Freezer Food Basics
Audra: Now that you’re done cooking for the holidays, it’s time to give
yourself a break and stock up on the freezer with those healthy
staples. Jennifer Iserloh is here. She’s the author of Secrets of a
Skinny Chef and she’s got the top four basics, everybody should
keep in their freezer for those quick, easy and healthy meals.
Welcome back Jennifer, good to have you here.
Jennifer: Thank you. It’s wonderful to be back. Happy New Year.
Audra: And that’s the key to healthy meals. They’re fast but they’re also
healthy.
Jennifer: Right. I think with the New Year, everybody wants to eat healthier
and still enjoy all the foods they love.
Audra: Right.
Jennifer: And it could just be a matter of stocking your fridge. So, that’s
why I love to have some of these healthy staples on hand.
Audra: Okay.
Jennifer: They’re versatile, you can make hundreds of meals with them and
they look and taste fresh, because you make it yourself at home.
Audra: Any time you go to Jennifer’s website, I swear you will get to your
hungry. You’re starving because it looks good. Sometimes you
know when you think of a healthy meals, doesn’t look all that
great.
But, let’s look at the first one here that you have. This one is that
sweet and sour chicken recipe, right?
Jennifer: Sweet and sour chicken, I have hunks of mango in here. You can
also make it with pineapple if you like. And I’ve made this with
frozen veggies which is one of my favorite things to have because
they don’t lose their nutrition. They’re always on hand and I
combine this with fresh things that I have in my fridge.
And broccoli is one of my top picks because it’s so healthy and I
think a lot of people don’t realize that you’re not losing any of the
minerals or vitamins through freezing.
Audra: Exactly. And this is one of the things, this is a way to make sure
everybody in the family gets vegetables in their meal.
Jennifer: Everybody is trying to get more veggies into your diet. This is a
quick and inexpensive way to do it.
Audra: Okay. Another quick and inexpensive meal to here is the corn and
shrimp chowder that you made, right?
Jennifer: Right. And frozen shrimp is a hostess dream. If you like to
entertain, you can put them into a colander, rinse some under cold
running water, they’re ready in seconds.
You can do the cocktail sauce if you like, if you’re having some
friends over or make the simple corn chowder in minutes.
Audra: You call this a busy hostess’ dream, right?
Jennifer: Right. Because I love to entertain and I work a lot so I need to
figure out how to do it fast.
Audra: Exactly. I love the enchiladas. Now you got the chicken enchiladas
here. So tell us about this and how it’s so easy and healthy for us
too at the same time?
Jennifer: Well, chicken is America’s favorite meat. And what’s great about
this one product that I use is it’s grilled chicken. It doesn’t have the
skin, high in protein, low in fat and it’s precooked. So all you have
to do is stock it into your fridge before you go to work in the
morning and then defrost it. Chop it up, I make this delicious
chicken enchiladas, toss them with some vegetables, put my sauce
on top, it’s ready in 20 minutes.
Audra: And a lot of people are thinking, I have to go out and buy all these
extra ingredients. But these are things that you mostly have.
Jennifer: You have everything in your freezer or on your countertop. It’s
ready to go. You have some of the things in your pantry. And
whatever leftover vegetables that you might have in your crisper,
you can chop those up and toss this in as well. So there’s no waste.
Audra: Sounds good. Okay, what do you have for us last, you save the best
for last, right?
Jennifer: My favorite, whole wheat frozen pizza dough.
Audra: Yeah.
Jennifer: Everybody wants to get more whole grains into their diet? This is a
cheap and delicious way to do it. Look at this gorgeous calzones I
made. This pizza dough doesn’t just have to be for pizza, you can
make a hot pocket, you can add cheddar and broccoli inside. This
is something that’s adorable to pack in a kid’s lunch. Defrost it
overnight in the fridge, just like you do with the chicken and then
some sauce, fresh grated mozzarella, some vegetables and you
have a meal. It’s ready, put it in the oven 10 minutes and it’s on the
table.
Audra: Well a lot of t people are going to ask you about the dough. Can
you freeze the though if you have too much leftover. What --
Jennifer: You can freeze the dough if you like as long as you pack it up,
wrap it in some plastic wrap. Pop it back in the freezer. But I’m
telling you, these are going to go fast. You’re not going to have
much leftovers.
Audra: Good advice, thank you so much Jennifer. Good to have you here.
Jennifer: Thank you.
Audra: Alright, if you guys want to get other great tips and recipes that are
going to save you hundreds of calories while still enjoying your
favorite meals, you can pick up Secrets of Skinny Chef, it’s
available now.
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