Choose only the freshest, we can often hear from our favorite TV chefs. How impossible is that, though? Unlike Michelin-starred restaurant chefs, we cannot spend our days hunting for the crispIest lettuce leaves and chitchatting with elderly ladies selling trout on piers. Somebody’s got to work too!
In between our day jobs and our house chores, we rarely have enough time for cooking, let alone grocery shopping for the freshest ingredients. Coming to our rescue, many nutritionists have finally admitted that there’s no real difference in nutritional value between fresh produce and frozen food.
And when it comes to frozen food, the benefits keep on coming.
- Nutritional Value
Most of us worry that the process of freezing food helps deplete produce of its naturally occurring nutrients. How little we know about what we eat! Did you hear that green peas, for instance, lose more than half of their vitamin C in the first 24 hours after picking? And peas are not the only ones!
Furthermore, the food you buy as fresh has already spent at least a day in transit before it has finally arrived at your supermarket. The shocking revelation is, frozen blueberries, green beans, and corn actually contain greater amounts of vitamin C when compared to their crescent fresh counterparts.
A couple of studies have already confirmed this by comparing fresh blueberries, strawberries, green beans, peas, carrots, spinach, broccoli, and corn to their frozen equivalents. Aside from the aforementioned winners of the freezing contest, other contenders displayed no difference in quality!
- Full Convenience
Being able to preserve both solids and liquids without compromising their nutritional value or damaging their basic structure, freezing retains food’s natural color, flavor, nutrients, and consistency. And should we mention how utterly convenient it is? It’s just like fast food, but perfectly wholesome.
Take freeze-dried milk, for instance. Unlike regular milk, you can take it with you and enjoy it anywhere. Plus, according to USDA, freeze-dried and powdered milk doesn’t only have an increased shelf life, but it can actually be stored indefinitely! Only goes to show that frozen may even be better.
- Cost-Effectiveness
Just as convenient is the fact that frozen food can be found all year round, even during the off-season for certain produce. And despite all these amazing benefits, frozen food is also cheaper. So much so, in fact, that you can prepare a couple of home-baked meals for the price of a single al fresco dinner!
Long-lasting, cost-effective, convenient, delicious, and wholesome?
Frozen food is truly a five-in-one nutritional solution.