As a whole the grocery industry introduces approximately 15,000 new products a year. Only 25% of new products remain in the store for more than 3 months.

Here is a sampling of products that have recently hit the market, are nutritionally improved, and may be worth taking home.

New products featuring frozen vegetables:

Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers™: This product can be found in the freezer section of your grocery store. These are convenient packages of frozen vegetables and combinations of vegetables. There are nine different flavors. They can be used as a side dish or to create a quick stir fry. I have tried the broccoli and cheese. While it is not as good as freshly steamed broccoli and cheese it is a good substitute. The main attraction is the ease of preparation. Each one comes in a bag that goes from the freezer to the microwave to the trash with minimal clean up. Cooking times averages about 5-6 minutes.

Bottom Line: Higher in sodium than plain veggies, but lower in sodium than some sauced veggies. When you are rushed this product is a reasonable option to add flavorful vegetables to the meal with little clean up.

Healthy Choice® Café Steamers™: This product can also be found in the freezer section of the store. The Café Steamers are full meals in convenient steamer baskets with the sauce added separately. Most of the steamers have a sodium content below the 600mg range. Reasonable sodium content for frozen meals is 600mg and below. Café Steamers have at least one full serving of vegetables per meal. Nutrients ranges per serving: Calories 200-500, Fat 4-8g, Sodium 480-600mg, Carbohydrate 35-53g, Fiber 4-6g, Protein 20-21g.

Bottom Line: Good to have on hand for a quick meal. Be sure to add a side of fruit or an additional vegetable to boost nutrients and fiber.

Lean ground beef patties: I love this, in part because there are always times when you want convenience, and in the land of frozen burgers there were just no lean options. That has changed. Now there are at least two lean products to choose from: Laura’s Lean Ground Beef Patties™ (9g fat per burger) and Kroger brand 91% Lean Beef Patties (10g fat per burger). This is a huge improvement over the 35g of fat per burger found in traditional frozen beef patties.

Bottom Line: Great option for those who want a healthier cookout this spring and summer with out having to make your own burger (although I do love to make my own!).