Since I haven’t been inside of a grocery store in a year, we heavily utilize the Amazon Whole Foods delivery and pick-up. Every week, I populate my cart with basically the same items, but I’ve been getting bored with the same foods. So, I literally went through almost the entire frozen foods section on Whole Foods to uncover new, tasty but EASY foods to change things up. This one’s for all of you busy moms out there.
Below is a list of some of my newer Whole Foods shopping list staples, in case you want to add any to your cart this week too.
Get ready to stock your freezer….
Frozen foods mean I have food I can always throw together for a meal. But if I don’t use it that week, I know it won’t go bad. In my criteria, freezer foods get a win if it’s cook from frozen or steam in the bag. Or, if it’s nutritious and my kids will eat it, I’m buying that one again!
European Greens Vegetable Blend. Steams in the bag! I’m usually against any sauces on steamed vegetables but these aren’t caked in butter sauce or anything overbearing. These are a tasty change from regular steamed vegetables.
Basil Pesto Vegetable Spirals. Basil pesto is such a delicious flavor that I had to try this. These vegetable spirals cook from frozen on the stovetop fairly quickly. It’s not enough for our family so I usually add in a bunch of cauliflower rice or double it with two packages.
Pomodoro Vegetable Spirals. OK so this is basically the same thing as the Basil Pesto spirals, but with a different sauce. Different sauce means different flavor so we’re still changing it up! I’ve found this one pairs nicely with chicken or ground turkey and again, adding in some extra vegetables like some riced cauliflower.
Riced Cauliflower. Riced cauliflower is one of my favorite finds from 2020. We add riced cauliflower into so much! It’s a good filler in vegetable dishes (like the Basil Pesto spirals above) or into one-pot dishes like chili. Basically anywhere that brown rice could be appropriate or we want to shove some extra veggies in, we add riced cauliflower. The kids only notice sometimes.
Brown rice. While we’re on the topic of rice, Whole Foods has a bag of frozen brown rice too. It makes throwing together a stir fry or really any dinner so much easier without needing to use minute rice or think 30 minutes in advance.
Frozen Broccoli and other frozen vegetables are so easy to prepare, I buy bags of them every week. From my days following 21 Day Fix portion containers, I’ve learned to lean toward broccoli, green beans, carrots and cauliflower instead of peas and corn, which the containers count as carbs (yellow).
Note: For steaming frozen vegetables, I use the Pampered Chef Micro Cooker. It works so well and is so quick! Add ~1 tbsp of water, pop it in the microwave for 3-5 minutes and they’re done!
Wild-Caught Cod Fillets. I’m not usually a fish person, but having fish fillets on-hand to make has been a nice change from our regular chicken and turkey diet. While you do need to thaw these 24 hours in advance, baking them is low-maintenance and the house doesn’t get that fishy smell.
Farm-Raised Cooked Shrimp. Already cooked, peeled and deveined; how much easier can this get? Yes, it’s a giant 2-pound bag of shrimp but it’s in the freezer so you can stretch it out for many meals. Mix the shrimp with the basil pesto vegetable spirals and cauliflower rice and your entire meal came from the freezer, cooked in minutes!
Organic Mango Chunks. Because frozen mango taste so good for dessert, why not always keep some in the freezer? Plus, cutting up fresh mango is so difficult and time consuming, why not let Whole Foods do the hard work? Bonus that teething toddlers love frozen fruit too!
Thin Crust Pizza. Finally, a frozen pizza with ingredients I understand and a calorie count that isn’t for 1/16 of a pizza. These frozen pizzas were crucial on the surprise snow days. My pick is the Supreme pizza because of the added vegetables. Even if the kids pick them off, at least I tried!
Spanakopita, Spinach & Cheese. This was a random buy, but it 1) got my kids to happily eat spinach, and 2) it’s bake from frozen. These have come in handy on those nights when you need to add something to the meal but don’t know what.
Organic Greek Yogurt Blueberry Dessert Bars are one of those desserts that I can give my kids without feeling too bad about it. The kids can tell the difference; they know it’s not real ice cream, but they eat them anyway! There are only 4 in a box, but they’re made with real blueberries and yogurt. Plus, they’re only 90 calories each so I don’t mind having one myself!
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is a family favorite, and again, I love that I can read the ingredients list. Even if I don’t know what locust bean gum is, I know it came from nature. If we’re going to have ice cream in the house, this is a good one to try. My personal choice is Ben & Jerry’s half baked ice cream, but I save that one for special occasions.
As you can see, I clearly like to keep my freezer stocked with fruit, vegetables and protein foods that I can use to quickly make a meal during the work week. Special thanks to Amazon Whole Foods for their creative Whole Foods Market and 365 brands that have become a staple on my shopping list!
Do you have any favorite frozen foods at Whole Foods too? If so, comment below, I’d love to hear about them and try them too!
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