Take A Fresh Look at Frozen
The Cold Facts - Healthy Meals Delivered
"Why are your meals frozen?" ask many of our customers. Don’t get us wrong, we love fresh food. Indeed, when we first had the idea of ‘we feed you’ we thought seriously about fresh ready-made meals. However, after weighing up all the different factors at play we realised frozen was the only way to go for nutritious ready-made home delivered meals. Here’s why…
1. Locks In Nutrients
At We Feed You we purchase fresh local produce and cook them on the same day. The dish is then blast chilled and frozen which locks in all the nutrients. Charlotte Miller, our in house dietitian, has compared this to fresh meal delivery options where produce can go through a far lengthier process of being purchased, stored, sorted and re-packaged, delivered and further home-stored before consumption. Charlotte says "the nutrient levels decrease over time and the quality deteriorates the longer fresh produce is in storage. In some cases so called 'fresh' produce can be weeks in transit and storage before consumption"
2. Avoids Hidden Nasties
By freezing our meals straight after they are made we don't need to add any hidden nasties to prolong shelf life. Our Chef Dave Roberts explains “freezing is a natural method of preserving food which has been used for centuries. I believe it is the best and most natural approach for keeping food fresh without tampering with it. When freezing vegetables for example, they retain their natural colour and fresh flavours.”
3. Reduces Food Waste
According to Bernadette McCabe, Associate Professor and Principal Scientist, University of Southern Queensland “around 4 million tonnes of food reaches landfill in Australia each year.” Most of us are guilty of it – buying more than we need, not having the time to cook what we had intended or unsure of what to create with leftovers. Fortunately some companies such as SecondBite are using the retail food waste and re-purposing it for the greater good, however residential food waste is still a big problem.
At We Feed You we don't want to be adding to food waste so we only purchase what we need for a big cook and use mostly fresh ingredients. As a result there is minimal food and packaging waste. Customers order and consume our meals as they need them so there is no pressure of lock in contracts and no food waste!
4. Keeps Food Safe
In commercial and household food production and storage of perishable goods there are always risks of contamination or harmful bacteria. The process of freezing actually reduces this risk.
Our meals have a 'best before' of only 6 months for two reasons. Firstly, even with freezing, food will eventually spoil but it is much slower and secondly because our meals contain no hidden nasties they wont last as long as other frozen foods. We find that for most customers they order on a weekly or fortnightly basis so there is no time for meals to spoil anyway!
5. Ultimate Convenience
Even with fresh ready-made meals, the preparation and time involved, for customers, in getting meals on the table can be laborious. We know this as we have tested many fresh meal products on the market. We Feed You meals can be cooked from frozen and on the table in minutes. Simply choose, heat and love our meals when it suits you!