Sharing the Love with evol Burritos

NATURAL FROZEN BURRITO IS BOFFO IN BOSTON

A new frozen burrito, evol, from Phil’s Fresh Foods, Boulder, Colo., was a big hit at the recent Natural Products Expo East event at the Boston Convention Center. The natural and organic evol (love spelled backwards) burrito is available in four sizes—7 oz. premium burrito, 7 oz. premium wrap, 3 oz. mini burrito and 8 oz. burrito.

The folks at Phil’s have dubbed the mini burrito as the “energy bar of the frozen food section.” The mini is available in five flavors: chicken, bean and rice; chicken and black bean; bean and cheddar; shredded beef; and veggie fajita.

The premium burrito is available in three flavors: fire grilled chicken fajita; fire grilled steak fajita; and pork canitas. The three premium wraps are all dairy-free: teriyaki chicken; veggie curry; and Mediterranean couscous.

The 8 oz. burrito is available in the following flavors: chicken, bean and rice; shredded beef; egg and potato; pinto bean, rice and cheese; cilantro lime chicken; veggie fajita; basic bean and cheese; tofu and spinach sauté; egg and sausage; egg and green chile; and pork and green chile.

Officials with evol say the products are made with locally sourced ingredients, certified humane cage-free eggs, free-range chicken, humanely-raised and sustainably sourced meat and RBST-free cheese.

TFFG Says: It was while chatting up another frozen food vendor in his booth at the natural products show that The Frozen Food Guy spotted one of the mini burritos. It was upside down and lying not far from the vendor’s packages (a seafood company), so TFFG was mildly curious but not wanting to interrupt the vendor’s presentation with a “what’s that on the table?” since it clearly wasn’t part of the product line under discussion. He was “on message” and I didn’t want to derail him and have him go “off message,” so to speak.

Later, the TFFG was perusing all the various products on display in the new product section at the front of the exhibition floor area when he spotted the “evol” burrito. While jotting down notes about the product, another convention attendee shared—totally unsolicited—with TFFG how very good these frozen burritos truly are. So, TFFG made a personal visit to the evol booth and got the pertinent info and gave the mini burrito a test run (or two) himself. Thumbs up, evol!

And ya gotta love the “e-v-o-l” (backwards) right?

Tainted Fruit Bars, Nuggets Get Yanked

EGGS, CHICKENS, MAMEY—OH MY!

Recent mega food recalls of contaminated ground beef and eggs (half a billion!) have overshadowed the recall of two frozen food items.

The Associated Press reports that Paleta California Co. of Santa Springs, Calif., recalled its mamey (mah-MAY) frozen fruit bars because of a possible link to a rare U.S. outbreak of typhoid fever and Perdue Farms Inc., Perry, Ga., recalled thousands of pounds of frozen chicken nugget products that officials say could contain foreign materials.

First, let’s look at the frozen fruit bars. Paleta California says the Mamey Supreme Cream Bars were distributed only in Southern California.

The company says the frozen fruit bars were sold in retail stores and have the following UPC number: 636418002000.

The company says the frozen fruit bars were made from contaminated mamey pulp that Goya Foods Inc. voluntarily recalled on Aug. 12, after it was linked to a typhoid fever outbreak in California and Nevada. So far no illnesses have been reported from the mamey fruit bars.

Mamey, or zapote (zah-POH-teh), is a fruit popular in Latin America and the Caribbean.

AP reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that the Perdue Farms chicken products include 1-pound, 13-ounce bags of Great Value Fully Cooked Chicken Nuggets.

Officials are recalling approximately 91,872 pounds of the nuggets after the privately held company discovered small pieces of blue plastic, following consumer complaints.

Agriculture authorities have not gotten any reports of injuries.

Each bag bears the establishment number P-33944 as well as a case code of 80990A0160.

TFFG SAYS: Yikes! Imagine noshing on some chicken nuggets chock-a-block full of “foreign objects” (what the ---?) while you whip up a batch of meatloaf with both E. coli contaminated ground beef and eggs and then top it all off with a tasty, cool typhoid fever-inducing mamey bar (“supreme,” no less). Talk about double/quadruple indemnity. It’s like “choose your poison”—four different ways! I still can’t get over that egg situation. And it’s really more than HALF A BILLION. The real tally is 550 million. That’s HALF A BILLION eggs plus another 50 million! A recall of 50 million would be completely over the top, but 5 – 5 – 0 million?! That’s just plain criminal.

Easy Home Meals Now on Facebook

NFRA CREATES FROZEN FOODS FAN PAGE

March is National Frozen Foods Month and to help shoppers get the best and brightest of frozen foods into their meal planning, the National Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) has created the Easy Home Meals Fan page on Facebook.

NFRA says the social media presence allows it to spread the message about the benefits of frozen and refrigerated foods with a large and diverse consumer market. EasyHomeMeals.com has been the association’s consumer-directed website and now it has extended the reach of the site through the Facebook page.

