Vegetables out of a bag unhealthy?

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  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Famof72015 wrote: »
    I'm trying to stay away from anything in a bag or box but I really am unsure if vegetables in a bag are unhealthy for you?


    A bag of fresh carrots have the same nutrients as a loose carrot.
    Plain frozen vegetables do not have added ingredients. Look at the label. It is no more unhealthy than if you picked green beans from your garden and froze them.
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
    stealthq wrote: »
    CMNVA wrote: »
    I think I might understand what the original poster is asking. For instance, I shop at Wegman's and they have tons of "Ready to Eat" pre-bagged/cut/cleaned veggies. They have green beans that have had the ends snapped and strings peeled. They have broccoli already cut up in florets. And so on. Now, personally, I think they are still "healthy" but I don't believe their quality is as fresh as buying the loose produce out in the bins. It's just older and, therefore, has probably lost some nutrients.

    Actually, it won't be any older than the regular produce, and is often 'fresher' - as in, has been in the store for less time. The reason is because once someone does something to a vegetable or fruit that compromises the exterior you're making it more vulnerable to mold and such. Therefore, that produce is tossed sooner than the still intact produce.

    It has been my personal experience that if I buy green beans out of the bin (the ones I have to snap myself) versus the bagged ones, the loose ones are better/fresher tasting. The same goes for broccoli crowns or heads of broccoli in the bins versus the pre-cut bagged broccoli. But I often by the bagged stuff when I need to save time. It's still fine, but I don't think it's as fresh as the regular produce. Of course, that can vary from store to store depending how well they keep up their produce sections.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    edited February 2017
    The only time i use frozen veggies is when i make stir fry's, only because i couldn't be arsed buying them all separately, but personally i prefer the taste and texture of fresh vegetables.
    I don't think there's anything clean or unclean about frozen produce, it's just not my thing, especially when we have a huge selection to choose from in our fruit and veggie shops.

    ETA: Not that this would stop me, but my mum would flip out if she found out any of her kids were using frozen veggies :open_mouth: I doubt she has ever even tried any.
  • Stella3838
    Stella3838 Posts: 439 Member
    CMNVA wrote: »
    I think I might understand what the original poster is asking. For instance, I shop at Wegman's and they have tons of "Ready to Eat" pre-bagged/cut/cleaned veggies. They have green beans that have had the ends snapped and strings peeled. They have broccoli already cut up in florets. And so on. Now, personally, I think they are still "healthy" but I don't believe their quality is as fresh as buying the loose produce out in the bins. It's just older and, therefore, has probably lost some nutrients.

    I'm finding in my grocery, the pre-bagged/cut/cleaned veggies are MUCH fresher than the loose product. By a long shot. But I'm sure that all has to do with region, store, etc.... And they make meal prep a snap.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,211 Member
    Stella3838 wrote: »
    CMNVA wrote: »
    I think I might understand what the original poster is asking. For instance, I shop at Wegman's and they have tons of "Ready to Eat" pre-bagged/cut/cleaned veggies. They have green beans that have had the ends snapped and strings peeled. They have broccoli already cut up in florets. And so on. Now, personally, I think they are still "healthy" but I don't believe their quality is as fresh as buying the loose produce out in the bins. It's just older and, therefore, has probably lost some nutrients.

    I'm finding in my grocery, the pre-bagged/cut/cleaned veggies are MUCH fresher than the loose product. By a long shot. But I'm sure that all has to do with region, store, etc.... And they make meal prep a snap.

    I find the same. For the price they charge, the prepped ones have to be better quality
  • Chunkahlunkah
    Chunkahlunkah Posts: 373 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    ETA: Not that this would stop me, but my mum would flip out if she found out any of her kids were using frozen veggies :open_mouth: I doubt she has ever even tried any.

    :D This cracked me up because my parents were anti-frozen too. I feel almost rebellious buying frozen veggies, especially if they have a sauce. :D

    I prefer fresh, but I like some frozen veggies quite a bit.
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    This is a perfect example of why the arbitrary term "clean eating" and many of the subjective rules associated with it, are so unhelpful and confusing. There is nothing wrong with eating frozen vegetables - from a nutrient standpoint they are just as good as fresh, and from an availability/seasonality perspective - they are often superior.

