Chia Seeds

A superfood worthy of the superfood name, chia seeds are some of the healthiest foods that you can find out there. Not only are they full of nutrients, but they bring in some resounding health benefits as well. These small seeds come from the Salvia Hispanica plant, originating from South America. During human history, these seeds were used by the ancient Mayans and Aztecs for their claimed energy boosting effects.

Serious Fiber

The fiber of Chia seeds can absorb up to 10-12 times its weight in water. As the water is absorbed the chia seeds will expand in the stomach creating a greater feeling of fullness. For this reason, Chia seeds can be used to reduce appetite and food cravings. This soluble fiber has another benefit in that it feeds your gut flora...the good bacteria necessary for digestive and immune health.

Powerful Antioxidant

Chia seeds are going to excel as an antioxidant superfood fighting the damaging effects of free radicals on our cells. The benefits of antioxidant defense may slow the aging process of our cells and the development of cancers.

Frozen Garden smoothies that include Chia Seeds are Napa-licious and Rollin' Oats!

Hemp Seeds

Two standout benefits for hemp seeds, even among its superfoods peers, are going to be its use as a complete protein source and it’s high ideal ratio of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.

A Complete Protein Source

As a complete protein, hemp seeds supply all of the essential amino acids we are required to pull from our foods. This is impressive as not many plant-based proteins are considered complete - most lacking in the essential amino acid lysine.

2 to 3 tablespoons of hemp seeds as stated from Authority Nutrition are going to boast an impressive 11 grams of protein which, by weight, is on the level of animal protein sources!  

The Ideal Ratio of Omega 3 & 6 Fatty Acids

Comprised of 30% fatty acids. Hemp seeds is at the top of the list in our line up for healthy fats. Not only because these levels are high, but also because they come in the ideal ratio...that would be 3 parts omega-6 fats for every 1 part omega-3, which is considered to be the optimal range. Studies indicate Omega 3 & 6 fats to benefit our immune response as well as our skin health!

Benefits for Heart Disease and HBP

The seed contains a high amount of arginine, an amino acid known to produce nitric oxide which dilates the blood vessels increasing the blood circulation. The relaxed blood vessels then allow for lower blood pressure and may reduce the risk of heart disease.

The study cited from the Authority Nutrition article supports a reduced heart disease claim. The study tracked over 13,000 people, successfully linking increased levels of arginine with the decrease in inflammatory marker CRP or C-reactive protein.

Reducing PMS Related Symptoms

Gamma-linolenic acid or GLA is the other unsung hero of hemp seeds. Not only is GLA linked to reducing inflammation and lowering the risk of heart disease, gamma-linolenic acid may also help in regulating hormone imbalances and the inflammation linked to menopause. When studied, the physical pain and emotional symptoms associated with PMS were powerfully reduced when PMS sufferers took one gram of essential fatty acids including 210 mg GLA daily.

Frozen Garden smoothies featuring hemp seeds are Lemon Fire and Green Protein!

Flaxseeds

Flax seeds are also known as linseeds or common flax. They come from the Middle East, and they have been gaining a lot of popularity recently. Flax seeds are going to be top tier on our list on fiber to aid in digestive health.

Can I Flax You A Question?

Do you have any issues with regularity? Flax can help with that. If digestive health is a topic of concern for you, you may be familiar with fibers its many benefits. Let's take a closer look at the components of fiber. Fiber is made up between soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Fiber is essential for digestive health, regularity, and the normalization of blood sugar.

The soluble fiber will regulate blood sugar and cholesterol levels. And overwhelming evidence continues to reveal that soluble fiber is critical for feeding our beneficial gut bacteria. Insoluble fiber passes through our digestive tract, helping to pass through waste more effectively.

As we already discussed with the high fiber content of Chia seeds, the soluble fiber in flax will also be effective in reducing food cravings. And similar to hemp seeds, flax seeds will be a good source of arginine along with its nitric oxide benefits.

Flax seeds can be found in Green Protein and The Rookie!

Raw Cacao (Chocolate!)

Raw Cacao coming from the seed of a cocoa tree is a very impressive superfood full of antioxidants compounds like flavanols and polyphenols.

Flavanols Flavanols Flavanols!

With such astounding health benefits, flavanols should be on everyone's go to pick up list. Similar to arginine, benefits includes the production of nitric oxide. As we mentioned before, the nitric oxide created will relax blood vessels for lower blood pressure effects reducing the risk of HBP and heart disease.

Sun-Protective benefits

But the benefits don't stop there! Flavonols have been shown to have skin protective qualities against UVB rays! In the study, 30 people consumed dark chocolate for 12 weeks and thereby doubled their resistance of UVB ray damage!

