4 Healthy Recipes You Can Make With Items From Your Freezer

Healthy frozen foods

Foods such as local blueberries and farm-fresh corn may still be in hibernation, but don’t give up on eating healthy: Frozen items like berries, broccoli and peas are economical and convenient-no peeling, pitting or chopping required. And for some dishes such as soups and smoothies, frozen fruit and veggies can go straight into the pan or blender without fully thawing (but do wash them, unless the package specifies they’ve been prewashed).

Best of all, they are often harvested at their peak ripeness and then quickly frozen to lock in their nutrients, antioxidants and flavour. Nutritionists say that in some instances, sub-zero produce can actually contain more nutritional value than fresh versions, which may have degraded if they had a long trip to the store. And don’t overlook frozen legumes such as edamame and lima beans, which provide a nutritional windfall including healthy amounts of dietary fibre.

As these recipes show, frozen fruit and veggies can play a starring role in all of your meals, from breakfast to dessert.

Image: iStockphoto.com

Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes with Cherry Sauce

Cherries contain potassium, a nutrient that helps slash the risk of high blood pressure. Lower-fat ricotta gives these pancakes rich flavour and extra protein without too much fat and calories.

Get the recipe: Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes with Cherry Sauce

Broccoli-Pistachio Soup

Broccoli florets are a surefire way to load up on vitamin C, an antioxidant that may cut the risk of diabetes. And this vibrant green soup has spinach, too, which is brimming with vitamin K to improve bone health.

Get the recipe: Broccoli-Pistachio Soup

Fish with Corn & Warm Lima Bean Salad

Corn provides your diet with folate, a B vitamin shown to reduce the risk of colon cancer. Avocado adds fat calories to this dish, but most of the fat is the heart-healthy monounsaturated kind.

Get the recipe: Fish with Corn & Warm Lima Bean Salad

Berry Granola Fool

Harvard researchers found that women who ate three or more daily servings of blueberries and strawberries, both of which are often found in frozen berry medleys at grocery stores, were 32 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack. Most traditional fool recipes are made with heavy cream, but Greek yogurt is a far healthier alternative.

Get the recipe: Berry Granola Fool

Related:
• 5 health benefits of blueberries
• 4 health benefits of peas
• 7 ways to get your daily fruits and vegetables