Zero Diet Frozen Meals: A Healthy Choice!

It’s time to go back to school, vacations are over, and we return to our routine without enough time to cook. Many of us resort to frozen meals as it is simple, quick, and handy. But is it healthy?

At the grocery store

You can purchase many different frozen meals at grocery stores, but unfortunately, they are usually very salty, high in fat, low in nutrients, and the servings are too small. Still, there are some better choices.

Some products stand out among the rest, such as the range of Healthy Choice and le Commensal products, as well as a few Compliments Balance (IGA), Blue Menu (Maxi, Provigo and Loblaws), and Irresistible Life-Smart (Super C and Metro). Reading the label is the best way to make the smartest choice.

Despite the few choices that stand out, these meals still lack vegetables and the servings are too small to fill you for a long time, so add raw vegetables or a salad, and a dairy product or a few nuts to get a complete meal. In addition, these products often contain food additives, which is not always good news.

Zero Diet products

To help you eat healthy in all situations, and because no other product on the market meets the criteria, Nautilus Plus decided to launch a range of Zero Diet frozen products.

The criteria were developed by nutritionists of Nautilus Plus following the standards set by Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in order to meet a full balanced meal. The meals are recommended to anyone wishing for a balanced diet and to whom time to cook nutritious and tasty meals is a challenge. And it’s no secret, they are practical meals for nutritionists as well!

Criteria for choosing a Zero Diet frozen meal:

• Serving: ≥ 350 g
• Calories: 350 to 450
• Lipids: ≤ 20 g
• Saturated fat: ≤ 15% of the caloric intake of the meal
• Sodium: ≤ 650 mg
• Fibre: ≥ 4 g
• Proteins: ≥ 15 g

Advantages of Zero Diet products:

• Vacuum or foil-sealed packaging to preserve the foods’ flavours and nutritive value.
• Balanced for a nutritive and filling meal
• Free of preservatives and chemically-based food additives
• Caloric intake of +/- 400 calories
• Low in saturated fat
• Offer a great source of protein
• Vegetarian and gluten-free options
• Criteria developed by our nutritionists according to Health Canada and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) standards.
• Ready to serve in under 5 minutes

The Zero Diet frozen products also include delicious snacks:

• Decadent Brownie
• Zucchini Carrot Muffin
• Blueberry Yogurt Scone

The Zero Diet frozen meals and snacks will be available for sale in every Nautilus Plus center as of September 8, 2014.

Are you as excited as I am to try them?

By Karine Séguin, Nutritionist

Zero Diet Frozen Meals: A Healthy Choice! is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
Copyright © Nautilus Plus 2014