The Best Places to Buy Are Frozen Fruits And Vegetables As Good As Fresh Online and In-Store

The American Diabetes Association's Diabetes Plate recommends filling half your plate with non-starchy vegetables'so it's a good idea to have plenty of vegetables on hand in your kitchen whether they are fresh, frozen, or canned. The Diabetes Plate also recommends filling one-quarter of your plate with carbohydrate foods, which includes fruit. Any form of fruit will do, whether it's fresh, frozen, or canned in its own juice or water.  

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Fresh vs. Frozen or Canned Produce 

Many people think fresh produce is the healthiest for you. However, frozen and canned produce are just as nutritious as fresh. So, if you're someone who finds that fresh produce goes to waste'before you can enjoy it or are not able to easily access fresh produce because it's too expensive, try the frozen and canned varieties.   

Even if you don't have the above limitations, here are two reasons to choose frozen or canned produce: 

1. They are picked at peak ripeness and keep their nutrients: Before any produce is frozen or canned, it is picked at its peak ripeness. During the canning and freezing process, the loss of nutrients slows down and the nutrition value is retained. With fresh produce, the nutrition value can decrease from time it is picked, packed, shipped, and then purchased from your local grocery store.  
2. It prevents food waste and saves you money: You can probably recall a time when you excitedly bought fresh fruits and vegetables with the full intention of eating them as soon as possible, only to let them spoil days later'wasting food and money. But because frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are often cheaper than fresh and can last a year or longer, they help you to save money and cut back on food waste.  

If you choose to purchase canned vegetables, select no-added-salt varieties or rinse regular canned vegetables if you are watching your sodium intake. When purchasing canned fruit, select fruit that is canned in its own juice or water to cut down on the total grams of carbohydrate per serving. 

How to Freeze Fresh Produce at Home 

To help reduce food waste of fresh produce, consider following these tips to freeze some on your own:' 

• Choose the right kind of packaging intended for freezing, like zip-top bags labeled as 'freezer bags' or freezer-safe containers.  
• Label your freezer bags with the date on which you froze the produce so you can easily tell how old it is.  
• If necessary, consider blanching some vegetables to prevent a loss of color, texture, and nutrients. Blanching is a cooking process where you scald your vegetables in boiling water, remove them after a brief period, then immediately plunge them into ice water. If using this method, make sure the veggies cool completely before freezing. 

Get Creative in the Kitchen' 

Fruits and vegetables are excellent additions to any healthy meal pattern, regardless of the form they take'fresh, frozen, or canned! Search for different recipes that fit your health goals on Diabetes Food Hub'your source for diabetes-friendly recipes and cooking tips with features that help you create your grocery list and meal plan.'Need some ideas to start? Check out a few below you can make with frozen and/or fresh ingredients:' 

Benefits of Frozen Fruit and Fresh Fruit

Depending on the fruit, some may retain more nutrients frozen while others are better fresh. Nutrients in fruit are at their peak right after being picked. Because fruit is frozen quickly, it retains nutritional value. 

If your fresh fruit is truly fresh, the nutrient value may be similar. If your fresh fruit was shipped and sat on store shelves for a while, it may contain fewer nutrients.

When you consider all of the variables, the health benefits of fresh and frozen fruit are very similar. Still, there are some differences that make each one beneficial in unique ways.

Frozen fruit. When fruit is frozen, it is picked at the peak of ripeness and flash-frozen soon after to preserve the optimal nutrition benefits. Frozen fruit often lasts several months and may be more economical than buying fresh fruit that goes bad quicker. With frozen fruit, you can take out as many pieces as you need and leave the rest for next time.

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Frozen fruit is also beneficial because it is already prepped for you. It usually comes cleaned and presliced for your convenience. This may save you time when making dishes that contain fruit.

Similarly, frozen fruit is great for adding to yogurt and smoothies. Just grab a handful of strawberry slices, for example, and toss them into your bowl of yogurt or your blender and enjoy your snack. If fruits you love to include in these dishes are out of season, they may still be available frozen.'

Fresh fruit. When you choose fresh fruit, it is often in season and more versatile than frozen fruit. Freezing may impact the texture of your fruit when it thaws, but fresh fruit retains its natural texture better.

One benefit to fresh fruit is that you can usually find it when it's in season. There are plenty of food guides online to tell you what's in season and when. By purchasing in-season fruits, you avoid the risk of fruits that rely on fertilizers or additives in order to grow out of season.

Risks of Frozen Fruit and Fresh Fruit

The benefits of fruit outweigh the risks, but that doesn't mean risks don't exist. For starters, some fruit contains a lot of sugar, which may be dangerous for people with a diabetes diagnosis. They may also contain harmful germs such as:

• Salmonella
• E. coli'
• Listeria

In fact, the CDC estimates that a large percentage of all foodborne illnesses, or food poisoning, in the U.S. comes from fresh produce not being cleaned properly before it's eaten. The safest way to eat produce is by cooking it to kill germs, but most of the time fruit is not cooked before being eaten.

Instead, you should be sure to wash your produce well before eating it. Scrub the skin and ensure that individual pieces are all rinsed thoroughly. You can rinse your produce when you bring it home from the store or wait to rinse it in individual portions when you're ready to use it.

Other ways to reduce your risk for foodborne illnesses include:

• Choosing fruit that isn't bruised or damaged
• Refrigerating fruit that you purchase precut or fruit that you slice and store at home, because this reduces bacteria growth
• Keeping your fruit separate from other items such as veggies, meat, and dairy in your shopping cart 
• Cleaning all of your food preparation surfaces to ensure you don't transfer bacteria to or from the fruit
• Using running water to clean your fruit and wash away bacteria
• Not using disinfectant soap or bleach on your produce
• Drying your fruit off with a paper towel or clean dish towel immediately after washing '
• Cutting off any damaged or bruised parts of your fruit before eating it 

Keep in mind that some people are naturally at a higher risk for suffering from foodborne illnesses. Factors include:

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• Being 65 or older
• Being younger than five
• Having some health problems 
• Taking medication that lowers your body's immune response
• Being pregnant