“The Easy Home Meals Fan page offers its followers a unique selection of perks and insights,” says Julie Henderson, NFRA vice president of communications. “Fans will receive notice on new frozen and refrigerated products, sweepstakes and coupon giveaways. Recipes, tips and meal prep videos featuring frozen and refrigerated foods will also be updated and shared monthly.”

“NFRA’s new fan page supports the industry by educating consumers and keeping them informed of upcoming promotions like March Frozen Food Month,” says Henderson, adding that The Easy Home Meals page also help NFRA’s manufacturer sponsors gain further exposure for their new products among desired consumers and increase brand awareness.

“Please help us build our fan base and spread the word about the value of frozen and refrigerated foods,” says Henderson. “Visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EasyHomeMeals and become a Fan today.”

‘Hearty, Healthy’ Breakfast Options From Cedarlane Natural Foods

Cedarlane Natural Foods is helping Americans get their day off to the right start with a new line of all-natural frozen breakfast items. The line includes three flavors of breakfast omelettes and two flavors of breakfast burritos.

Cedarlane says its egg white omelettes are gluten-free, high in protein and low glycemic. The flavors are Spinach & Mushroom; Green Chile, Cheese & Ranchero Sauce; and Vegetable & Cheese with Turkey Bacon. The breakfast burritos are available in Vegetable & Cheese and Vegetable & Cheese with Turkey Bacon flavors. The company touts them as a “hearty, healthy and high protein breakfast.”

Cedarlane says its egg white breakfast items are the first such products in the frozen food sector and are on trend with the 5% growth in frozen breakfast foods as tracked by Packaged Facts.

“We are thrilled to bring to market our new, first-of-its kind egg white breakfast items,” says Robert Atallah, founder and president of Carson, Calif.-based Cedarlane Natural Foods. “In keeping with our legacy of providing great-tasting natural food products, we created this breakfast line with our customers’ health in mind.” For more information, go to http://www.cedarlanefoods.com/.

TFFG SAYS: These breakfast burritos and omelettes make for a good meal any time of the day. Of the two burritos, the Scrambled Egg, Vegetable and Cheese is a hands-down winner. The turkey bacon and egg white flavor is a bit bland at first, but is OK overall. The ends of the burritos tend to come out hardened after heating in the microwave, but that could just be an issue with TFFG’s microwave oven. The consistency of the scrambled egg in each was quite good.

The omelettes delivered on both taste and aesthetics. After being heated in the microwave, they came out looking very much like the photography on their packages (boxes; the burritos are sealed in a plastic wrap). The cheese in the omelettes had good texture and a nice color.

Each of the omelettes could suffice as an entree--paired with a vegetable and possibly another side dish-- for any meal, and the burritos make for a great on-the-go snack. The omelettes are filling and hearty. At 8 oz. each, they pack a nice punch. So do the 6 oz.-burritos.

Sukhi’s Named Best in Frozen Savory

Sukhi’s Samosa with Chutney from Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Foods took top honors in the Frozen Savory category, winning a Sofi Gold Award at the 55th Summer Fancy Food Show last night, Monday, June 29, at the Javits Convention Center in New York.

Sukhi’s got the top nod in frozen savory over two other finalists: Callie’s Charleston Cocktail Ham Biscuits from Callie’s Charleston Biscuits and Greenwich Spinach Crepini from Crepinicafe.com.

The awards are presented annually at the Summer Food Show by the National Association of Specialty Food Trade (NASFT). Chef Ming Tsai, star of his own PBS television show “Simply Ming” and the owner-chef of Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Mass., presented the keynote address. He also assisted NASFT staff in presenting the 33 Gold Award winners with their Sofi statuettes.

Finalist in each of the 33 categories are awarded silver Sofi statuettes and the winner in each category is presented the coveted gold Sofi at a special awards ceremony at the annual summer gourmet food show in New York.

Other freezer case delectables that took home honors at the Sofi awards were Cia Bello’s Key Lime Graham Cracker Gelato, which won the gold award in the Perishable Foodservice Product category, and Silver Moon Ice Cream and Sorbet from Silver Moon Desserts, a silver Sofi finalist in the Product Line category. Pink Grapefruit Super Sprint from Pregel America was a silver finalist in the Dessert or Dessert Topping category.

TFFG Says: I was on hand for the reception prior to the awards ceremony and was able to enjoy some of the other finalists and gold award winners in non-frozen categories. Some standouts were:
* Wild Maine Blueberry Jam from Stonewall Kitchen.
* Wimmer Gruener Veltliner, a delicious white wine from BittnerAmeria Specialty Imports. A Bittner rep told me this wine from Wimmer in Austria retails for about $20 and is distributed from Florida and now New York.
* Grafton Duet from Grafton Village Cheese Co.
* Acai Black Currant Superfruit Syrup from Sonoma Syrup Co. is a terrific non-alcoholic beverage for summer entertaining. A Sonoma Syrup staff member told me that bartenders in Sonoma County (California) and the Bay Area are using the Acai Black Currant Superfruit Syrup as a key ingredient in their summer cocktail recipes, using it as a base for gin- and vodka-infused drinks.
* Cucina Viva Roasted Red Tomatoes from European Imports Ltd., great with an appetizer-size piece of bread or gourmet wheat cracker.
* Danielle Fruit Chips--Roasted Coconut from New England Herbal Foods, which won the coveted Sofi gold award for New Product.