Cognitive Health Benefits

And it doesn't stop there! A study of volunteers consuming flavanol rich dark chocolate for 5 days resulted in improved blood flow to the brain.

Order Frozen Garden smoothie Berry Choco-Latte

Turmeric

Fighting Inflammation

Turmeric can be so powerful as an anti-inflammatory that some studies have chosen turmeric to perform similar to the potency of anti inflammatory pharmaceutical drugs.

The bioactive substance in turmeric, curcumin, fights inflammation at the molecular level and also helps stimulate the body’s own antioxidant enzymes activity.

Improving Brain Function

Decreased levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) have been linked to depression and Alzheimer’s. According to the research, turmeric can increase the brain levels of BDNF, thereby delaying and even reducing brain related diseases.

You can see turmeric in Frozen Garden smoothie Detox

Click here to Shop All Our Flavors.

The USDA recommends we consume 2 ½ to 3 cups of vegetables and 1 ½ to 2 cups of fruits per day! This recommendation is for moderately active individuals. A greater daily intake might be used for those getting more exercise. A mentor once told me, “the goals that get measured, get met!” So let’s do some food tracking together, what did you eat yesterday? Did you meet the daily recommendation? If you have trouble enough imagining five cups of fruits and vegetables on a plate let alone getting around to eating it, you're in the majority! An article from Todays Dietitian reported on a 2015 national survey that 76% missed the daily intake recommendation for fruit and 87% missed the daily intake for vegetables. If only our nutritional needs could be graded on a bell curve!

Even those wanting to increase their intake of fruits and vegetables may struggle to meet this goal consistently. Poor meal planning/preparation results in unwanted food waste. An even more significant consequence might be the missed opportunity in consumed nutrients! The most beneficial option to incorporate nutritious meals into our diet is to start with buying fresh produce. However, that depends!

The Nutrient Retention Problem!

Even from fresh produce, getting the most benefit depends on nutrient content and retention. The longer a fruit/vegetable sits out after being harvested the more it's nutritional content will decline. The article from Today’s Dietitian by Judith C. Thalheimer, RD, LDN explains that the fresh produce sent to grocery stores are picked early to avoid spoiling in stores.  These fruits/vegetables in turn are not able to develop their full range vitamins and minerals.

The critical factor to maximize the nutritional content is to eat your fruits/vegetables close to the time it’s harvested and at its peak ripeness.  Time spent in distribution, in stores, or at home will decline some nutritional content. For this reason, many experts praising frozen produce as a viable and even preferred option for nutrient content and cost effectiveness.

Fresh Produce vs Frozen Produce

In an article from Precision Nutrition, Ryan Andrews explains that unless consumed within 72 hours, a fresh fruit or vegetable might lose up to 15-60% of some vitamins. The same fruits/vegetables frozen will have only lost up to 20% of these vitamins. Andrews compared the vitamin C content from fresh and frozen spinach. The quantity of vitamin C (mg/100g) of freshly picked spinach after 2 days dropped from 17.0 to 4.1. Frozen spinach only dropped from 17.0 to 14.0 of its vitamin C content. The article goes on to cite the FDA and IFIC stating that the nutrient content for frozen produce is nearly the same to that of fresh produce.

Today’s Dietitian article reported on a study of antioxidant content in fresh vs frozen produce. Antioxidant levels in frozen produce were similar in fresh produce however the antioxidant levels in fresh produce reached a low point in just three days.  Studies from the University of California, Davis, and University of Georgia were also cited finding the nutritional content of frozen fruits and vegetables to be just as rich in nutrients.

Thalheimer explains that while fresh produce is susceptible to moisture loss, nutrient loss, and further spoilage - freezing puts a halt on all factors.

The Flash Freezing Process

Frozen Garden uses a process known as flash freezing. Using this method the produce is allowed to fully ripen, our farmers harvest the fruits and vegetables at their peak season and freshness. This ensures the highest quality, taste and nutrient content. Once harvested the produce is taken to our production facility where it is washed, cut, and frozen.

Flash freezing uses no chemicals or additives. Pressurized air is able to freeze the produce within 30 minutes. The amount of time the fruits/vegetable are taken from being harvested in the field to frozen in our facility is typically within 24 hours. It is not uncommon for our produce to be flash frozen with a couple hours upon being harvested.

The flash freezing process allows us to preserve and utilize local fruits and vegetables in our Frozen Garden smoothies all year round! To view all of the flavors available, click here.

The final consensus among the experts is to get nutrients in anyway you can! Hopefully these studies inspire confidence in choosing more frozen fruits/vegetables into your daily needs! The proven benefits for ensuring nutrient retention speak for themselves!

