What’s more refreshing than a big bowl of fresh fruit on a hot summer day?
Frozen fresh fruit! Before you let your mind go wild, we are going to redefine the concept of a “frozefruit”. Who needs high-calorie and artificial sugar-filled frozefruit bars when you can transform whole fruits into wholesome sorbet?
Try something new this summer…a handful of frozen grapes.
Why Frozen Grapes?
One of the most underrated fruits, grapes deserve acknowledgement for their powerful health profile.1 There are a few things that may surprise you about grapes.
First, grapes are members of the berry fruit-group alongside raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and cranberries. Second, though grapes taste so sugary-sweet, they are classified as a low glycemic index food, and studies link grapes to improved blood sugar balance, insulin regulation, and insulin sensitivity.
Grapes are packed with health-supportive nutrients including manganese, vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin B and potassium, as well as countless antioxidant phytonutrients. The growing area of grape research includes their benefits on the cardiovascular system, respiratory system, blood sugar regulating system, and nervous system; grapes are now even studied for their possible role in cancer prevention.
Before you add this fruit to your next grocery list, you should know that imported grapes made it on the “dirty dozen” list: a group of 12 fruits and vegetables that are presumed to be the most contaminated with pesticides. This means that you should only look to purchase imported grapes if they are certified organic. Domestic grapes are the way to go if you’re not strict on buying organic produce.
How To Prepare Frozen Grapes
This frozen snack can be prepared in three easy steps:
1. Rinse the grapes thoroughly
2. Place the grapes in a plastic bag
Use a good seal for the plastic bag. Don’t worry about fully drying the grapes before bagging them—a nice pat with paper towel will do the trick. You don’t want the grapes to be so wet that they will all freeze together, but a little moistness will give them a nice frosty coating after freezing
3. Freeze the grapes in a freezer
Let the grapes sit in the freezer overnight to allow for an even freeze
If you have more of a sweet tooth, you may want to try freezing red or black grapes. Green grapes are a popular pick for those who enjoy the sweet and tangy flavor. The grapes keep their crunchy character while the inside becomes a smooth sorbet surprise. Whether you are in need of a refreshing snack after a tough workout or craving a cool snack on a hot summer day, frozen grapes won’t disappoint!
Will try these out tonight! Thank you. Love the images as usual.
Love the article. Have the whole family addicted to frozen grapes.
I am a personal trainer and was wondering how often you think I need to bring my clients to muscle failure in order to see results? Most of my clients are women trying to stay fit or lose weight.
Thanks!
@Dara Mazzie – Your question is actually a common one that has been studied in research settings. More specifically, what is explored is if you can build muscle and increase strength without going to failure. So far, regarding increasing strength, there is not much a difference between training to failure vs. training before failure. When it comes to muscle building, the results are less clear. Finally, for fat loss, I think the intensity of the workout is most important, and the training to failure concept would be helpful to increase intensity.
From my experience, I have clients train until “technical failure”, which means they are unable to complete any more reps with perfect form. The second the form starts to be compromised, it’s time to end the set. I think exercise intensity is very important for optimizing results, and training to technical failure should be helpful for positive metabolic/body composition changes. I always ask clients how they feel at the beginning of the session to make sure they feel refreshed and we are not overtraining by going to failure too much.
For a more technical read, you can check out this article by exercise professor Len Kravtiz – Training to Failure
I agree, it’s really perfect for summer treats. 🙂 I prefer the red ones. But how long should I keep the grapes frozen in the refrigerator?
@ F.Y.
As long as the fruit is properly sealed and remains solidly & consistently frozen then it should stay safe to eat up to 6-8 months later. I don’t know that I’d recommend waiting SO long, but keep in mind that this recommended storage time is really only based on quality concerns. You may notice some color, texture and certainly flavor changes over time.
As far as keeping the grapes “frozen” in the refrigerator…well they wont keep their freeze very long at all!! Take the grapes you plan to eat straight out of the freezer and keep the rest frozen to avoid re-freezing!
Hope that answers your question!
Thanks Marc! I really enjoy your content and often repost them on Facebook and Twitter. Keep the info coming!