Frozen Veges. Good or Bad?

[groovy]

Hi all. I was just wondering if using lot of frozen veges for most of my meals are good or bad?

I generally use the stir fry ones which includes (beans, broccoli, cauliflower, potato and peas and so on).

Is there any issues with them using long term wise?

Its just that they frozen ones are much handy than fresh veges and you also get a variety in the stir fry pack.

cheers.

[becbec]

I think they add preservatives to them to make them keep longer but if you're not worried about that then they're fine

[Gym rat]

I use frozen veggies for my meals as well plus they save lots of time choping up veggies and cooking time as well

[groovy]

Thanks Becbec and Gymrat. I do the same too very handy. But is there any long term side affects due to the preservatives? I am just wondering or prob just being paranoid. :doh: :doh:

[teamfatboy]

My PT actually recommended the single-serve microwave frozen veggies - so i guess they're OK from a training perspective. But as for additives or whatever, not so sure. Similarly, what got removed during the freezing process?

Personally, I'm a fan of eating 'close to source' where I can, so I'd probably not want to rely on them.

[Juju]

Frozen veges retain all their nutritional benefits, yet just don't taste as good. Peas are very handy to have frozen, but I hate broccoli from frozen, So I buy a lot of that fresh.

[boostinggtir]

My PT actually recommended the single-serve microwave frozen veggies - so i guess they're OK from a training perspective. But as for additives or whatever, not so sure. Similarly, what got removed during the freezing process?

Personally, I'm a fan of eating 'close to source' where I can, so I'd probably not want to rely on them.

Don't microwave anything. Canned vegetables are not very good interms of been able to be digested as the enzymes have been destroyed an will not be broken down buy the body easily.

I'm not sure if the same applies to frozen vegetables. I'd say it probably does. Maybe some one can clarify.

[littlewonton]

Frozen veges can be just as good as fresh ones. They are all blanched before they are frozen (this keeps the nutrients in)

If you are worried about it, You can do your own frozen veg. You can freeze almost anything. Just get your brocolli, cauliflower etc, blanch them and then pop them into bags (portion them out would be easier as when they are home done sometimes they tend to stick to eachother) and freeze them. I have found that I save quite a bit of money on them too. But things like butter beans and the more "fancier" veg, i just buy frozen.

[Palmy_chick]

Check the ingredients listing - if an ingredient is performing a function such as a preservative in the food it will need to be declared on the packaging. Chilled veg may contain preservative but i don't reckon frozen veges would. Sulphites are a common preservative (used to keep chilled prepped potato from going brown) and some people react to sulphites, but if you're concerned they will be declared if over 10ppm and has E-number 220. Sulphites can also be found in jelly lollies, wine.....

Veges should retain a lot of their nutritional qualities if they're quick-frozen soon after harvesting, and can be more nutritional than 'fresh' veges where the 'fresh' veges have been sitting around a long time between harvesting to eating. Nothing gets taken out during the freezing process, the moisture content is literally frozen - means any bacteria present is still there too (just as for fresh veg) but the bacteria can't grow because the moisture they need is frozen and therefore unavailable.

I prefer fresh veg, but frozen veges have their uses too :nod:

[Pseudonym]

I just discovered that all those frozen vege packs have small print that says, "COOK BEFORE EATING!" It was a bit of a bugger, because I was looking forward to a crunchy salad. :evil:

[thatwaslight]

Most frozen veges do not have preservitives added as freezing is presevation in it self.

Studys have shown frozen veges to retain more nutrients than fresh if they are snap frozen. from a health persective frozen veg stay "fresh" (if snap frozen) longer than something that has been sitting in the bottom of your fridge for 4 - 5 days as the veg at time of freezing has all the nutrients locked in.

But just be carefull not to boil the crap out of everything as thats when all the goods dissapear.

[laurasaur]

I just discovered that all those frozen vege packs have small print that says, "COOK BEFORE EATING!" It was a bit of a bugger, because I was looking forward to a crunchy salad. :evil:

i emailed watties about this because its on their frozen peas which i used to consume huge amounts of still frozen. they said it was fine.

[Agent]

I just discovered that all those frozen vege packs have small print that says, "COOK BEFORE EATING!" It was a bit of a bugger, because I was looking forward to a crunchy salad. :evil:

i emailed watties about this because its on their frozen peas which i used to consume huge amounts of still frozen. they said it was fine.

Maybe it's just to cover their asses legally. Surely it can't be any worse than eating raw vegetables from the supermarket that dozens of people have fingered and squeezed before you pick it up for purchase.

[nicksmith3]

Adding to the above, frozen vegetables retain most of their nutrients if not MORE than your regular 'been sitting around for a few days' grocery store garbage. Studies have proven this.

As for digestive enzymes, these are not broken down when the food source is frozen.

Personally i consume all of my vegetables from the frozen variety, not only do you get more nutrients, you also get the ease of use and you don't have to throw out any 'rotten' food.

As for the organic variety, these have recently been shown to have no additional nutrients, being that where you grow your veg depends greatly upon soil quality as to how nutrient dense it will be.

[bigmd]

Not wanting to repeat things so just to say you cant go wrong with frozen and they dont have preservatives in them. and the conveniance has to a big plus also.