So…where’s Kimberly going this week?

I am heading to Minnetonka, MN, to visit the Green Giant Valley.

This is a trip sponsored by General Mills. My Pepperdine University Alpha Phi sorority sister, Stephanie Nordstrom, has been working on PR and Marketing with General Mills, and she has connected me with some cool opportunities.

In a recent marketing effort, General Mills has invited bloggers and food writers to visit the Green Giant Valley and visit the plants. The trip is designed to teach us how frozen vegetables are grown and processed. I’ll get to join other bloggers, like MommyPR and Coconut & Lime. I am not a professional blogger like these bloggers, so I’m really looking forward to absorbing information and learning from them.

We are going to take a dinner cruise around Lake Minnetonka, view the fields, and visit the Green Giant museum! To top it all off, the trip is all expenses paid, so I’ll get my own bed (sorry hubby) and have some meals paid for!

And I get to visit a company that has a long history with my family. Let me explain.

My grandfather, Charles King, worked for General Mills as a baker and researcher. He worked on well-known products, like the Bugles. Most of my relatives live in Minnesota, because my parents grew up there. These relatives have encouraged me to take a closer look at General Mills as a company for which I could do research and development once I graduate from the Seattle Culinary Academy. So here I go, off to visit a potential employer and off to see a very interesting food processing process!

I head out in the morning, and I hope to post some more details.

I’m pretty excited, because I am so curious about frozen foods and about frozen vegetables. Many people believe that it’s more important to buy fresh vegetables over frozen vegetables, but in reality, frozen vegetables often have a higher nutrient content because they were processed at a riper state than vegetables that have to travel further distances. That said, nothing beats a fresh, locally grown vegetable, but when it isn’t available, buying a frozen vegetable doesn’t make you a less nutritious person. But try not to reach for canned vegetables as often – these can be high in sodium and the texture is usually affected by the high heat of the canning process. Not a great way to introduce more fruits and veggies to your diet. Stick with fresh or frozen for best results.

Sources:
Eating Well

Livestrong

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