Though your grocery store’s freezer section is packed with affordable and nutritious items, there are certain frozen foods to skip if your goal is healthy weight loss or good nutrition in general, for that matter.
Before getting into the specifics of the frozen foods to skip when you’re shopping for weight loss and nutrition, it’s important to note that there are some extremely healthful and nutritious options in the freezers at your grocery store. In fact, in many cases, the vegetables and fruits in those freezers are just as nutritious – if not more so – than those in the fresh produce section.
The reason this is true is that it isn’t the fact that the food has been put on ice that makes it frozen foods to skip while you’re shopping. Instead, it has to do with other factors that can impact your nutrition. It’s important to understand those factors to be sure you’re not holding yourself back unintentionally while you’re choosing your meals.
The following are some of the frozen foods to skip while you’re making your way through the freezer section in the grocery store during your next trip.
Vegetables in the freezer section can be great for you, are a fantastic way to save money when compared to fresh veggies and will keep for longer than their fresh alternatives. However, when there are more than just the vegetables in the package, that’s when you might want to add those frozen foods to your skip list.
To add different flavors to vegetables, many brands will add oils, sugars, sauces and cheeses. While a spice mix alone typically won’t negatively impact weight loss or nutrition, most other ingredients will work against you. If you want your veggies flavored, it’s typically more healthful and weight loss friendly to add them yourself instead.
Whether you’re vegan or vegetarian or simply want new options for meatless meals, vegan microwavable meals can provide an attractive option. However, these are also easy dishes to include among frozen foods to skip. The reason is that these heat-and-eat meals are notorious for their sodium, fat, sugar and calorie contents. When it comes to those components, vegan microwavable meals are often among the worst in the freezer.
This is doubly frustrating when you look at the nutrition table for these highly processed foods and discover that they have little in terms of vitamins and minerals to offer along with all those unwanted additives.