Score Big with ABC Tater Tots

The folks at Ore-Ida have come out with a new product that seems to be a hit with kids of all ages. ABC Tater Tots features the classic Tater Tot in an alphabet shape.

Tater tots are very popular with the under 10 set as I discovered when visiting my cousin at her home at dinnertime last winter. I was impressed how kid-friendly they were as both her daughters (ages 7 and 4) really enjoyed them. I snatched a couple for myself and had forgotten how tasty they were.

So when Ore-Ida launched ABC Tater Tots this fall I was eager to give them a try. They have the same flavor I remember as a teen-ager, when my mom seemed to dish them up in every way possible (side dish, casserole, etc.).

I also shared some with my neighbors, Ken and Karen, who are the parents of two kids, ages 8 and 4. Their housekeeper, Earline, has two sons, so I gave her a couple of bags also as Ore-Ida was very generous with the ABC Tater Tots samples they sent me.

Both Karen and Earline reported their kids really liked them, especially Earline’s younger son (age 6). Both moms did say they tasted a little “salty.”

I myself did not really notice any salty taste but was amazed how quickly they heat up and how yummy they are. I really like those alphabet letters too. Kinda fun! Each bag has seven servings (nine Tots each). You can heat up half a bag in just 7 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees, so it’s a quick and easy side dish or snack.

Kids clearly go for these Tater Tots (shaped in letters or regular size) but I think they have great potential for adults as party appetizers. Just heat ‘em up, scoop ‘em on to a plate, and pass them around. Voila! Hot hors hors d‘oeuvres.

Now that it’s March Madness time, ABC Tater Tots make the perfect party snack for guests gathered around the TV cheering on their favorite college hoops team. Tell your guests they can only choose letters in their basketball team’s nickname....Tigers, Huskies, Eagles...or make have them pick out the initial names of their school.... NC, MSU, UCLA ..or see who can spell out their entire school name...like Duke or Texas.

All together now, “A! B! C! Go college hoops teams! Go ABC Tater Tots!”

Frozen Veggies Keep Good Eating On Track

Here we are at the point in the yearly calendar where January morphs into February, and as expected, much of the nation is coping with an onslaught of sub-freezing temperatures, ice, slush and snow. Most every day seems the same--cold and miserable.

When your fashion statement is clunky boots, two sweaters, a scarf and gloves, and your day starts by scraping snow and frost off your windshield, well, it's hard to recapture that "new you" who pledged to eat better, exercise, and live healthy and stress-free back on National Resolution Day--the first day of the first month of the brand new year.

But get back on track with frozen, yes that’s frozen foods. One of the healthiest yet overlooked sections of the supermarket are the frozen vegetable cases. The Frozen Food Guy recommends keeping your kitchen freezer stocked with at least two packages of frozen vegetables at all times.

The Frozen Food Guy likes to keep one regular package of a nationally known brand (say Green Giant or Birds Eye) or store brand of broccoli or leaf spinach and one package of a steam-in-the-bag vegetable on hand at all times. I let the actual selection be my in-store impulse purchase, figuring the more time I spend dickering over corn vs. mixed vegetable vs. spring peas is less time spent fending off the enticing but non-nutritional offerings found in the chips and cookies aisle, and that ultimate grocery store danger zone--the in-store bakery.

Not only are frozen veggies nutritionally sound, they are a meal-planning lifesaver. Often I've perused the insides of my refrigerator, and having made the commitment to cooking chicken breasts or, say, a pork chop, I still can't formulate what to prepare for the rest of my plate. Sometimes the effort of making a salad is a complete turn-off. While “eat a healthy salad” sounds good in theory, the actual practical application of rinsing, chopping, scraping and discarding the unused detritus of onions, leafy greens, mushrooms, etc. seems an insurmountable task. And the quality of the prepackaged salads in my area stores has decreased while commensurately the prices have increased.

I like to heat up the entire package of frozen veggies either on the stovetop or in the microwave, and use some as a side dish while leaving the rest for the following day (an average size package serves 3 to 4.) They are great for soup stretchers. I like to make a big pot of homemade vegetable soup about every two weeks or so and then freeze it in one large and several smaller containers, so I can later use the soup for single or multiple servings. Often, I'll reheat my homemade soup and add in my leftover veggies. Ditto for any of the canned soup varieties I have on hand. I'll also add in some fresh chopped onion, maybe some garlic, and a sprinkle or two or oregano or basil. Leafy green spinach and chopped broccoli mix up particularly well as “soup stretchers.”

My personal shopping comfort index (SCI) scores pretty high when I can glance down into my cart and see my frozen broccoli, spinach or mixed veggies. I know the payoff will come days later when faced with that meal solution conundrum--what to make for dinner? And what can I make that has at least a semblance of good nutrition?

Plus, it takes the guesswork out of assessing the life expectancy of some of the fresh produce sold in the store these days.