Dr. Oz Counters Current Views with Best Frozen Foods for Weight Loss

(EmaxHealth) New York City - Contrary to current views that food must be fresh in order to be healthy, Dr. Oz presents his choice of the best frozen foods for losing weight. While many frozen foods are burdened with trans fats and salt, Dr. Oz shows us that some frozen foods are actually quite healthy and will help you toward your goal of losing weight this New Year.

Freezing food for preservation has existed as far back as the days of early man struggling with survival during an Ice Age. The harsh sub-zero temperatures of his arctic climate would essentially flash freeze a fish as soon as it was brought out of the water and onto a frigid bank or ice flow. This was fortuitous for the fisherman as flash freezing not only preserves the meat, but it also ensures that the flesh of the fish is preserved in an intact state that essentially traps nutrients and flavor until thawing for a meal. In comparison, freezing the meat of a fish slowly does not work so well. Slow freezing results in ice crystal formation that ruptures the cells and subsequently leads to poor taste and texture after thawing.

Credit for modern flash freezing goes to Clarence Birdseye, a fur trader in the far North who observed the quick freezing of fish caught by the local Inuit and realized its practical application toward food preservation.

The story goes that Birdseye’s initial invention consisted of using an electric fan with buckets of brine and cakes of ice to quick freeze samples of meat. Later, he devised improved methods that quick froze fresh meat in waxed cardboard boxes using metal belts that were chilled to -40°F to -45°F using a calcium chloride solution or by evaporating ammonia under high pressure conditions. Today, you can find frozen foods in local supermarkets carrying his name under the trademark Birds Eye Frosted Foods®.

The importance of Clarence Birdseye’s discovery and invention is that it added a level of convenience to the modern kitchen. No longer was it necessary to shop every day to keep food on the table. But more significantly, it helps save time when a hectic schedule prevents traditional meal preparation. The risk, however, is that many frozen foods are laden with fats and sodium that not good for your health. As a result, Dr. Oz offers a few suggestions for finding frozen foods that are healthy and good for losing weight.

“Some frozen foods are actually healthy for you, and guess what?—they will even help you shed some weight,” says Dr. Oz in a recent episode showing viewers that making the right choices in frozen food is not so tough once you know what to look for.

Dr. Oz presented one frozen food from each of the four categories of the best frozen vegetable, the best frozen meat, the best frozen carbohydrate and the best frozen dessert.

Frozen Food #1: Edamame shelled soybeans from Seapoint Farms
“Edamame will boost your metabolism,” says Dr. Oz as he describes how that edamame soybeans are a great, healthy vegetable as a source of 8 grams of protein per serving. “They’re great as a snack, they’re great when you steam them, and they’re ready to eat in minutes when you microwave these things,” says Dr. Oz

Frozen Food #2: Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burger
“It has all natural stuff in it—no trans fats, no saturated fats, no cholesterol, it’s packed with spinach and peas and carrots and soybeans. And unlike other veggie burgers, this one has bran in it,” says Dr. Oz. According to Dr. Oz, Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers are inexpensive and contain only 110 calories per burger.

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