Sneak Peak: Iceland’s New Range

Growing up I don’t think I was very aware of Iceland (the shop, not the country…my geography isn’t that bad!). From the little I knew it only sold frozen food, and not good frozen food at that! Well, now that I’m all grown up I’m not ashamed to admit that I couldn’t have been more wrong! Iceland has continued to surprise me at every turn, first with their range of Slimming World meals and then with everything else they offer. That’s why I was very excited to go and get a sneak peak at Iceland’s new range of food at a taster lunch.

Frozen food really has come a long way. Take this, Salt Baked Seabass from Iceland’s New Range for instance!

Changing Perceptions Through The #PowerOfFrozen

Frozen food has had the biggest perception change in recent years! Once something that people would only have for emergencies in the freezer, it’s now something which makes up a large part of every day lives. Whilst there may still be some way to go, it has become evident that frozen ranges don’t just consist of pizzas and fish fingers…not that there’s anything wrong with frozen fish fingers…I’m not the Daily Mail!

Find the recipe for my Easy Peasy Sheet Pan Lamb Roast here, this recipe uses a delicious rack of lamb from Iceland’s Luxury Meats range!

You just have to look in the freezers at Iceland to find exotic meat (kangaroo or ostrich anyone?!); seafood ranging from muscles to lobster; fancy desserts including everything from fruit tarts to profiteroles; not to mention their range of vegetarian foods and party nibbles! Hell, you can even get frozen sushi!

I don’t think I’m wrong in saying, when you take all of this into account, that Iceland is not only benefiting from a change in the perception of frozen, it’s the reason why it has happened!

I made this fantastic Homemade Healthy Fish Pie using frozen fish from Iceland’s amazing range of seafood!

Discovering Iceland’s New Range

It’s fair to say that I was incredibly excited to get a taste of what’s in store for Iceland this Autumn and report back to you lovely lot! If you’re a regular reader you’ll know I’ve had the pleasure of working with Iceland on a few of my recipes and I’m a total convert to the #PowerOfFrozen, so I was intrigued to find out what we could expect in the coming months from the supermarket!

We had the pleasure of being cooked for by Iceland’s head chef Neil Nugant, at the fantastic Aveqia in London, who cooked a variety of exciting dishes using some of the more than 100 new lines in Iceland’s new range of food which will mostly be launching in stores between the 11th September and 8th October! Just check out the menu…would you ever dream that these dishes would come from the freezers at Iceland?!

When looking at this menu initially one thing stood out to me above everything else…DEEP FRIED AVOCADO! I mean, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven! When I discovered that not only was this fab chef serving up deep fried avocado, but that the avocado had in fact been FROZEN I think my mind was blown. I don’t know whether I’m behind the times here or not, but I had no idea that you could freeze avocados, let alone that Iceland was going to be selling them. For the moment they’re only available in London stores, but fingers crossed for a wider launch because I can guarantee they’ll sell like hotcakes!

The deep fried avocado was served with a wholemeal crumpet and the most delicious crab meat!

Another stand out product from the day was the cauliflower rice, which I’ll definitely be bulk buying as soon as it’s in store! The cauliflower rice will come frozen, ready to be steamed in the bag and eaten with any number of dishes. It was the perfect texture, not wet and soggy like a lot of cauliflower rice out there at the moment, and I know that it’s going to be ideal for my Slimming World fakeaways!

The cauliflower rice was served with seared tuna and an Asian dressing…delish! 

It’s safe to say that amongst other things I’ll be stocking up on the Luxury Filleted Tuna Steaks (also out from September) which were served rare, like in sushi, with the cauliflower rice. It might surprise people that this frozen fish could be served so rare but it’s really just a fantastic example of how far frozen food has come.

A few of the dishes we were lucky enough to try featured products which are in store now, so you don’t have to wait for Iceland’s new range to reach the stores. This included stand out dishes such as the gnocchi and Red Argentinean Shrimp, both of which I seriously recommend!

The Red Argentinian Shrimp was one of the stand out dishes of the day! You can get this delicious seafood in store in Iceland now!

This Triple Dipped Caramel Ice Lolly tasted incredible!

By the time we got to puddings I was stuffed, but more than ready to dig into some of the tastiest treats I’ve eaten in a long time. You’d never have guessed that the raspberry tart came from frozen or that the Lux Tripple Dip Salted Caramel Ice Lolly wasn’t from a gourmet brand!

I got a taster of some of Iceland’s upcoming dessert range! I can’t wait for these tarts to be in stores from 11th September!

Then it was on to their new range of ice creams, which are smooth, creamy and packed with flavour. Whilst Iceland’s new range of puddings might not be great for every day on Slimming World, they’re definitely worth the syns and perfect for an indulgent treat!

These Welsh Cakes will be launch in store in September/October, as will this creamy delicious ice cream!

All I can say is that if you don’t already shop in Iceland then you’re missing a trick, and if you do then you’re going to be seriously excited come September when Iceland’s new range reaches the shops. We got a taste of just some of the new stand out products and I personally can’t wait to find out what else there is round the corner for Iceland. Keep your eyes peeled and get thinking of some recipes to test out!

What Are The Benefits of Frozen Food?

Still not sold on the idea of frozen food? Even with the promise of Iceland’s New Range to get excited about?!? I can understand. There’s definitely still a perception amongst many people that frozen food is either of a lesser quality than fresh food, or that it is some how less healthy. So let me put your mind at ease with a few home truths about the #PowerOfFrozen…

1. Frozen = LESS WATE! It goes without saying that if you’re just eating what you need from your frozen food that you’re going to waste less food which can only be good for your pocket and for the environment. Lots of Iceland’s frozen meat comes individually packaged to help with exactly this.
2. Frozen = BIGGER SAVINGS! Not only does frozen food tend to cost less on the shelf, not because it’s worse quality but because it can last for longer, but because you’re wasting less you’re going to be buying less food and that’s only going to result in more money in your pocket!
3. Frozen = CONVENIENT! Let’s face it, we’ve all been in the position of going to cook dinner and realising that you’ve literally got a single egg and one lonely carrot in the fridge. Well, frozen food means you’re basically never going to run out of food! You’ve always got a convenient option in the freezer…perfect!
4. Frozen = GREAT TASTE & NUTRIENT RICH! Lots of people wrongly believe that frozen food doesn’t taste as good as fresh food and that it’s less health, however most frozen food is frozen at the point of picking or as soon as it is packaged. This means that flavour is locked in, along with vitamins and other nutrients which can actually decrease in fresh produce as soon as it’s picked.

Iceland’s head chef whipped up some incredible Bonfire Chicken Toasties at the event for their new range!

Have I converted you to the #PowerOfFrozen? Why not check out Iceland online today! You can order online, with a minimum spend of £25, so what have you got to lose! http://groceries.iceland.co.uk/

*This post was written in collaboration with Iceland, but all of the opinions are my own and I only ever recommend products that I love!