Hi everyone. I facilitated another workshop last night and the topic of frozen vegetables came up along with their nutritional value. Here’s some info from a Johns Hopkins University article:
“Fruits and Veggies: Fresh, Canned, or Frozen?
You already know to eat at least five servings each of fruits and vegetables. But does it matter how these goodies make it to your plate?
Fresh fruits and vegetables straight from the produce aisle are usually best, as long as you’re eating them soon after picking. Sometimes though, it’s not always possible to purchase produce when it’s fresh off the farm.
Seasonal changes will also affect which type of produce we purchase, since fresh fruits and vegetables often are quite expensive. If you can’t afford to purchase all your fruits and vegetables fresh, try canned and frozen.
Frozen produce is nutritionally comparable to fresh but canned produce does lose some vitamins and minerals during the heating process. However, the canned versions of at least three vegetables are actually higher in healthful phytochemicals than their fresh versions: Corn, carrots, and tomatoes all benefit from the canning process.
Another benefit of frozen and canned produce: They have a longer shelf life, so you can keep them on hand for quick additions to meals.
If you do purchase more canned or frozen produce, make sure the label says they contain no added salt and sugars. (Remember “heavy syrup”?)
Bottom line: It’s more important to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day than it is to worry about how they made it to your plate”
I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel pretty good about stocking up on frozen spinach, etc. It truly cuts down on shopping time if we have those waiting for us in the freezer.
A reader posted this recipe as a comment to a recent post and I promised my workshop attendees that I would post it for their recipe accumulating pleasure. Our workshop hostess, Julie, prepared it and it was delicious. It can be a dip, a sandwich spread or even a side dish. It does indeed use frozen peas but fresh mint:
Green Pea Guacamole:
1 handful mint
juice from 2 limes
7 oz greek yogurt (I used 1/2 cup lowfat sourcream and 1/2 cup nonfat plain yoghurt instead)
7 oz peas (or almost 1 cup!)
1 garlic clove
1/2 t curry powder
1/2 t cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Just put it all into the food processor and blend until smooth. Enjoy!
One Response
I have another great site that’s just filled with fruit and vegetable information, http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org. It has nutrition information, recipes, and offers great tips on getting picky eaters to try new fruits and vegetables. You should also check out http://www.foodchamps.org, a website just for kids age two – eight. It has some fun, educational activities like fruit & veggie math.