Bonnie: The BOTB team has selected Freschetta Simply…Inspired Farmers Market Veggie Pizza as this week’s Bite of the Best. We’re doing this in conjunction with my syndicated column, Supermarket Sampler, awarding that frozen pizza our annual Golden Shopping Cart of the Year Award for best new food product introduced into U.S. supermarkets in 2011.
My column-writing partner and I met — and both of us have lived — in the Greater New Haven, (Connecticut) area, home to some of the country’s best pizza. And my culinary offspring — Bryan and Eric, the rest of the Bite of the Best team — were raised there. That makes Supermarket Sampler’s selection of a frozen supermarket pizza for best new food product of the year, and BOTB featuring it, all the more remarkable.
Freschetta offers a frozen tasty pizza with an incredibly thin crust that bakes crisp. Plus the entire line is environmentally friendly, with a soft package that uses 30 percent less packaging (by weight) than a traditional boxed frozen pizza
I also like this variety’s plethora of veggies, including mushrooms, red onion, zucchini and tomatoes, in big enough pieces to resemble those at the farmers’ markets referenced in its name. A hearty third of this veggie pizza provides 310 calories and 2 grams fiber, and is an excellent source of calcium and a good source of both vitamin A and iron.
Like most pizzas, this does contain a hefty amount of fat and sodium, so I recommend you eat only the suggested third of the pie and eat it occasionally.
Bryan: Freschetta’s Simply…Inspired Farmers Market Veggie pizza offers more real vegetable toppings than I’ve seen almost ever from a frozen pizza option. Every frozen pizza company seems to offer its take on a “veggie supreme,” generally lacking in depth of flavor and most unfortunately lacking in actual veggies. Though Freschetta is likely already a brand of frozen pizza you might be aware of, you might not have known about its Simply…Inspired line, representing a whole different level of its product, with larger vegetables, signature sauces and new flavor combinations.
Today’s bite takes a closer look at one of these new options from Freschetta, where large sliced and marinated portabello mushrooms are combined with thickly julienned, fire-roasted zucchini and topped with sweet roasted red onions to create a veggie-heavy, cheesy, tomato-y, basily pizza that is (truly) good enough to wonder if it came from the freezer — or not.
Freschetta offers six flavors in the line: Harvest Supreme, Classic Bruschetta, Hawaiian Style, Rustic Pepperoni Pomodoro, Southern BBQ Recipe Chicken and the Farmers Market Veggie. I’m not going off my rocker here. Don’t worry; I’m not saying that I would confuse any of the Simply…Inspired Freschetta pies with anything from a New Haven pizzeria. That being said, as I’ve lived outside of the pizza corridor (Providence to Philadelphia) for more than five years now, I’ve come to appreciate when a pizza tastes better than the rest (while maybe not the best). And on this note, Freschetta delivers.
This is pretty darned good, especially to have come from the supermarket’s freezer for under $10. While the Simply…Inspired line may be a bit pricier than the frozen pizzas next to it, you are getting some quality for that extra green. In fact, you’re getting extra greens for that extra green, and your taste buds will thank you for the vitamins of the zucchini, especially over that cheap pepperoni donning the top of the pizzas adjacent. Go with the Freschetta Veggie and go home happy.
I first tasted the Farmers Market Veggie Pizza about three years ago. I found it in a Food Lion Grocery Store. It was actually packaged as a single big slice. It was to die for. I would eat it everyday for lunch at work. One day I went to buy some more and there was none. I looked everywhere, however I can find other flavors of Freschetta Pizza but not the one I want. Every time I think of it there is a disappointment in my heart. Can someone help?