Nutrition tip - Fresh or Frozen

Fresh or Frozen Produce? Which is Better? 

Sadly, the warm weather is starting to come to an end, yet again. Farmer’s markets, local CSA’s, and fresh fruit and vegetables at the grocery store are dwindling. Throughout the late fall and winter months, it is tough in the Northeast to find fresh produce. Juicy tomatoes just can’t grow through all that snow. Is it better to get frozen produce or eat the “fresh” produce in the grocery store? A question I hear constantly.

Fresh produce is always a favorite, flavor-wise. There is nothing like a juicy, plump apple picked from the trees or a crunchy cucumber right from your garden. That freshness just can’t be beat. There is also the assurance that they are chemical free if they come right from your backyard or local organic farmer. These are some of the great benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables. But, as we move into the colder months, these fresh items are not so fresh anymore.

Since the fruits and vegetables at the grocery store can’t come from local farms, they are shipped from warmer climates like Mexico, California, and South America. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but the trip up to our part of the world can wreak havoc on your produce. Temperature changes, storage, time, and bruising can all decrease the nutritional value of your fruit or vegetables. We can buy organic and avoid all the chemicals, but we can’t avoid the fact that they have to be shipped to us. So because of this, in the colder months of the year, I recommend frozen produce.

Frozen produce gets processed, packaged, and flash-frozen almost immediately after its harvested. This helps retain all of the nutrients so by the time you cook it at home the nutritional value of the fruits and vegetables are still intact. An additional benefit of frozen produce is that they are often already prepped and chopped for you. This saves on waste and also on time. But be careful which ones you choose. Avoid fruit with added sugars and vegetables with any added sauce or spices. This can add extra calories and/or salt. When choosing frozen fruits and vegetables read the ingredients list and make sure the only ingredients is the actual fruit or vegetable you are buying