    OP - why do you think that you need to avoid foods that come in a bag or box? Are you also going to avoid other things like rice, quinoa, dried beans and pasta that are pretty impossible to get from store to home without some sort of packaging?

    Whenever I picture clean eating I picture someone at the sink washing everything they eat before comsumption. Must be why many of these same people don't eat bread and pasta. It can't be washed!
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    I'm uncertain what about a bag or a box makes something unhealthy to begin with? Does it affect the nutritional value somehow? Also, how do you get your groceries home?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    jennifer_417 wrote: »
    I'm uncertain what about a bag or a box makes something unhealthy to begin with? Does it affect the nutritional value somehow? Also, how do you get your groceries home?

    anything boxed or bagged = processed which = not clean which = bad /unhealthy
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I don't know about the OP, but i asked a similar question when i first started here.
    It was something about are frozen veggies the same as fresh when it comes to nutrition, as i was under the impression that frozen stuff lost a lot of nutrients ( i know better now).
    I had it drummed into me my whole life that "fresh is best".
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
    I haven't had frozen veggies in 15 years. Have they gotten any better? My mom always bought frozen and they were limp and soggy.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,211 Member
    jennybearlv wrote: »
    I haven't had frozen veggies in 15 years. Have they gotten any better? My mom always bought frozen and they were limp and soggy.

    Yeah, I'm with you. They may allegedly have more nutrients but they're blech on texture. I got given a huge bunch of frozen veg and just use them in soups.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    jennybearlv wrote: »
    I haven't had frozen veggies in 15 years. Have they gotten any better? My mom always bought frozen and they were limp and soggy.

    Flash frozen are about as good as you can get- frequently better than "fresh" especially if they are out of season.

    The only thing I don't like frozen are zucchini and peppers- they don't tend to come back to life very well.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    jennifer_417 wrote: »
    I'm uncertain what about a bag or a box makes something unhealthy to begin with? Does it affect the nutritional value somehow? Also, how do you get your groceries home?

    anything boxed or bagged = processed which = not clean which = bad /unhealthy

    I appreciate what you're trying to do here, cut to the chase of why this terminology is so prevalent and misunderstood, but I actually would be interested, if the OP is still around, in hearing her answer to why she believes foods in boxes or bags should be avoided. Sometimes getting a person to state in their own words why they believe something, is helpful to getting them to see an alternative perspective.

    My money is on processed but I would be curious about this too.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    mom22dogs wrote: »
    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    jennybearlv wrote: »
    I haven't had frozen veggies in 15 years. Have they gotten any better? My mom always bought frozen and they were limp and soggy.

    Most all frozen fruit and veg are flash frozen now, but cooking method plays a huge factor in whether or not frozen veg ends up limp or soggy. Very high heat stir frying, for example, results in frozen veg that maintains its crispness.

    Exactly. Sounds like your mom just overcooked them. My mom does that with fresh green beans. Cooks them to mush and thinks they're great.

    Blaahhh i bet plenty of adults won't eat veggies because of the way their parents cooked them when they were young, and they assume that's what vegetables are meant to be like. Boiled to death veggies taste terrible, and so do canned veggies, if this is what they were fed growing up, I can't blame them for disliking them.
  • lulalacroix
    lulalacroix Posts: 1,082 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    mom22dogs wrote: »
    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    jennybearlv wrote: »
    I haven't had frozen veggies in 15 years. Have they gotten any better? My mom always bought frozen and they were limp and soggy.

    Most all frozen fruit and veg are flash frozen now, but cooking method plays a huge factor in whether or not frozen veg ends up limp or soggy. Very high heat stir frying, for example, results in frozen veg that maintains its crispness.

    Exactly. Sounds like your mom just overcooked them. My mom does that with fresh green beans. Cooks them to mush and thinks they're great.

    Blaahhh i bet plenty of adults won't eat veggies because of the way their parents cooked them when they were young, and they assume that's what vegetables are meant to be like. Boiled to death veggies taste terrible, and so do canned veggies, if this is what they were fed growing up, I can't blame them for disliking them.

