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Changed my mind about frozen veggies after a lazy week | Budget Friendly Meals - Chatter Central

Changed my mind about frozen veggies after a lazy week

I used to be the person who thought fresh veggies were always better, no question. But last week I was short on cash and grabbed a bag of frozen mixed vegetables for $1.79 at the local grocery store. I figured they'd be mushy and tasteless, but they actually held up great in a stir fry I made. What surprised me was a fact I saw on the bag: frozen veggies are flash frozen right after picking, so they keep more nutrients than fresh ones that sit in a truck for days. I looked it up later on a USDA site and it checked out. Now I'm thinking frozen might be the smarter buy for budget meals, especially when fresh stuff goes bad so fast. Has anyone else found a good trick for making frozen veggies taste even better?

3 comments

3 Comments

joelt703mo ago

Respectfully disagree, fresh picked local beats frozen every time on taste.

the_eric3mo ago

Honestly, I feel you on that "fresh picked local" part. There's something about getting produce straight from a farm that makes it taste alive compared to anything that's been sitting in a freezer for months. I've had both and while frozen is convenient, nothing beats that just-picked flavor for me either.

jana_scott3mo ago

Yikes, that's actually not quite right on the nutrient thing though. The flash freezing does lock in vitamins like C and B, but it's not like frozen veggies automatically have more nutrients than fresh ones. It depends more on how long the fresh stuff has been sitting around. If you buy fresh from a farmer's market that was picked yesterday, it'll beat frozen. But if you grab a sad bag of broccoli that's been in the fridge for a week, yeah frozen is probably better then. For stir fries, I always toss frozen veggies in a hot dry pan first to get rid of extra moisture before adding sauce, that stops them from getting soggy.