Frozen veggies: As good as they look
According to the USDA’s MyPlate, and our Registered Dietitian, Catherine, fruits and veggies should be the major component of any meal. While I’ve always loved them, I recently realized that most of my personal plate is usually filled with protein. So, over the last few months, I’ve been trying to make fruits and veggies the new mealtime stars.
Despite my best efforts, I’ve run into a few stumbling blocks.
1. I get a little overzealous and end up buying enough produce to open my own farmer’s market—then I can’t eat it all in time and it rots. There’s no worse feeling than throwing away unused fruits and veggies.
2. Other times, I’m in the mood for a big veggie stir-fry, and my veggie drawer is empty.
While fresh produce is ideal, I’ve been experimenting with other forms to keep up my consumption. And while there’s some concern that frozen, dried, canned or freeze-dried produce don’t have the same nutrients as fresh produce, they do actually retain most of it. The main exception is vitamins that are prone to degradation, such as vitamin C.
My method may not be a full replacement for fresh fruits and vegetables, but it can definitely help you reshape your plate.
1. Frozen:
If you haven’t looked recently, check out the frozen foods section. The variety of veggies and fruit is pretty impressive—and they’re very affordable. As a bonus, frozen produce usually comes chopped, which can save you prep time. They keep for months, as opposed to fresh fruits and vegetables, which can go bad after a few days or weeks.
2. Freeze-Dried:
This option may sound intimidating to some folks. And it’s true; the texture can be like styrofoam. Admittedly, not the strongest endorsement, but the flavor is great and the calorie count pretty much matches that of fresh produce. Naturally occurring sugar and flavor get concentrated, so every piece tastes great. And the best part is there’s no usually sugar or preservatives added. Freeze-dried produce isn’t always easy to find—I’ve had the most success at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.
3. Dried:
There are far more dried fruits than veggies out there. For some reason, names change when a fruit goes from fresh to dried, which can make it confusing to know what you’re actually eating (raisins=dried grapes, prunes=dried plums). These all have great flavors, but often have sugar or preservatives added. Due to any added sugar and the reduction in water, these are generally higher in calories per serving than fresh produce. Dried fruits are a better snack food than plate filler.
4. Canned:
There are lots of items to choose from, but often salt is added to help preserve the food. Look for reduced sodium options, but don’t stop there. Reduced or not, canned foods still have a lot of sodium. Be sure to rinse the vegetables before you cook them to try to remove some of the salt. Overall, canned vegetables are my least favorite option.
So, if you’re in a good groove of eating fresh produce, keep on going. But if you’ve found it hard to make sure you keep fresh veggies and fruit around, give one of these alternatives a try.
Jonathan Birnberg, MD Director, Clinical Quality
Photo via siddhu2020
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