Vegetables

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rodneybrookshire8391
rodneybrookshire8391 Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Which is better for the nutritional value frozen or canned vegetables?

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  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,169 Member
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    Frozen is generally as nutritious as fresh, as long as it’s plain vegetables, not sauced. Canned vegetables are already cooked and can be high in sodium.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,249 Member
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    Frozen.

    Frozen vegetables can actually be better than fresh. Some of the nutrients start to degrade shortly after the vegetables are harvested. Some are harvested before they are fully ripe so they can survive the trip from the field to the warehouse to the grocery to your home and then until you cook 'em. Frozen vegetables are usually picked at their peak of ripeness and flash-frozen very quickly.
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 2,930 Member
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    Generally accepted rule of thumb is frozen. Hmmm
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,996 Member
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    My subjective opinion is that fresh tastes better than frozen, so other than frozen peas or frozen potato or sweet potato chips ( fries) I use fresh.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,249 Member
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    paperpudding wrote: »
    My subjective opinion is that fresh tastes better than frozen, so other than frozen peas or frozen potato or sweet potato chips ( fries) I use fresh.

    Taste wasn't the question. The question was nutrition.

    If the vegetables in the giant salad I'm eating now were frozen, I wouldn't eat the salad (lettuce mix, jicama, red sweet bell, broccoli, carrot, celery, golden beet, home-grown sprouts, English cucumber). It might be as good or better nutritionally, but it would be a bowl of inedible goo.

    The question was about frozen vs canned specifically as regards nutrients. Frozen is better than canned.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,996 Member
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    Yes I know.

    Was just my subjective opinion on taste, FWIW.

    tangentially relevant, I suppose.

    Or not. - happy for people to skip over my post, if they want.,
  • SafariGalNYC
    SafariGalNYC Posts: 910 Member
    edited April 13
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    Frozen, as many state above.

    Frozen typically has no added salt, sugar, added liquid like canned.. which is needed for preservation.

    There is debate about vitamins degrading
    during the canning process because it requires high heat, canned goods may have less water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and B vitamins.

    (Though - I grew up on canned veg and I’m still kickin. )
  • AmunahSki
    AmunahSki Posts: 96 Member
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    When I can’t get fresh corn-on-the-cob, I prefer tinned to frozen. Chickpeas and kidney beans are better from tins for me (saves the soaking time).

    I think those are probably the only tinned vegetables I eat, so I don’t worry too much about the nutritional differences.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,925 Member
    edited April 13
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    Yeah, frozen but again I'll use canned chick pea's for example because I can't be bothered considering the amount of chick peas I actually eat. Also as far as nutrition is concerned I get most of my nutrition through animal products in my ketogenic diet anyway, so veg is not that important to me. Although I do make a few vegan and vegetarian dishes that I enjoy from time to time, it's not about nutrition it's about variety and enjoyment on a cultural level where I enjoy some Indian SE Asian and Northern African cuisines.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,172 Member
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    SafariGalNYC wrote: »
    Frozen, as many state above.

    Frozen typically has no added salt, sugar, added liquid like canned.. which is needed for preservation.

    There is debate about vitamins degrading
    during the canning process because it requires high heat, canned goods may have less water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and B vitamins.

    (Though - I grew up on canned veg and I’m still kickin. )

    YeahBut . . . cooking makes some nutrients more bioavailable, so there are tradeoffs. However, I assume most people are going to cook the frozen ones, so that's a wash in canned vs. frozen. (I agree with the post about raw/salad veg tasting better fresh, in most cases. :D There are canned and cooked frozen ones I use in salads, though. Examples: Beans, sweet corn, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, . . . .)

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