as many air bubbles as you can.
- Set and forget! Freeze overnight for best results. When removing place the mold in a
bowl of warm water so pops slide out easier.
Enjoy! Pumpkin spice and everything nice!
What’s your go-to set and forget treat? Try or share your own fav freezer treats on our social media and don’t forget to join our Facebook Foodie group for more access to delicious deals and recipes.
