Resolution Kick-Start: Clean Out Your Freezer
By James Beckerman, M.D. / January 19, 2011
Most frozen dinners, appetizers, snacks and desserts we shove into our freezers are highly processed and have too much salt, sugar and fat (they need to have these ingredients for longevity). Once in our freezer, they tempt us all month long, and we end up taking in too much of this salt, sugar and fat into our bodies.
This month, when you do your usual freezer clean-out, remove temptation: Take out everything for cleaning, then only replace the foods that give you vitamins and energy along with all that convenience. Here are the keepers:
Frozen fruits and vegetables
These are great to have in the freezer, as they'll offer convenient ways to stock up on vitamins and fiber at any time of day, whatever the season. Frozen vegetables can be thawed to bulk up any soup, casserole or dinner. And frozen fruits make great desserts, as well as sweet additions to yogurts, smoothies and cereals.
Microwavable meals that follow the "2-4-8" rule
Microwavable meals are wonderfully convenient and can help with weight loss - as long as they don't add too much salt, fat and sugar. As a rule of thumb, keep only those meals that follow "2-4-8": those that have at least 20 grams of protein, fewer than 400 calories and less than 800 milligrams of sodium per serving.
Clean out everything else, and you'll be amazed at how easy it is to avoid the frozen snacks, appetizers and desserts that can derail your goals.
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