The Rise Of Convenience Foods

Convenience foods are pre-prepared meals that need very less time to cook. They are hot favorite among people who do not have time to prepare a full meal and are usually in hurry. With a long shelf life and high nutritional value, people across Texas prefer convenience food products as preferred meal.

Convenience foods are very beneficial in a lot of ways: -

• It requires very less prepping time.
• It reduces the hassle of planning, buying and then storing ingredients.
• With convenience foods one has fewer leftovers.
• For an inexperienced cook, it serves as more variety and flavor.
• It has longer shelf life then freshly made food.
• As they come in sealed packing, convenience foods are easier to store
• With convenience foods you can prepare large quantities of food in very small time.
• Cheaper than fresh ingredients and readily accessible.
• Even young children can be taught to prepare convenience foods with use of a microwave.

Some of the most commonly used convenience food items are: -

• Frozen Soups and Sauces – Frozen soups and sauces are the most popular convenience foods. Frozen soups are a great choice as they are healthy and are available in all flavors throughout the year. Frozen sauces are an apt choice to cook a quick meal for unexpected guests or to add a variety on the dinner table.
• Fillings and Dips – Fillings for meat and sandwiches as well as dips as accompaniments are also available as convenience foods. Filling adds the texture and viscosity to any dish. Fillings in form of meat, sausages, cheese and herbs or vegetables with different flavors are hot favorite. Dips like salsa dip, creamy cheese dip, pesto dip or wasabi dip are among the most popular ones.
• Packed fruits and veggies – packed fresh fruits and vegetables are also readily available and have a very high nutritional convenient food
• Packaged meals and pizzas – one just needs to pop it in a microwave and its ready to eat in a couple of minutes.

Easy and Healthy Snack Ideas

Well-balanced and nutritious meals are the key to good health and the same holds true for snacks as well. In the information age when people need to work round the clock, health tends to take a backseat due to a lack of time. But there is nothing to worry as one has the option of having healthy frozen and ready-to-eat snacks that can be prepared conveniently in no time. So whether you are at work or at home, these food commodities are just the perfect way to manage health.

Today, a large variety of ready-to-eat and frozen snacks are available in the market that are delicious and can be made in a matter of minutes. Frozen soups, taco fillings, tortilla chips, ready-to-eat burgers etc are some of the snacks that are healthy and fulfilling. All of them taste as good as home-made food and are fresh and authentic; at par with the fresh food that we buy from the groceries. 

Following are some snack ideas that can come in handy for having a wholesome meal on the go:

• Sandwiches make for a wonderful meal. All that is required is bread or subs and you can easily stuff them with fillings that are available in the market. Avocado, corns, green vegetables, frozen meats; dress them with a sauce or dressing of your choice and you are on your way to have a healthy sandwich.
• Frozen soups can be used as another snacking option. They are free from harmful chemicals and preservatives and can be prepared in no time. A soup is a whole meal in itself and the health benefits it offers are huge. A soup also provides an individual with the required intake of veggies that are a must for good health.
• Crunchy tortilla chips made from corn tortillas are yet another snacking option. They can be had whenever you are in the mood for munching. But care should be taken that they are consumed in moderation. Excess of anything can be bad after all.
• Fruits are known to work wonders for health. A fresh fruit salad or a fruit juice is nutritious and is great for skin and overall health as well. Fruits are best when consumed in the raw form. Couple them with honey and some dry fruits and a delicious and healthy snack is ready.

These snacking ideas are very effective and save a lot of precious time. Besides, they are easy on the pocket. The materials to be used are easily available in the market and do not cost much. So go and indulge yourself in healthy snacking. 

Convenience Foods For Kids

Convenience foods are gaining popularity among various households. The reason being, it’s ease to use and requires less preparation time. Convenience foods are available in a variety of flavors and more importantly these meals are healthy. They fill you with everyday required nutrients. It is really difficult for the working parents to serve their kids a freshly prepared nutritious meal every time. To avoid inconvenience, they can stock their refrigerators and kitchen cupboards with delicious convenient and nutritious foods and prepare a healthy meal in no time. Moreover, children love the various yummy delicacies and pick the one of their choice to satisfy the taste buds.

Breakfast: A quick and nutritious breakfast is what you want in the morning, as you have to drop the kids to the school and head to work. Here you can rely on convenience breakfast to feed your entire family with a tasty yet nutritious breakfast that can be prepared in a very less time. Convenient breakfasts like low-sugar instant oatmeal provides with fiber and iron and high fiber cereal breakfast made with sliced fruits like banana, strawberry, almonds cashew nuts etc. provides essential vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Lunch: What your kids eat at the cafeterias of the school may be unhealthy. You can get healthy convenient food packed instead. The lunch may include hotdogs with frozen meat sausages, corn tacos with variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian frozen fillings. These hot-dog sausages and frozen taco fillings are glutton free and give your kid the essential proteins, fibers and minerals required to maintain his/her overall health while saving your time. You can also prepare peanut butter sandwich with whole-wheat bread. This can be prepared quickly and provides the body a good supply of fiber, protein and vitamins. You can thereby pack healthy lunches for your kids in a hurry.

