Can Frozen Food Be Healthy?

For busy dancers, frozen foods might just be the saving grace of a post-performance recovery meal. But from a nutrition perspective, these can be hit or miss with higher-than-recommended sodium counts and questionable ingredients. We can, however, consider a few helpful tips to turn frozen meals into a nourishing option.

#1: Be Savvy With Sodium

To sustain shelf-life, frozen meals, and snack foods often come packaged with higher amounts of sodium. While some sodium is harmless for most active dancers, we want to stay on target with the guidelines set forth by The American Heart Association: 2300 mg sodium per day. A single frozen meal can easily amount to half that allowance.

Find options with less than 600 mg of sodium per serving. If the package contains more than one serving, bulk it up with extra veggies. Adding veggies to the meal will offer fibrous bulk. As a result, you’ll reach a comfortable fullness while allowing for leftovers and thus a second meal to be created. Another bonus? Veggies are high in potassium. This electrolyte works alongside sodium to balance your body’s hydration status.

#2: Peek ingredients, but don’t obsess

Ingredients are listed in order of abundance (with the most abundant ingredients listed first) look for carbohydrates from sources like whole grains (like brown rice, farro, quinoa, Kamut) and legumes (like beans), protein from sources like milk, and chicken, tofu, turkey, and beef, and fats from sources like nuts, seeds, olive oil, canola oil, and avocados.

You’re likely to see other unfamiliar ingredients added to ensure the safety and quality of packaged foods. Don’t obsess- these are harmless in the minute amounts used. I debunk much of the myths surrounding these ingredients here. For the most part, and when it’s financially feasible, look for options with whole-food ingredients listed as the first, second, or third, ingredient.

#3: Mix and match with bulk

As mentioned earlier, frozen veggies are a great addition to meals to boost your intake of fiber. Stocking bags of frozen broccoli, peas, string beans, spinach, and more make it easy to meet your day’s worth of colorful veggies. Frozen fruit is another economical option abundant in vitamins and minerals. Add frozen blueberries to your smoothies or oatmeal. The options are endless!

Frozen Favorites for Dancers

Frozen Meals

1. evol
2. Amy’s Kitchen
3. Sweet Earth
4. Green Giant Harvest Bowls
5. Kashi
6. Healthy Choice
7. Lean Cuisine
8. Honestly Good. 

Frozen Pizza

1. Newman’s Own
2. American Flatbread
3. Kashi
4. Caulipower*
5. Cauli’flour Foods*

Veggie Burgers

1. Dr. Praeger
2. Hilary’s 

Waffles

1. Van’s Whole Grain Waffles
2. Kashi Whole Grain Waffles
3. Kodiak

Bonus? Top them with your favorite nut butter, berries, and hemp seeds!

Ice cream

1. Haagen Daas Vanilla
2. Turkey Hill All Natural
3. Trader Joe’s French Vanilla
4. Luna + Larry’s Coconut Bliss (dairy-free option)
5. Stony Field Frozen Yogurt (Vanilla)

Frozen Desserts

1. Diana’s Bananas Banana Babies 
2. Chloe’s Fruit Bars
3. Outshine Fruit Bars