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Veggies: Fresh vs Steamed

think48
think48 Posts: 366 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
This may be silly, but here goes it. I know fresh veggies are "better" than steamed (even though I know steamed is good too). My question is, if you put fresh veggies in soup and then cook it and eat all of the soup + veggies (a single serving cooked), then aren't you getting all of the nutrients that would have been in the fresh? Nutrients don't just vanish, do they? I would assume steamed is not as good as fresh b/c of nutrients dropping down into the water....

....maybe I'm confused.... lol. :)

Replies

  • mamaturner
    mamaturner Posts: 2,447 Member
    I saw a show about this, basically it's a trade off from fresh vs. cooked veggies. EX fresh carrots are higher in one vit/nutrient.. when cooked that certain vit/nutrient content may go down but goes up for another...

    Make sense?
  • Alleghany
    Alleghany Posts: 200
    Raw is much better...

    http://www.eatraw.com/custom.aspx?id=5
  • hotpickles
    hotpickles Posts: 639 Member
    Interesting question! Are you talking about a homemade soup that you would let simmer for a couple of hours? I am not sure if there's any other way to incorporate vegetables into a soup. If you put them in last minute, they would still be raw, and probably wouldn't go with the whole "soup is smooth" concept lol. If you put steamed veggies into a soup at the beginning, they would probably get really soggy near the end.

    I think soup is one of those cases where you either have cooked vegetables or you don't. I know there's soups out there that are cold soups. Maybe something like a cold tomato or cucumber soup? Or, if you still wanted to make the hot soup, you could add grated carrots on top.

    L.
  • darkheart
    darkheart Posts: 104 Member
    Fresh fruits and veggies have live enzymes that feed your body on a cellular level, whereas cooked fruits and veggies lose their enzymatic properties through heating them. That's why a lot of people follow a raw diet following a cleanse. You get more nutrients and enzymes to nourish your cells. Once a vegetable or fruit starts losing it's color while cooking, it's also losing a lot of the valuable nutrients they are known to have! Often times, I'll eat raw veggies with hummus to make sure I get at least 1-2 servings of raw fruits or vegetables a day.

    There are a few raw cookbooks out there that actually have raw soups and dishes. I actually have a raw cookbook that I will use from time to time, and found the recipes to be quite tasty! Of course, they may take some getting used to for some people, as the general American population is accustomed to large amounts of sodium (especially in soups!).
  • think48
    think48 Posts: 366 Member
    Raw is much better...

    http://www.eatraw.com/custom.aspx?id=5

    Ah, okay, thanks. Cooking kills the enzymes, which damages nutrients. I was thinking that vitamins and nutrients can't just "disappear" so this makes good sense.

    Thanks! :)
  • think48
    think48 Posts: 366 Member
    Interesting question! Are you talking about a homemade soup that you would let simmer for a couple of hours? I am not sure if there's any other way to incorporate vegetables into a soup. If you put them in last minute, they would still be raw, and probably wouldn't go with the whole "soup is smooth" concept lol. If you put steamed veggies into a soup at the beginning, they would probably get really soggy near the end.

    I think soup is one of those cases where you either have cooked vegetables or you don't. I know there's soups out there that are cold soups. Maybe something like a cold tomato or cucumber soup? Or, if you still wanted to make the hot soup, you could add grated carrots on top.

    L.

    Haha, you sound like me. :)
    Actually, I brought a single serving of soup to work. The office had a fresh veggie tray, so I dropped some broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots into the soup and micro'd for 2 minutes to warm up the soup. The veggies are "half-cooked" I'd say. I also have a plate of the fresh veggies munching on those as well.
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