Dinner: After returning home from work, one is generally too tired to cook fresh food for kids and oneself. Therefore, a convenient ready to eat meal can make for a healthy dinner and can be prepared in a less time effortlessly. Ready to eat foods that are fully or partially cooked like pasta can be prepared in less than 10 minutes and served with low sodium frozen spaghetti sauce. Corn tortilla filled with low fat shredded cheese and other nutritious frozen fillings and chopped tomatoes is another nutritious dinner that can be prepared quickly and provide fiber, proteins and vitamins to the body. A healthy meal at dinner time will energy to the child, which will help him study with concentration and do his homework.

Side Items To Accompany Your Main Dishes

A main course is never complete without side items like salad, baked beans, coleslaw, taco meat, buffalo chicken etc. A wide variety of savory side dishes is served with main food course in different parts of the world. Side items complement your main dishes and add to the overall eating experience. In the United States, a regular meat-based dish comes with a vegetable side item like salad or a starch side dish like pastas, potatoes and bread. Nowadays, frozen side items are also quite popular with the foodies, as they are easily available and save your cooking time. Here are some of the most used side items to accompany your main dishes.

• Frozen salads: Frozen salads are the most preferred side dish that all Americans like to eat. They eat this nutritious side food with almost any main meal that includes vegetarian or non-vegetarian dishes. The main ingredients of frozen fruit salads are cream cheese, mayonnaise or salad dressing, cocktail of various fruits like strawberry, banana, apple etc., miniature marshmallows, whipping cream, lettuce etc. Whereas, a frozen vegetable salad includes vegetable like spinach, peas, cabbage, pickled jalapenos etc. instead of fruits. It may however consist of certain other ingredients as well. Besides saving time, these ready to eat frozen salads are also healthy as they provide you with the nutritious benefits of the fruits and vegetables contained in them.
• Coleslaw: Coleslaw is another popular side dish with Americans, which is commonly referred to as ‘slaw’ in some American linguistics. It is a salad that mainly consists of shredded raw cabbage and dressed with mayonnaise, vinegar, sour cream. Other shredded fruits and vegetables such as apples, carrot, radish etc. in raw form may also be included in this side dish. Various spices like pepper, horseradish seeds are also added to enhance the flavor. Foods such as fried chicken and barbecued meats are often eaten with this side dish. It is sometimes used as filler in sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs. Ready to eat frozen coleslaw is a famous side dish in U.S markets. 
• Baked beans: Despite the name, baked beans, is another famous side dish that is actually stewed in sauce. The most commercial frozen baked beans are made from haricot beans in a sauce prepared in tomato and brown sugar. This popular American side dish is served with chips, waffles and meats like pork and chicken. The consumption of baked beans lower the cholesterol levels in an individual and is therefore suitable for people suffering with high cholesterol problems. 

Classic Foods offer a wide range of yummy ready-to -use side items like Taco Meat, Buffalo Chicken, Sheriff Blaylock’s BBQ Sauce, Red & Green Sliced Jalapenos, White Pepper Gravy, Sausauge Cream Gravy and many more. All products are offered in various packaging such as cans, dispensing bags, and pouches. To order contact them at 817.332.1071.

Lip Smacking Sloppy Joe

The Sloppy Joe, which is essentially a loose-beef burger, has gone on to become a part of American popular culture over the decades, and is now almost an essential party food and a hot favorite among kids. Even though several variations to the Sloppy Joe recipe exist, the most common form of the dish contains ground beef cooked in a tomato barbecue sauce. The recipe is believed to have been first derived from that of the popular “loose-meat sandwich”, by a cook named Joe in Iowa. The main additional ingredient that made this dish different from the original sandwich was the tomato sauce.

Sloppy Joe can also be savored by vegetarians, by substituting the meat with textured vegetable protein. Coleslaw is one of the most popular accompaniments of the dish. For those who wish to make Sloppy Joe at home, purchasing some of the easily available frozen fillings is a great idea. You can bring home a bulk of your favorite filling and use it to make a burger each time you are in a mood to bite into this culinary delight. There is a wide assortment of fillings available to choose, ranging from conventional beef and vegetable fillings to low-calorie versions, which contain lean meat.

