{"id":787,"date":"2010-07-22T21:07:51","date_gmt":"2010-07-22T21:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/?p=787"},"modified":"2010-07-22T21:07:51","modified_gmt":"2010-07-22T21:07:51","slug":"nutrition-note-frozen-veggies-can-be-as-or-more-nutritious-than-fresh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/nutrition-note-frozen-veggies-can-be-as-or-more-nutritious-than-fresh\/","title":{"rendered":"Frozen Veggies Can Be As (or More) Nutritious Than Fresh"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fresh
Think of frozen veggies as a convenient alternative to, not a straight substitute for fresh vegetables. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After one of my Easy Everyday Cooking Classes, one participant wrote an alarmed message on her evaluation form:\u00a0 “Why did you use frozen vegetables for the Cauliflower Tomato Curry?\u00a0 I never eat anything but fresh!”<\/p>\n

My bad.\u00a0 Not for using frozen veggies, but for failing to clarify the reasoning.\u00a0 While the word is getting out about frozen vegetables, let me repeat the key points in case you’ve missed anything:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Fresh vegetables are <\/em>better, if <\/em>they’re really fresh,<\/span><\/strong> When nutrition experts rhapsodize over fresh vegetables, the vegetables they have in mind are those picked that morning then stored properly until dinner time.\u00a0\u00a0 Sadly, however, the “fresh” vegetables in your grocery store aren’t generally far from this kind of fresh.\u00a0 Even though they look fresh, they may well be two, three or four days old, depending upon how long it took to transport them from the field (often in a distant part of the country), through warehouses and distribution points and onto your store’s shelves, where they may sit for another day or two before being purchased.\u00a0 Then they may sit another day (or week) in your frig before making it onto the dinner plate.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0 Vegetables begin the slow slide into compost the minute they are picked.<\/span><\/strong> And they begin to deteriorate nutritionally as well as physically.\u00a0 While proper storage can minimize nutrient loss, consumers are often lax in this regard.\u00a0 Produce isn’t bagged properly, it sits in hot cars too long, is forgotten about on counters and is denied the optimal humidity in the frig.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Meanwhile, produce destined for the freezer case is flash frozen shortly after picking, at its nutritional peak. <\/span><\/strong> That nutritional high point can then be maintained for six months at least.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 So while the translation from fresh to frozen undoubtedly results in nutrient loss, it’s surely no worse than that suffered by “fresh” produce that has survived three (or maybe 13) days in trucks, warehouses, grocery shelf bins and crisper drawers<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 And nutritional studies have confirmed this fact.<\/p>\n

Despite the evidence, it not uncommon to still feel uneasy about using frozen vegetables.\u00a0 For so long, the “eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables” prescription has been drilled into us to the point where, at a visceral level, it just feels wrong to eat frozen veggies.\u00a0 And let’s not forget about taste.\u00a0 Without a doubt, fresh vegetables (even if a few days old), generally taste a whole lot better than frozen.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, frozen veggies have a lot to offer over fresh:<\/p>\n