Frozen Vs Fresh Vegetables the facts

With such emphasis on eating raw and fresh vegetables today, many health-conscious cooks feel that they are committing an injustice when they buy and cook frozen vegetables for themselves or their families.

They don’t like to admit that they often use frozen produce instead of fresh even during the summer. Let’s examine point by point a new perspective on serving frozen vegetables.

Convenience: You just got in from work. Your family is hungry now or maybe you have unexpected dinner guests; what to do? Raw vegetables need more preparation time.  Just go to your freezer and pull out veggies. You can have a meal in very little time.

Price: Frozen vegetables are reasonably priced all year round.  Most fresh vegetables are expensive, even in season from local farmers.

Little waste: Often, when buying a vegetable like broccoli, kale, collards or asparagus, you have to throw a lot away. The frozen variety has already been trimmed for you.

Quality: Vegetables for freezing are picked at their peak ripeness and flash frozen almost immediately. They do not sit around for days in a warehouse before delivery to a market where they may sit longer in the produce aisles. Their quality is not diminished in transit.

Nutrition: Vitamins, fiber and minerals are destroyed the longer vegetables are kept.  The same methods that maintain the quality of the freshly harvested vegetables ensure the nutritional value remains high.  So they could be more nutritious than those in supermarket bins.  Remember that produce that has to be shipped must be picked before it is ripe resulting in lower nutritive value.

Taste: The only downside is that the taste may not be as vibrant as fresh; however, with seasonings and careful cooking, you can add flavor.

In summation, home cooks need not feel guilty about preparing frozen vegetables for their families. In actuality, they could do greater injustice if they buy the raw variety in certain circumstances.   It may be time for considering a new perspective on serving frozen vegetables at mealtime.