Frozen vegetables vs fresh

Hej =)

I am very lazy when it comes to cooking these days I have so much going on in life I find spending energy on cooking is a waste, so I was wondering whats the difference between cooking fresh vegetables from the store and cooking up frozen veggies and what are the best ways to cook them Without destroying all those tasty nutrients (boiled, fried, baked, steamed)? I live in Sweden and they really don't have much if any markets I can go to for food so supermarket product is about all I have if that makes any difference.

My plan is to just cook up 1-2 kilos of veggies a day maybe around 500 grams of meat of some sort and then supplement with protein powder around workouts. I like this method because It requires no effort just chuck the meat on the pan and leave it for a while and If I have frozen veggies I can do the same because they are pre-cut =D.

It's actually just about what I do on a day-to-day basis; I'm Danish, so we're in kind of the same climate

Frozen veggies are a big yes, as far as I know! They are super handy as they don't go bad, and are often just as good - if not better - than fresh, especially if you're on a budget and can't get them organic.

Generally, gentle cooking is better. Steaming is great. I guess, though, that if you boil them in water and drink that water (I often use it for miso soup), you'll get the nutrients that slip out in the cooking water anyways. I'm not sure of this, though.

haha I always wondered about the water from boiling and if it contained any nutrients or if they were just killed off. I miss australia because of this, so much variety and organic produce, so much fresher and cheaper and there are farmers markets everywhere all year round.

Frozen is fine. I think it retains just under or over 90% of it's nutrition profile when done so.

I'd say steaming in general. At some point it's gonna get broken down by stomach acid and bacteria anyways.

Blairbob said:

Frozen is fine. I think it retains just under or over 90% of it's nutrition profile when done so.

I'd say steaming in general. At some point it's gonna get broken down by stomach acid and bacteria anyways.

That's right as far as I know. In fact frozen may have a better nutrient profile than fresh, because they are

"fresh frozen". Very little time transpires between picking and freezing, unlike trucked vegetables which often are

picked before fully ripened and undergo long trips across the country and sometimes the ocean!

Although, vitamins and minerals aren't generally broken down, but used whole. The issue is whether they are leached

out of the food into the liquid and disposed of after cooking. If the cooking water is reused they should be

absorbed, although high temp frying can destroy some heat sensitive vitamins.

Some vitamins may decay or degrade over time, once exposed to air though would have to research it to say which and how much ... if it really matters.

Bottom line is that any type of veggie is better than none at all, even an old overcooked broccoli

FutureisNow said:

Bottom line is that any type of veggie is better than none at all, even an old overcooked broccoli

This

I usually just microwave minem takes like 3 minutes. I actually prefer frozen brusselsprouts to fresh ones

The greatest thing with frozen veggies, is that a bag of frozen peas, or corn advantageously replaces an ice pack!