This little messy dish leaves one with a lot of options to experiment with, and you can even try to substitute the beef with other meats like chicken or turkey for an interesting twist to the flavors. At the end of it all, it is all about striking the perfect balance between sweet, spicy, and savory, which are the three most prominent flavors in a Sloppy Joe. If you love your Sloppy Joe to be absolutely sloppy, you will need to add an excess of sauce to it. You can create an interesting blend of flavors by mixing tomato ketchup with mustard and soya sauce, and adding some vinegar and barbecue sauce to it. Some people even like to add a small amount of cola to the mix for an extra sweetness.

Those with a love for spices can get an extra kick from their Sloppy Joe with strong flavors like garlic, paprika, oregano, pepper flakes etc. Garnishing your Sloppy Joe with some grated cheddar cheese or veggies like carrots, corns, mushrooms, celery, onions, etc. will not only add a fresh flavor to it, but will also enhance its nutritional value.

Classic Foods is highly renowned to offer high quality frozen and kettle cooked Sloppy Joe fillings at really affordable prices. For further details about their products and services, contact them at 629 Mony, Ft. Worth, Texas 76102 or call at 817.332.1071.

Say Bye To Trans-Fat With Frozen Foods

When it comes to fat, trans-fat is considered to be the worst of all types. Tans-fat, also known as unsaturated fat or fatty acids is responsible for raising the so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL) and lowering the ‘good’ cholesterol (HDL) in your body. A high amount of LDL and low HDL cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease in both men and women. Despite its harmful effects, trans-fats are still used by various food manufacturing companies, particularly, of fried foods, such as doughnuts and French fries. The main reason behind this is that trans-fats keep the food items fresh for a longer time and gives it a longer shelf life. Besides, fried food, commercial baked food such as cookies, cakes, pastries and crackers may also contain a heavy amount of trans-fat. 

However, if you want to stay away from trans-fat, opting for frozen food items is a great alternative. As the micro-organisms do not grow below -9.5°C, there is no requirement to add any kind of preservatives or fatty acids in the food item. The freezing itself is sufficient in preventing food decay. For long term preservation, a tasteless and odorless stabilizer named Carboxymethyl cellulose is added to the frozen food, which neither has any effect on the quality or taste of the food. It also doesn’t adulterate it.

Another option is to shift on to kettle cooked food items. Unlike the deep frying method, the kettle cooking adopts the method of slow cooking at a low temperature. The food items that require frying such as chips, tacos and tortillas are first fried at low temperature and later cooled down. This is basically done to break down the starch content. Then the extra oil is removed from them prior to the second frying at higher temperature.

Classic Foods is one of the famous producers of kettle chips and food products in the state. They use a range of steam jacketed and injected kettle cookers to make a number of kettle cooked food products. The kettles include vertical, steam jacketed kettles, MTC steam injected kettle and horizontal, steam jacketed kettles.

To name a few, kettle cooked food items offered by them are chili, Soups, Sauces, Queso, Gravies, Taco Fillings, Beans, Fajitas, Jalapenos, Hot dogs, Chips, Barbecue products are cooked.  For more information about the products and services offered by Classic Foods, feel free to visit them at 629 Mony, Ft. Worth, Texas 76102. You can also call them at 817.332.1071.

Kettle Cook - Frozen Chili

Making Healthy Fast Food Choices

Fast food is filling, convenient, cheap and tastes good. Despite knowing the fact that eating fast food on a regular basis can lead to a host of health problems, the quick-and-cheap temptation for fast food is extremely hard to resist. However, you can now stay healthy if you make the right choice while eating out.

Making healthier choices at fast food restaurants or concession stands is easier if you are aware about the nutritional content of meal choices over there. If you have a special dietary concern, such as diabetes, heart health or weight loss, you can choose to patronize a restaurant or concession stand which focuses on natural and high quality food.

Following are some tips for making healthy choices at fast food outlets:

• Make careful menu selections: Dishes that are labeled deep fried, pan-fried, basted, batter-dipped, breaded, creamy, crispy or scalloped are usually high in calories and unhealthy fats. It is wise to order items which are kettle cooked, with more vegetables and choose leaner meats.
• Drink water with your meal: It is estimated that one 32-oz big gulp of regular soda or soft drink is about 425 calories, which can quickly gulp up a major portion of your daily calorie intake. Try adding a little lemon to your water or order unsweetened iced tea.
• Special order: Ask for your vegetables and main dishes to be served without the high cal sauces or gravies. Instead, you can ask for olive oil and vinegar for your salads or order the dressing "on the side" and spoon, so that you can use only a small amount each time. If your food is fried or cooked in oil or butter, ask to have it broiled or steamed. Opting for kettle cooked dishes can also a part of your special order.
• Eat mindfully: Pay attention to what you eat and savor each bite. Chew your food more thoroughly and avoid eating on the run. Being mindful also means stopping before you are full. It takes time for your body to register that you have eaten. Mindful eating relaxes you, so you digest better, and makes you feel more satisfied.
• Know about the calories: When choosing items, be aware of calorie and fat packed salad dressings, spreads, cheese, sour cream, etc. For instance, when you order for a grilled chicken sandwich without the mayonnaise or a hot dog, you can ask for a packet of ketchup or mustard and add it yourself, controlling how much you put on your sandwich.

