Cold comfort: healthy frozen organic meals. (food).

Cash-strapped college kids and busy families alike often dig into their freezers at mealtime. Frozen organic foods offer no-fuss nutrition--no ingredients to hunt down at the store, no complicated recipes to follow. And with the growing number of healthy frozen food options, they're not only convenient, they're often even healthier than fresh foods.

The average American eats a frozen meal about six times a month, according to a survey by the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI). Fortunately, it's not all artery-clogging pizzas and rich ice creams. Take Cascadian Farm, a company in SedroWooley, Washington, that sells a variety of organic frozen foods. Company spokeswoman Susan Schneider says she's happy to be celebrating Cascadian Farm's 30th anniversary this year, as the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) rolls out its guidelines for organic foods--finally taking steps to standardize the organics industry in the United States. She says the new standards will make it much easier for consumers to tell which products contain totally organic ingredients.

In addition to its line of frozen organic produce, Cascadian Farm also sells heat-and-serve entrdes such as chicken enchiladas, as well as several vegetarian offerings. Dessert lovers haven't been left out in the cold, either--there's premium ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt. The company markets more than 160 organic food items, all produced without synthetic pesticides, antibiotics, genetically modified organisms, hormones or other harmful chemicals.

Schneider says it isn't possible for all of Cascadian Farm's frozen foods to be labeled as 100 percent organic because some of the ingredients in its entrees--salt, for instance--don't come from organic sources. However, the products themselves haven't changed since the new organic standards went into effect. Organics still make up 95 to 99 percent of ingredients, Schneider says--only the labeling has changed.

Organic frozen foods are popular buys at Jandi's, a natural foods store in Oceanside, New York. Manager Howard Chasser says the main reason his customers often choose frozen produce over fresh is the convenience.

Fresh fruits and vegetables aren't always in season, but frozen produce is good year-round, he says. Chasser has noticed a trend with his customers: They'll gladly buy organic frozen foods over fresh non-organic foods, even when fresh may cost less. "People are willing to pay more," Chasser says, "if they're certain that they're buying organic."

A survey of organics ...