Canned vs frozen vs fresh vegetables.
butterflylover527
Posts: 940 Member
I know that fresh vegetables are always going to be better for you, but how bad are canned and frozen vegetables? I realize that canned vegetables are higher in sodium but I feel that rinsing them would help a bit with that. Frozen vegetables are also cheaper than fresh, but I just feel like those might have even more chemicals in them to keep the frozen and "fresh".
Canned and frozen vegetables are so much cheaper, and being on a budget, I was wondering if canned or frozen vegetables would be better then eating no vegetables.
**Also for fruits too.
Canned and frozen vegetables are so much cheaper, and being on a budget, I was wondering if canned or frozen vegetables would be better then eating no vegetables.
**Also for fruits too.
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Replies
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In order to preserve inside the can, they use ALOT of sodium. But like you said, it's better than nothing (as long as your body doesn't mind the sodium)
Frozen are great because they don't spoil if you don't use them right away but will always lose a little nutritional value from being frozen and dethawed again. But they're still great.
I prefer fresh hands down but there are some nights I don't have time do prepare from fresh so I go to frozen. Pop some veggies in the microwave and done!
Good: Cans
Better: Frozen
Best: Fresh0 -
Basically everything Wabbit05 said with this caveat: watch out for the sodium levels in the frozen veggies that come sauced or preseasoned.0
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absolutely....frozen over canned if you can't go fresh!!!0
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^ I agree. Actually, it can also be the case that frozen vegetables have even more nutrients than fresh ones. They are being frozen right after they were picked whereas fresh veggies are sitting sometimes several days in the grocery store until you come and pick them up.0
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Stick with frozen or fresh. Buy fresh vegetables in season and they'll be cheaper. Buy frozen for things out of season (or if it's more in your price range). If you buy canned, rinse them well. This helps get rid of the added sodium.
Same goes for fruit
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Good: Cans
Better: Frozen
Best: Fresh
^This. I use frozen a lot as I am also on a budget and try to stay away from all the sodium (and taste) of the canned veggies.0 -
Canned goods have BPA in the lining (most all, except a select few which don't, and they will be labeled -- Muir Glen is one of them).
FROZEN will be cheaper than canned anyway.
Fresh is always good.
We don't own, nor do we miss our microwave and we enjoy steamed (frozen or fresh) vegetables nearly every day.0 -
I buy canned with no salt. I think I may try some frozen though...there are a lot of veg I would like to try that my kids won't touch...so buying fresh I would probably not get it all eaten before it spoils.. I will put some frozen veg on the grocery list 0
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if you can't have fresh, frozen is your next best option. Also Evotchka is spot on ^^0
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Ditto Wabbit, but in some cases, frozen can be even better than fresh. I know peas for one just can't take the transport time to be best fresh - unless you're getting them out of your own garden, I suppose.0
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I use frozen most of the time. I buy the Steamfresh ones. 5 min in microwave & they are yummy. As a working mom they are easy & taste good.0
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Frozen does have some small cellular damage, but it's not that bad.0
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absolutely....frozen over canned if you can't go fresh!!!
This - 100%.0 -
For the most part, I prefer fresh produce when it is in season. I don't have any problem eating frozen or canned veggies though. I eat canned beans rather than dried because its so much easier. I frequently use canned tomatoes because it can be hard to find good tomatoes in the store. When I'm making soup I often used frozen spinach or corn. I like frozen soybeans in my stir fries. I love french cut canned green beans. Frozen veggies will have a lot less salt and preservatives than canned vegetables.0
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I use a lot of frozen vegetables as I am on a tight budget as well. During the summer, I do buy a lot of fresh since our farmer's market is open and the prices are so much cheaper than the grocery stores and the quality is insanely better. If you have a farmer's market in your area you might try checking their prices.
I buy apples, bananas, and oranges fresh right now. Berries I buy frozen until summer. This last year I planned in my budget for extra money to be able to buy extra berries from the farmers market and I froze them and I am still using those. If you flash freeze them they last a long time and if you start out with high quality fruit they taste really good.0 -
The canned stuff will have a lot of salt unless it says no salt added. I don't think there's anything wrong nutritionally with those veggies though.
Fresh isn't always more nutritious than frozen although that's usually the impression. Most frozen foods are flash frozen within hours of picking so unless you're getting veggies fresh from your garden they're probably older "fresh" than frozen. If you buy fresh vegetables at a supermarket they were probably picked a week ago and have been processed and bounced around on a truck and loading docks for days.
An example: A local farm grows broccoli for a large supermarket chain. They harvest, bring it into the barn, it's cleaned up, boxed, iced and put into cold storage. It ships out to stores, oldest stuff first. If they can't get rid of it fast enough then it's shipped to a major food terminal where it will be purchased by smaller stores and shipped again. In the winter, they bring broccoli by truck from California to Ontario, Canada, re ice it and then move it on to stores. Not really very fresh!0 -
True. And frozen/canned tend to be picked when they are ripe and have more nutrients. So-called fresh vegetables purchased at the grocery store were picked before they were ripe, and then forced to look ripe by exposing them to ethylene gas.^ I agree. Actually, it can also be the case that frozen vegetables have even more nutrients than fresh ones. They are being frozen right after they were picked whereas fresh veggies are sitting sometimes several days in the grocery store until you come and pick them up.
The best choice is fresh vegetables purchased at a farmer's market.0 -
To me, canned vegetables are worthless. We buy canned beans to have on hand in case of emergency or laziness; that's about it.
