Fresher Than “Fresh”

For most people, frozen food reflects a lifestyle of convenience, not of nutrients, taste and flavor. So when deciding whether to go down the fresh produce or freezer aisle in the grocery store for a healthy dinner, you will most likely find yourself picking out the fruit and vegetables from the stands and not from a freezer. Fresh produce must be better since it was handpicked by the farmers, right? No!

The fresh fruit and vegetables you find in the market are often picked during an immature state and allowed to ripen "off the vine" during the transportation and storage stages. Therefore by the time they actually appear in the produce stands, the vegetables have already lost some of their vitamins. Then when you take the produce home, they continue to lose nutrients while being stored in the refrigerator. Air exposure becomes much more destructive to volatile nutrients like vitamin C. Peas lose about 40% of their vitamin C just three days after they are picked.

However, since frozen vegetables and fruits are packed immediately after harvesting, they still maintain most of their nutrients. In fact, by consuming a four ounce serving of frozen orange juice, you will have nearly satisfied the recommended daily amount of vitamin C, folic acid, and potassium. The same amount of fresh orange juice, however, will give you about a third less of the same vitamins. Contrary to what most Americans might envision frozen food to be – high-fat, high-sodium TV dinner – the right type of frozen products can actually be better for you.