WEEKLY ARTICLE 

All We Are Saying, Is Give Frozen An Occasional Chance

As mentioned in last week's newsletter, Wholly Macro will be closed August 4, 11, and 18. We will re-open August 25.

There is a detailed explanation of why we are closing and our suggestions to you for dealing with our closure in last week's newsletter "Wholly Macro's Summer Break". Not that you can't somehow get by without us. We are not that vain that we think you can't. We know that you can. But we do feel responsible for offering you smart, effective, and tried and true ways of coping just in case you want to take us up on it.

We spent a lot of time last week explaining how to freeze some of our food to help you out while we are closed, and to reduce your stress levels related to food prep. If you need a copy of last week's newsletter (July 14, 2011) just let us know.

This week we want to point out some of the dishes we are making that freeze especially well. The soups, (all of them), are very conducive to freezing. This week's soup is a bean soup. It will come in very handy when thawed. A bowl of bean soup accompanied by some fresh greens and some whole grains or a nice piece of whole grain bread or mochi can comprise a quick and easy balanced meal. Healthy, and simple!

The Vegetable Spring Rolls will also freeze exceptionally well. In fact, a bowl of soup and a serving of a spring roll will give you your protein (the soup), some complex carbs (the spring roll wrapper), and some veggies (the spring roll filling). You can reheat the spring rolls easiest in a dry frying pan on low heat, turning them to brown both sides. You can bake them in the oven also, but we prefer the frying pan method as the more appropriate method of cooking (okay, re-heating), this time of year.

And the Fruit Cobbler. Please, do yourself a favor, and freeze a few extra of these. They freeze so well, and will be such a lifesaver when the inevitable craving for something sweet sets in!

The other dishes do freeze well too, and will undoubtedly come in handy as well.

And as far as freezing / thawing goes, you can freeze the food right in our delivery containers. No need to transfer it to another container, unless you want to freeze it in smaller portions. When you are ready to thaw an item, simply move it from the freezer to the refrigerator and let it thaw in the fridge naturally. It takes about 1-2 days to thaw in this way, so think ahead. We prefer this method as it let's the food acclimate naturally as it transitions from a frozen to fresh state.

Did you know that some foods come to the stores frozen? Tempeh, seitan, natto, amasake, whole grain breads... Many of our staple foods arrive at the store frozen, only to be put on the shelf in the refrigerator case to thaw and be sold as fresh. That is why, when we offer an item like our homemade seitan, it is a fresh food and has the healthy benefits of fresh energy and vitality, having never been frozen. But, making it is also a very time consuming and labor - intensive process, and not one that most of us can undertake on a regular basis (even Wholly Macro). The point is, that these pre-made foods can never take the place of freshly cooked whole grains, freshly cooked dried beans, and fresh vegetables, such as we make on a weekly basis here at Wholly Macro. But they do come in very handy as a healthy alternative food, offering creativity to many recipes, and their own sense of variety and nutrition, and can be served along with fresh foods to create a much healthier and energized meal than packaged, canned, or processed foods ever can.

The factor that allows fresh food such as fresh produce, cooked brown rice, and cooked dried beans, to rise above all other foods, is their energy and vitality levels. If these same foods are frozen, or canned, they still retain their fiber, their vitamins and minerals (for the most part), and their phyto nutrients. Okay, maybe not quite the same as completely fresh, but if the foods are PURE to begin with, and their nutrients have not been diminished by the use of sugar, preservatives, pesticides and herbicides, etc., they are still far more nutritious, even if frozen, than fresh food that has been weakened substantially by the above substances. But energy and vitality can never be as potent unless the food you eat is fresh. Even heating your food on an electric stove, or worse yet, in a microwave, will deplete it of its energy and vitality. In addition to the nutrient value of foods, we also want, need, and must receive the energy that these foods impart. The living food energy that live plant foods impart to us is what gives us the vital spark of a healthy mind and body.

So, to make this very long story a little shorter, we still do not recommend stockpiling food in the freezer. It is necessary to always have at least a few fresh foods at each meal. And when we deliver weekly, it is far more preferable to order on a weekly basis, thus partaking of the fresh and varied dishes that we prepare each week. But when Wholly Macro is on break, OR, if you want to order enough food when we are open to last you for the entire week, it is always very useful to have a few items in the freezer to pull out from time to time, thus saving the day in a healthy way!

So, all we are saying is: There is nothing wrong with giving frozen an occasional chance, just be sure to include some quick and easy fresh foods daily along with the frozen!

SPINEALIGNER