    This is exactly me. Growing up with fresh or canned veg boiled to death. I don't think they were even served with any seasoning. Yuck! When I learned about roasted veg it was like YES.
  • Skyblueyellow
    Skyblueyellow Posts: 225 Member
    We use mostly frozen vegetables in the winter. I live in a northern climate. In the summer I buy a lot more that is fresh because the quality is fairly good. I live in an agricultural area so I have the benefit of buying local (yum) in most seasons. I don't really care for canned vegetables. I grew up on frozen vegetables.

    My frozen vegetables aren't soggy unless I overcook them, but I've found that frozen vegetables aren't as great for roasting as fresh. We steam a lot of vegetables here. You would think my husband was allergic to seasonings.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    mom22dogs wrote: »
    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    jennybearlv wrote: »
    I haven't had frozen veggies in 15 years. Have they gotten any better? My mom always bought frozen and they were limp and soggy.

    Most all frozen fruit and veg are flash frozen now, but cooking method plays a huge factor in whether or not frozen veg ends up limp or soggy. Very high heat stir frying, for example, results in frozen veg that maintains its crispness.

    Exactly. Sounds like your mom just overcooked them. My mom does that with fresh green beans. Cooks them to mush and thinks they're great.

    Yeah, my mom was pretty good with fresh, but usually with frozen she'd stick it in the microwave and overcook it. But my dad is the better cook in their house.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    edited February 2017
    OP doesn't say frozen though - just bagged so in my mind that means like the salads in a bag, baby carrots, pre-chopped veggies etc. But either way I am not following how a containtainment item makes them unhealthy or changes the nutritional value.
  • pdxwine
    pdxwine Posts: 389 Member
    AigreDoux wrote: »
    How do you buy vegetables without bags?

    Well, you would buy it fresh?

    Back to the OPs question, vegetables in a bag are far better than no vegetables at all.

    I would stay away from baby carrots. I have heard that the way they are processed is not the best.

    Frozen vegetables are also healthy. Canned, not as much due to extra sodium, but still better than none at all.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    mom22dogs wrote: »
    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    jennybearlv wrote: »
    I haven't had frozen veggies in 15 years. Have they gotten any better? My mom always bought frozen and they were limp and soggy.

    Most all frozen fruit and veg are flash frozen now, but cooking method plays a huge factor in whether or not frozen veg ends up limp or soggy. Very high heat stir frying, for example, results in frozen veg that maintains its crispness.

    Exactly. Sounds like your mom just overcooked them. My mom does that with fresh green beans. Cooks them to mush and thinks they're great.

    Blaahhh i bet plenty of adults won't eat veggies because of the way their parents cooked them when they were young, and they assume that's what vegetables are meant to be like. Boiled to death veggies taste terrible, and so do canned veggies, if this is what they were fed growing up, I can't blame them for disliking them.

    Growing up we had either fresh picked garden veggies in season or canned, Yuck on the canned. One thing we had frequently that most people did not were platters of raw veggies: carrots, celery, green onions, cabbage wedges, turnips,radishes, etc. This was the 60's BTW
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
    cmtigger wrote: »
    mom22dogs wrote: »
    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    jennybearlv wrote: »
    I haven't had frozen veggies in 15 years. Have they gotten any better? My mom always bought frozen and they were limp and soggy.

    Most all frozen fruit and veg are flash frozen now, but cooking method plays a huge factor in whether or not frozen veg ends up limp or soggy. Very high heat stir frying, for example, results in frozen veg that maintains its crispness.

    Exactly. Sounds like your mom just overcooked them. My mom does that with fresh green beans. Cooks them to mush and thinks they're great.

    Yeah, my mom was pretty good with fresh, but usually with frozen she'd stick it in the microwave and overcook it. But my dad is the better cook in their house.

    That is exactly how my mom cooked them, in a bowl with plastic wrap over it in the microwave. I don't recall ever seeing a steamer insert in our kitchen or eating any vegetable roasted. She microwaved canned as well, but you really can't make those any mushier.

    I live two hours from the Central Valley, so there is always something fresh and quality all year. I think I'll keep avoiding the frozen, but I can see how useful they would be for someone up north or living far from a grocery store.

    To not completely hijack your thread, OP, sorry. I think frozen veggies would be acceptable. Canned as well as long as you aren't watching sodium. I think cut up bagged veggies are overpriced, but I've got more time than money. Just make sure you wash them before eating them! Remember when all those people got sick from E. coli in bagged "prewashed" organic spinach?
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