Using frozen vegetables to make a quick healthy dinner can be a convenient, sustainable, and budget-friendly strategy. Check out our top tips on using frozen vegetables to prepare a healthy and budget-friendly dinner.
It’s time to give a round of applause to the hard-working frozen vegetable category. While many people may look their nose up in the frozen food aisle, using frozen vegetables to prepare a healthy meal can be a smart culinary strategy. Did you know that when vegetables are harvested for frozen packaging, they are picked according to their taste and peak nutrition? They are quickly harvested from the fields and frozen quickly, so all those vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals are kept in the bag. So, when you open a package of frozen peas, corn or spinach and use it for cooking, you get a nutritional bonus in return. Not to mention, using frozen vegetables to make a budget-friendly dinner can save you money. Another big benefit is that you can enjoy more sustainably grown seasonal produce during the cooler months, rather than subsidizing fresh, imported produce that hails from miles and miles. Plus, relying on frozen vegetables makes cooking quick and easy. That’s why I share with you my 5 best tips on using frozen vegetables to prepare a healthy and budget-friendly dinner.
5 Tips for Using Frozen Vegetables to Prepare a Healthy and Budget-Friendly Dinner
1. Go green
Keep a bag of frozen vegetables — spinach, mustard greens or kale — in your freezer at all times. Those vegetables that have been previously cleaned and the compartment charged with nutrition, are excellent to throw into soups or stews, pasta dishes, quicheOr fried or vegetables. Better yet, eat a small handful at a nutritious breakfast smoothie To enhance the power of green vegetables.
2. Get Corny
A bag of frozen sweet corn is one of the most versatile items in your refrigerator. It’s the perfect foundation for nourishment chowder or Tamale BayPlus, it can add color, nutritional appeal, and vitality to a taco salad, bean burrito, cornbread, or succotash.
3. Mix it up
A bag of your favorite vegetable mix, whether Asian or Mediterranean inspired, or simply peas and carrots, can be the start of a lovely meal. Put them in a skillet with a healthy protein source, soy sauce, and ginger and make a quick stir-fry to accompany brown rice. Frozen vegetables are sautéed with garlic and olive oil, tossed with whole wheat pasta. Toss the vegetable mixture into a creamy sauce and top with mashed potatoes or crackers for a Vegetable pot pie.
4. Oh, sweet peas!
Rich in protein and fiber, these little green orbs are the start of a delicious meal. Toss boiled new peas and potatoes in a creamy sauce as a side dish. Place the peas in a curry dish to serve with whole grains. Or put them in a nutrient-rich risotto as a one-dish meal.
5. Power plant with Edamame
One of my favorite vegan frozen protein sources is edamame – immature green soybeans. These nutritious and delicious legumes can add great nutritional power to your meals in many ways. Stir them into a main salad, stir-fry them with vegetables and whole grains as a one-dish meal, and cook them into a hearty stew.
Check out some of my favorite recipes using frozen vegetables here:
Lentil risotto with peas
Kale Power Tofu Bowl With Tahini Sauce
Vegetarian Tamale Pie
Corn and quinoa soup
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