If you are struggling to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet, one barrier that you may be facing concerns storage and ripeness. Many of us have stocked up on fresh fruits and veggies at the grocery store, only to find out that they have expired long before we had the chance to actually eat them. That is why more and more people are eating frozen fruit out of the bag.
Frozen fruit lasts much, much longer and can be consumed either frozen or defrosted months after you have purchased it. But is frozen fruit healthy? This is a question that foodies and nutritionists are asked on a near-daily basis. If you are wondering is it healthy to eat frozen fruit, read on to find out.
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Is Frozen Fruit Healthy? Yes.
So, is fresh fruit healthier than frozen? The general consensus is, contrary to popular belief, that frozen fruit might actually be better for you than the freshest fruit you could pick up in the grocery store. As you may know, all fruits and vegetables tend to be harvested when they are ripe enough.
They are then transported to the nearest supermarket, often across multiple countries, where they will sit until they are purchased. With fresh fruits, they will become more ripe, losing nutrients as it becomes so. However, with frozen fruits, the picture is somewhat different, especially if these fruits were freeze-dried. Frozen fruits will be picked at the peak of their freshness when their nutritional value is at the absolute maximum.
They are then immediately frozen, preserving this level of freshness. That means that, when you take that bag of freeze dried strawberries out of the freezer, they are just as fresh and as nutritious as the exact moment they were picked from the bush. This is why nutritionists tend to believe that frozen fruit is better for you.
Other Factors to Consider
Of course, this is not the full picture and there are other frozen fruit facts to consider. Some have pointed out that the way frozen fruits are processed can sometimes result in them losing some nutritional value, especially if they are ‘blanched’ before being frozen, as is common across much of the world.
It has also been noted that, although freezing does preserve high nutrient levels, this will begin to degrade after an item has been in the freezer for more than a year. Therefore, if you are thinking super long-term, this is something to bear in mind.
How to Eat Frozen Fruit
There are many ways that you can enjoy frozen fruit. One of the best options is to use it in a frozen fruit smoothie or to blend defrosted fruits and vegetables into juices and soups. This is an easy way to get a huge amount of vitamins and nutrients in one sitting. You can even eat them straight out of the bag, especially on a hot summer day.
You can use them to make sauces that are rich in nutritional value. Remember, if you are planning to make salads or raw veggie meals, fresh is probably the better option. In addition, boiling frozen fruits and vegetables before eating will strip away most of the flavor, so this is best avoided.
Your Food Questions, Answered
Now you know the answer to the question “is frozen fruit healthy”, it is time to learn more about the kind of nutrition hacks that will make 2021 your healthiest year yet. Make sure to consult out expertly-curated foodie guides to ensure a delicious and nutritious year ahead.