Fresh and frozen are pretty equal, unless fresh means eaten the same day as picked, which obviously would be the ideal choice.0 -
i CANNOT do canned anymore, gave it up for a few months (i used to eat lots), and when i tried to eat some canned green beans i literally got sick. i thought it might be a coincidence but it happened again several other times with different brands and different foods. this just tells me theres something in the preservatives that my body no longer can digest!
canned food just scares me now; how come the water foams when you rince? sketch. it just grosses me out ^^ i think frozen is fine if you cant get the fresh.0 -
I know that fresh vegetables are always going to be better for you, but how bad are canned and frozen vegetables? I realize that canned vegetables are higher in sodium but I feel that rinsing them would help a bit with that. Frozen vegetables are also cheaper than fresh, but I just feel like those might have even more chemicals in them to keep the frozen and "fresh".
Canned and frozen vegetables are so much cheaper, and being on a budget, I was wondering if canned or frozen vegetables would be better then eating no vegetables.
**Also for fruits too.
Actually, since frozen are usually processed soon after harvesting, they are likely to be your best nutritional "bang for the buck". Fresh right out of the garden are obviously superior both from a nutritional and taste standpoint BUT the "fresh" at the grocery store may not even retain as many nutrients as the frozen variety. Canned are okay but they often have a high sodium content and also, the can lining can "leach" into the food (can linings are plastic and there is some concern over the hormonal disruption that occurs when we take in compounds used to make the plastic). The same conditions apply to fruits.0 -
The best choice is fresh vegetables purchased at a farmer's market.
Yes! And if you have never had produce from a farmer's market you are missing out. Ask around and find out where the closest one is. In my opinion its worth going even if its a little out of your way. I drive 10 miles one way to my nearest farmers market!0 -
Always Fresh - I'd rather save $ riding the public bus than eat a canned pea!0
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True. And frozen/canned tend to be picked when they are ripe and have more nutrients. So-called fresh vegetables purchased at the grocery store were picked before they were ripe, and then forced to look ripe by exposing them to ethylene gas.^ I agree. Actually, it can also be the case that frozen vegetables have even more nutrients than fresh ones. They are being frozen right after they were picked whereas fresh veggies are sitting sometimes several days in the grocery store until you come and pick them up.
The best choice is fresh vegetables purchased at a farmer's market.
^^^THIS^^^ (or grown in your own garden plot.) 0 -
Fresh vegetables are almost always superior in quality to frozen (better texture, more versatile, and more flavorful), and I wouldn't bother eating frozen vegetables on their own. However, they are some that are nice to have on hand to toss into things (e.g. frozen peas for aloo mutter or spinach for a frittata). I like to have peas, corn, spinach, and edamame on hand for those purposes. Frozen vegetables are more expensive but they say they actually have more nutrition than fresh because they're frozen right after they're picked.
I sometimes keep frozen fruit on hand for smoothies but it's ridiculously expensive and there's not much else you can do with it.
The only canned vegetables I'll bother with are tomatoes. Everything else is too salty and mushy to cook with.0 -
Right. Unless you're going to farmer's markets and consuming the item within a couple days, frozen is usually going to have more nutrients and you get all the benefits of being able to keep for long periods of time and just making what you need.0
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^ I agree. Actually, it can also be the case that frozen vegetables have even more nutrients than fresh ones. They are being frozen right after they were picked whereas fresh veggies are sitting sometimes several days in the grocery store until you come and pick them up.
This. I buy fresh when I can, but also you should try to know where your food is coming from. I buy fresh a lot more often in the summertime when it's likely local and I can visit the farmer's markets. Otherwise I'm constantly stocking up on frozen veggies when they go on sale at the grocery. You should see my freezer, I probably have at least 10 bags in there.0 -
canned veggies taste gross.
ill buy fresh veggies in season, or fruit and depending what they are freeze them so they last longer (slice up pepper, onion, spinach).
i also buy frozen veg when they are on sale.
way better than canned crap0 -
I will tell you exactly what the nutritionist I had a consultation with told me. The best vegetables most people have access to are frozen. The "fresh" vegetables you see in the grocery store were probably shipped from thousands of miles away. During that time, they lost most of their nutritional value. The best vegetables are the ones you pick from the ground and eat or get at a farmer's market that sells freshly harvested local produce. Frozen vegetables are frozen while they are fresh and the freezing process locks in that nutritional value. According to the nutritionist, here's the order of preference:
1). Freshly harvested, local, organic, farmer's market vegetables.
2). Frozen vegetables.
3). Grocery store "fresh" vegetables.
4). Canned vegetables.
It may seem counter-intuitive at first, but it actually makes perfect sense when you think about it.0 -
They are all good for you:). I have even heard reports that frozen is better than fresh in certain situations. ( ie. fresh isn't that fresh and frozen was fresher before freezing). I usually eat fresh because its habit, and I find fresh is cheaper. I grow my own too. That is best:)0
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^ I agree. Actually, it can also be the case that frozen vegetables have even more nutrients than fresh ones. They are being frozen right after they were picked whereas fresh veggies are sitting sometimes several days in the grocery store until you come and pick them up.
This. I buy fresh when I can, but also you should try to know where your food is coming from. I buy fresh a lot more often in the summertime when it's likely local and I can visit the farmer's markets. Otherwise I'm constantly stocking up on frozen veggies when they go on sale at the grocery. You should see my freezer, I probably have at least 10 bags in there.
word. my freezer is mostly frozen veg, some meatless products and 3 bottles of liquor0
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