Fall in love with your freezer
Say ‘frozen food’ and many of us instantly think of chips, pizzas and ready meals.
There’s a bit of a stigma attached to food that lives in the chill zone, but we should all think again: March is Frozen Food month - and for anyone counting calories, frozen foods might well be the stars of the show.
Emma Brown, in-house nutritionist for calorie counting App and website, Nutracheck, said: “Many of us are totally underwhelmed by our freezers, seeing them as a convenience that rarely goes beyond ice cubes, frozen peas and ice cream.
“Yet for anyone counting calories, the freezer is invaluable because it enables you to put together a quick, nutritious, low-calorie meal in less than 15 minutes. A lot of foods come in handy portions or ready chopped for convenience - just take out what you need and use straight from frozen, which is a massive time-saver.
“Extensive studies show that frozen fish, fruits and vegetables contain just as much - and in some case more - nutrients than fresh versions, and bags of frozen food are often much cheaper than fresh - so what’s not to love? “
Here are two quick, low-calorie and cost-effective meals which can be thrown together in 15 minutes or less, using food from the freezer with just a couple of everyday store cupboard items.
Veggie Sausage & Mash with onion gravy
Calories 403
Fat 13g
Price per portion £1.28
Cooking time 15 minutes
5-a-day 2 portions
Ingredients
2 x Quorn sausages – 67p (172 cals & 7g fat)
160g Aunt Bessie’s homestyle mashed potato – 38p (144 cals & 4.2g fat)
140g Sainsbury’s basic mixed vegetables – 11p (55 cals & 1g fat)
70ml Bisto reduced salt gravy – 4p (16 cals & 1g fat)
40g Sainsbury's frozen chopped onions – 8p (16.4 cals & 0g fat)
Method
1. Preheat the grill to a medium setting. Cook the sausages for 14 minutes turning often.
2. When the sausages have been cooking for 10 minutes, bring a pan of water to the boil. Add the gravy granules and onions to the water and simmer for 4 minutes.
3. Place the mash in a microwave proof bowl and cover with cling film. Pierce the cling film and cook on full power for 3.5 minutes.
4. Allow the mash to stand, and place the veg in a microwave proof bowl and cover with cling film. Pierce the cling film and cook on full power for 2 minutes.
5. Serve the mash, sausages and veg - pour over the onion gravy.
Why it’s a good choice
Quorn is a great low fat source of protein. The vegetables and potatoes contain important vitamins, and these frozen versions don’t contain any additives or preservatives. Opting for reduced salt gravy keeps the total amount for the meal at a healthy level.
Prawn Stir-fry
Calories 493
Fat 13g
Price per portion £2.04
Cooking time <10 minutes
5-a-day 1.5 portions
Ingredients
85g frozen, cooked and peeled prawns – £1.12 (59 cals & 0.5g fat)
200g pack of cooked rice, frozen – 35p (264 cals & 0.5g fat)
100g frozen mixed stir fry vegetables – 23p (58 cals & 2.3g fat)
40g frozen chopped onions by Sainsbury’s – 8p (16.4 cals & 0g fat)
1 tsp frozen coriander – 6p (1.7 cals & 0g fat)
10ml sesame oil – 7p (83 cals & 9.2g fat)
20ml reduced salt soy sauce – 13p (11 cals & 0.5g fat)
Method
1. Heat the sesame oil in a wok, and add the onions and vegetables and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Add the rice and cook for 3 minutes until it starts to thaw.
3. Add the cooked prawns and stir through until the rice and prawns are piping hot.
4. Finally add the soy sauce and heat through for one minute, then serve sprinkled with chopped coriander.
Why it’s a good choice
Prawns are a low calorie source of quality protein and good fats. The vitamin-packed veg in this meal provide nearly 2 portions of your 5-a-day. The sesame oil is a source of good fats and the reduced salt soy sauce keeps the total amount for the meal at a healthy level.
Dessert
Berries with Vanilla Ice Cream
Calories 106
Fat 3.2g
Price per portion £0.55
5-a-day 1portion
Ingredients
80g mixed frozen berries – 44p (39 cals & 0.5g fat)
100ml light vanilla ice cream – 11p (62 cals & 2.7g fat)
Method
1. The berries will need to be defrosted in advance, so take them out the freezer and place in a bowl to thaw before cooking dinner.
2. Once the fruit has thawed, serve with 2 scoops of ice cream.
*Prices calculated per portion
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