I've told a few of you recently about the "Meat Lady" that Andy turned me on to. Her name is Beth and she works for Horizon Foods. She sells flash frozen beef, chicken, seafood, pork, lamb and other items that are very high quality and also incredibly convenient due to the individual packaging. Here is some info from the Horizon Foods website to explain why this is good:

What is flash freezing?

* Our food items are vacuum-sealed and "flash frozen" in their own airtight packages. Flash-freezing is a revolutionary process of quick freezing (usually within seconds). This locks in all the flavors, juices, vitamins and minerals and allows the products to keep perfectly for long periods. Each product is held in this condition until it is thawed, ensuring that it will be just as fresh as when it was frozen.
* "Flash" freezing means Horizon uses sophisticated, ultra-low temperature freezers to freeze their cuts immediately after they are individually vacuum packed. This quick freeze process is absolutely essential to maintain the flavor and texture of Horizon's fine food products. Horizon's "flash freezing" technique ensures that there is no deterioration in the quality of the product you receive.

Why is flash freezing better?

* Flash frozen foods have a much longer shelf life and they will not suffer freezer burn, but that is just the beginning. There are many other advantages to buying flash frozen foods.
* First of all, rapid freezing has nutritional benefits because it maintains the quality of the product without artificial preservatives.
* Taste is also superior because these foods are selected at the peak of quality and then flash frozen to seal in flavor, aroma and nutrition.
* Another benefit of frozen foods: Convenience. The cleaning and other preparation has all been done for you. Easy preparation is a must in our busy world.
* And, thanks to flash freezing, the availability of fish and seafood is never a problem. Even if you don't live near a seaport, you can still enjoy delicious, quality shrimp, crab, lobster and other fish and seafood. Our fish is cleaned, filleted, packaged & flash frozen less than 4 hours after catch, right onboard the fishing vessel.

I purchased hamburger patties and chicken breasts from Beth and have been very happy with the product. It is really simple to prepare -- since they are individually packaged I can remove one or two servings without having to worry about the rest of the bag spoiling or getting freezer burn. I can throw a hamburger patty on my Foreman grill and within 10 minutes it's gone from frozen to ready to eat! The taste is fantastic, too.

All of the products that Horizon Foods sells are raised and processed at very high standards. The chicken is all hormone and antibiotic free and you can read more about the standards for their seafood and beef products as well on their website.

To add to the convenience of buying meat this way - you buy the food in bulk, so you don't have to shop nearly as often, and Beth delivers the food to you! When you figure it by the portion, the cost is actually less than buying fresh meat at Whole Foods and it's far more convenient. Plus they also sell some preprepared items for the days you're REALLY busy or for throwing parties.

To contact Beth, you can email her at -- be sure to tell her you're from Petranek Fitness!

You can also find out a lot more about Horizon Foods at www.horizonfoods.com