14 Foods in Your Freezer That Are More Harmful Than You Think

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One of the easiest ways to save time and stop food waste is by freezing. In addition to storing meals for later, stocking up on bulk items and keeping perishable food from spoiling, it also allows you to reuse food packaging. Freezing can help preserve the shelf life of many foods, but not all frozen items are as safe or as healthy as they seem. In fact, some frozen foods may be more dangerous than you realize—because they harbor bacteria, contain unhealthy additives or just lose their nutritional value in the freezing process.

You probably don’t expect that the foods you have in your freezer could be making you sick. Well, the following 14 foods are highlighted in this article for you to reconsider before you buy them or pop them in your freezer.

Bread

Having frozen bread around might seem like an easy way to have bread around for sandwiches or toast. But for the most part, frozen breads are full of preservatives, added sugar, and artificial ingredients designed to make them soft and fresh after thawing. Excess sugar in these foods will cause a spike in blood sugar and can impede weight loss.

Frozen Fruit With Added Sugars

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Many of the brands of frozen fruit add sugar or syrup to the fruit to make the taste better. This can morph a nutritious snack into a sugar filled treat with no nutritional value and unnecessary calories that spike your blood sugar levels. Avoid these hidden sugars by looking closely at the labels.

Frozen Waffles

Classic Waffle with Syrup — Image Credit: Davies_Designs/Pixabay

Breakfast is a great time of day to eat a healthy, balanced meal, but frozen waffles are popular breakfast items that are often loaded with sugar, refined flour and preservatives. They’re easy to make, but they’re not a big source of nutrition. Many of these waffles are made with trans fats, which are linked to high levels of bad cholesterol and heart disease.

Frozen Chicken Nuggets

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Frozen chicken nuggets are a go to for many kids and adults. However, they’re also highly processed, full of unhealthy fats, sodium and preservatives. They make many nuggets using mechanically separated chicken that’s less nutritious than whole chicken and the breading is adding unnecessary carbs and calories. If you love chicken nuggets, but don’t want to ruin your healthy diet, try breading fresh chicken breast and baking it instead of frying it.

Pizza

Another freezer favorite that’s hard to resist is pizza. There is much more unhealthiness to that cheesy, saucy exterior than first meets the eye: refined flour, added sugars, preservatives. Also, the processed meats such as pepperoni or sausage are high in sodium, saturated fat and nitrates, and many frozen pizzas contain them.

Meats

Tenderize Meat — Image Credit: Zichrini/Pixabay

If you have meat that’s been in your freezer for months and months, it can be a hidden danger. The more meat you freeze, the more chance it has of developing freezer burn, which will affect the texture and flavor of the meat. What’s worse, meat that is improperly frozen or stored may have bacteria like Salmonella or Listeria which can cause food born illness.

Vegetables With Sauces

fruits and vegetables separated — Photo Credit: Shutterstock

We often think that vegetables stored in the fridge are a healthy and convenient choice. Frozen veggies are fine, but they can have a lot of salt, sugar and preservatives when they come pre seasoned and with sauces. The vegetables themselves may still be good for you, but the added sauces and seasonings can make a healthy meal a sodium bomb.

Bacon

Bacon is a prized breakfast food, but thawed frozen bacon is another story. Freezing can make bacon too soggy or lose its crispiness, and it’s high fat and sodium content make it not so healthy when frozen. Added nitrates and preservatives also found in many frozen bacon products have also been linked to an increased risk of cancer, according to NIH.

French Fries

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For many, French fries are a pantry staple, not only because of the convenience, but the comfort in a single package. However, they are typically deep fried in unhealthy oils and are consequently a high caloric, high fat food. Many brands use artificial flavorings, additives and preservatives to make the food taste better and keep it longer on the shelf, and that contributes to the unhealthy profile of the food.

Frozen Meat Patties

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Meat patty is easy and convenient, but like most processed meats, they can be full of sodium and preservatives and filled with bad fats. Not only are these additives bad for your health, but your meat can also be tasteless. In fact, some of these frozen patties are actually filled with soy protein to bulk them up, thus damaging the meat quality.

Frozen Breakfast Sandwiches

It’s easy to see how a frozen breakfast sandwich packed with processed meats, cheese and refined bread is anything but healthy. While these sandwiches are a calorie dense option with little nutritional value, many brands use refined flour, high fat meats like sausage, and sodium rich cheese. They also tend to be high in saturated fat, which can cause your cholesterol to rise.

Ice Cream

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Isn’t ice cream the epitome of comfort food? But eating ice cream is not a good idea. Yes, ice cream is often super high in calories and very low in nutritional value, and the ingredients that make it so yummy may have an even worse effect on your health. Try storing bought ice cream for frozen yogurt or make healthy ice cream at home with fresh fruit and some honey.

Fish

Many frozen fish fillets, especially brand name ones, are loaded with sodium and other undesirable additives. These preservatives are intended to keep the fish from spoiling, but over time, if you consume them too often they end up doing more damage to your body than good.

Frozen Ready-to-Eat Meals

While marketed as a time saving solution for busy people, frozen ready to eat meals are often chock full of unsavory fat, sodium and preservatives. These meals have many processed content, are high in calories, and provide very little nutritional value back. Refined sugars and carbs can turn them into a weight gain and overall health disaster.

Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.