Christmas can be a busy and stressful time as we attempt to juggle socialising, shopping, and food prep. If your kitchen capability falls short of ‘MasterChef’, do not fear because frozen food is here.

To help families make the most of the festive period, the British Frozen Food Federation’s 12 Frozen Tips for Christmas provides a step-by-step guide to making friends with your freezer:

Tip 1: Save money by buying frozen
A study by Manchester Metropolitan University found frozen food offers around a 30% saving compared to fresh or chilled foods. For an average family, this equates to a huge saving of £1,500 a year.

Tip 2: Remove stress from Christmas dinner
Frozen food can remove a lot of the stress from cooking at Christmas, as pre-prepared festive foods are available from turkeys to vegetables. Less preparation means less washing up!

Tip 3: Maximise nutrients with frozen food
When food is frozen as soon as it is picked or prepared, the freshness is locked in. With no need for preservatives, just turn the temperature down to activate ‘nature’s pause button’.

Tip 4: Buy frozen turkey before the rush
Buying your turkey frozen in advance this year means you can miss the rush in the week before Christmas and still have the same high quality and premium taste that you would expect from the centrepiece of your Christmas dinner.

Tip 5: Ready prepared favourites
Almost all the nation’s favourite trimmings are available ready prepared in the frozen aisle – whether you love roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, honey roasted parsnips, or even Brussels sprouts! Buying frozen saves time on preparation and cooking whilst making sure that the flavours on your plate are effortlessly exciting, varied, and festive. 

Tip 6: Easy vegetarian and vegan options
The variety of frozen food available means that vegetarians and vegans can enjoy a delicious Christmas dinner. Options like nut roasts and sweet potato wellingtons in the frozen aisle mean that alternative roasts are even more straight forward, tasty, and nutritious than you might think.

Tip 7: Out of season foods available all year round
As frozen food is available all year round, you get the pick of the crop from the freezer. Foods like summer berries can be enjoyed in the depths of winter without paying over the odds for imported or forced-grown produce.

Tip 8: Use frozen cranberries for sauce and cocktails
Frozen cranberries are ideal for making your cranberry sauce. With frozen cranberries, the freshness is locked in which will make your sauce the best it can be, and you can also use your frozen cranberries for your favourite Christmas cocktails!

Tip 9: Reduce waste by cooking only what you need
With frozen food we can cook only what we need and save the rest for a later date. Using pre-prepared frozen vegetables also reduces food waste in the supply chain due to the use of ‘wonky veg’ that wouldn’t make it onto the supermarket shelf as ‘fresh’. Reducing the amount of food waste before we have even got to the checkouts is the right thing to do.

Tip 10: Finish in style with frozen puddings
Whether you prefer cold or hot puddings, frozen desserts will please everyone around the dinner table and mean that you can stock up in advance to have sweet treats that will last all the way through the festive season.

Tip 11: Make your list and check it twice
Frozen food allows you to get ahead of the game with your Christmas food shopping, as ‘nature’s pause button’ has been activated so freshness, nutrients, and high-quality taste are locked in. By doing your Christmas food shopping early and buying frozen, you can avoid the busy supermarket rush before the big day, whilst saving money and time.

Tip 12: Freezers aren’t just for Christmas
Buying frozen food is an affordable, nutritious, and convenient way to enjoy great tasting and high-quality food all year round. Not only can frozen food save you money and time, but it can also remove a lot of the stress from trying to fit cooking healthy meals into your busy schedule.

Next time you are in the supermarket, make sure to have a look in the frozen food aisle to see the range of great frozen foods which can become a staple in your weekly shop.