Of all the moments along our personal food journey, possibly one of the most shared might depict a wide-eyed, leafy-greens enthusiast pairing their newly purchased hull of fresh produce with their latest refrigerator organization methods... For me, this scene is as futile and temporary as trying to organize the apps on my phone... The whole process has about a two week rebound before I realize I’ve got it all wrong and start over! Organizing my apps I write off as a pastime, but two weeks of neglecting my produce on the other hand has a  direct effect on my wallet! Those shelves once brimming with fresh produce, now hold waste formations with only a soggy resemblance to the freshly misted counterparts I brought home. Those cucumbers I purchased now hold mushy scab-cratered surprises and my box of spinach somehow resembles the random tangles of wet weed brought up by fishing line…it's not pretty!

Let's be honest, what would you do in a situation like this? You might even be able to speak from personal experience! It’s like they say, “when life gives you spoiled produce, make Red Baron Pizza [insert unspeakable processed food of choice here]!" 

Are You In Food Waste Contributor Denial?

But hey it's not your fault… It all happened so fast, there was nothing you could do… Right?

The scenario actually depicts an unfortunate issue that is a very real epidemic not only in United States, but worldwide! Recent reports issued by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) are stating that “40 percent of food in the United States today goes uneaten / more than 20 pounds of food per person every month.”

The report goes on to track how food waste builds at each level of the food supply chain, eventually leading to these unacceptably high numbers...food waste losses found in farming, packing, processing, in distribution, in retail, in food service, and in households! On a household level, the report stated that “American families throw out approximately 25 percent of the food and beverages they buy.”

An article released by The Atlantic also reported that “For an American family of four, the average value of discarded produce is nearly $1,600 annually. (Globally, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that one-third of all food grown is lost or wasted, an amount valued at nearly $3 trillion.)”

It's Time For A Food Loss Intervention!

It's definitely hard to face numbers like these and admit that we just might land in the average American household category they’re reporting on, and be suffering the same losses they’re estimating!

At Frozen Garden, we’re committed to making it easier for people get the nutrition necessary to be healthy! As a business with a heart for nutrition, the UNEP publication helped us to feel the weight of this problem saying, “When this figure is converted to calories, this means that about 1 in 4 calories intended for consumption is never actually eaten. In a world full of hunger, volatile food prices, and social unrest, these statistics are more than just shocking: they are environmentally, morally and economically outrageous.” That statement encourages us to keep doing what we do!

Some advice from the NRDC’s report gives us a heads up to minimize spoilage from “poor visibility in refrigerators, partially used ingredients, and misjudged food needs / lack of meal planning and shopping lists, inaccurate estimates of meal preparation” and more.

I hope these reports are helpful to bring awareness on how big of a problem food loss is! Change always begins with awareness, anyone can start by becoming mindful of their own consumption. Become aware of how much food is being converted into waste in your own household and decide if any changes would be right for your situation!

Do you have food converting into loss or waste? Are nutrient-dense greens and other ingredients going to waste without ever being consumed? If you do, consider getting more products into your freezer in the form of our smoothies. This is the best way we know to lower food waste costs and ensure that nutritional needs are being met everyday! In the early days, our Frozen Garden founders suggested drinking green smoothies everyday as part of their Holistic Health Education programs. That passion to help you do this one thing has become our great venture! We’re still committed to our clients as educators and the mission continues for us as providers of delicious hand-crafted green smoothies!

Help Spread Awareness & Experience For Yourself!

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Click here to view our flavors! If you would like Frozen Garden blogs posts sent to your inbox you can subscribe to our email list at the bottom of this page. We deliver to customers in 33 states and offer our smoothies at local stores and restaurants! For a full listing of where Frozen Garden smoothies are provided, click here!

At Frozen Garden we want our customers to have access to the freshest information coming out from research in our industry and receive trusted advice from our team of experts! So that's why we’re excited to announce the new blog spot to be featured on our website!  In preparation, we are putting together our team’s experience and research to deliver some great info down the line to you!

We want you to learn, enjoy, and be inspired! We’ll cover such topics as the importance of eating real food over processed food, our top blender recommendations, and small health hacks that can make a big difference for you and your family!

We hope to provide a proper understanding of the present-day food environment and offer tips to stay healthy in today’s processed world! We’ll dive into our Frozen Garden process highlighting our farmers, our recipes, and our philosophy! We’ll go full-on produce nerd tackling such presumptions as only buying foods labeled certified organic and teach you how to know if your local farmer is using organic methods!

What topics do you want to see from our Frozen Garden Blog? Do you have a question regarding nutrition, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, or about our process at Frozen Garden?

To let us know about topics you want covered in incoming blogs, send us your questions and suggestions in the comments section below! To have Frozen Garden blogs delivered directly to your inbox, subscribe to our email list at the bottom of this page.