Frozen Vegetables Just as Good
In 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that frozen vegetables provide the same nutrients as fresh vegetables. Frozen vegetables are usually picked and processed at the peak of their ripeness, when they are also at the peak of their nutritional value. They are then blanched in hot water, then flash-frozen, locking in their nutrients.
Vegetables sold in the produce aisles of grocers are picked long before ripening, which means they never develop the full range of nutrients they would if they had been left on the vine. While they ripen outwardly, they lack the nutrition density of vine-ripened vegetables, and lose even more nutrients in the shipping process as they are exposed to heat and light.
To get the full range of nutrients, grow your own vegetables, pick at the height of ripeness, and eat immediately. If that’s not possible, purchase direct from the grower at a farmers market or buy frozen vegetables.