Classic Foods offers a wide range of delicious and healthy fast food items like chili, hot dogs, chips, taco fillings, sauces, toppings, barbeque, queso etc which are preserved by deep freezing.  These ready-to-use products are specifically packaged in bag pouches, keeping in mind your health and hygiene. The packaging further assures that the food item stays healthy till the moment the customers consume them. The quality of all these food items is guaranteed in taste as well as the freshness. For further queries contact Classic Foods, 629 Mony Ft. Worth, Texas 76102. They can also be contacted at 817.332.1071.

Kettle Cook - Convenience Foods - Foodservice Products

Kettle Cooked Chips Healthier Than Regular Chips

A majority of us hesitate while reaching for that extra potato chip. The reason is the high calorie content of not only the potatoes but also the oil used in preparing it. But the kettle cooked potato chips have changed the whole scenario and made munching potato chips a healthy habit. Stunned? Kettle cooked chips are prepared slowly at low temperature and in individual batches, rather than frying in a continuous flow. This makes them not only crispier but also low in calorie content.

Unlike the traditional method, both flavor and color of the chips are maintained in the kettle cooking, without disturbing its nutritional value. In kettle cooking, the natural flavor of potatoes is maintained as there is a minimum usage of artificial or excess ingredients in the preparation process.

While the regular chips are prepared from deep frying the potatoes, the kettle cooked potato chips is cooked slowly in two stages. It is first cooked at very low temperature for enhancing its color and texture, and then is cooled down before undergoing the second method. Before frying the chips again in the second stage, the oil from the potatoes is completely removed. This makes them comparatively much lower in calorie content than the regular chips.

Classic Foods is one of the famous producers of kettle chips and food products in the state. They use a range of steam jacketed and injected kettle cookers to make a number of kettle cooked food products. The kettles include vertical, steam jacketed kettles, MTC steam injected kettle and horizontal, steam jacketed kettles.

To name a few, kettle cooked food items offered by Classic Foods are chili, Soups, Sauces (Italian, Mexican, Asian) Queso, Gravies, Taco Fillings, Beans, Fajitas, Jalapenos, Hot dogs, Chips, Barbecue products are cooked. The Sheriff Blaylock’s BBQ Sauce prepared from tomato paste base, vinegar, molasses and chili pepper, further adds a unique taste to all food products.

For more information about the products and services offered by Classic Foods, feel free to visit them at 629 Mony, Ft. Worth, Texas 76102. You can also call them at 817.332.1071.

Kettle Cook - Foodservice Products

Kettle Cooked Food By Classic Foods

Classic Foods specialty chefs prepare different varieties of food in special kettles to ensure taste, quality and freshness of the products. This special way of cooking the foods make the taste unique and ensure the quality of the products offered. Kettle cooked food is healthier in comparison to normally cooked food products.

Some of the special kettles which are used by our trained experts include vertical steam jacketed kettles, steam injected kettles and horizontal steam jacketed kettles. The use of steam jacketed and injected kettles help in widening the range of kettle cooked foods.  The use of kettles in cooking gives an unflinching twist to the taste and flavor and restores their freshness and essence, so that they can give the perfect aroma.

The variety of kettle cooked items at Classic Foods includes:

• Chips
• Ready to eat and concentrated soups
• Cheese sauces
• Quesos 
• All the gravies including cream gravy, sausage gravy and brown gravy.
• Taco fillings 
• Sloppy Joe 
• All types of beans including the black beans, barracho beans, baked beans.
• Italian sauces like Marinara and Alfredo.
• Mexican sauces like Enchilada sauce and Mole sauce
• Asian sauces like plum sauce, duck sauce, orange sauce, sweet &sour sauce.
• Collard greens 
• Creamed spinach

Classic Foods takes special care towards keeping the products fresh and packaged in a ready-to-eat form, which is very convenient and easy to use. To ensure the utmost health and hygiene of the customers, each product is packed and sealed at high temperature.

The state-of-the-art water chill tanks are used to lock the freshness and maintain the refrigerated shelf life of the respective products. Thus, Classic Foods caters to the customer needs as well as the hygiene needs along with the savor of the food products.

Choose from an array of appetizing food at the Classic foods. To know more about the services and the variety of kettle cooked food products, visit Classic Foods at 629 Mony, Ft. Worth, Texas 76102 or call at 817.332.1071.

Kettle Cook - Convenience Foods