Both fresh and frozen fruit are great additions to your diet. But some fruits may benefit more from being fresh instead of frozen and vice versa. Learn more about how to choose between fresh and frozen fruit.
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If you eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, you benefit from such effects as:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Depending on where you live, you may not always have access to fresh produce. Even if your favorite fresh fruits and veggies are at the store, they may be more expensive during their off-season. For this and many more reasons, you should take advantage of frozen produce.
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There are many good reasons to eat fruits and non-starchy vegetables, especially as a person with diabetes. They provide nutrients, improve blood glucose (blood sugar) levels, lower blood pressure, and assist in managing weight. You should strive to eat as much produce year-round as you can.
When you take advantage of frozen produce, you&#;ll have a wider variety of choices than in the fresh produce section. It opens the door to endless healthy and delicious meals you can prepare.
Frozen produce is picked at peak ripeness&#;and its nutritional value remains intact when frozen. That means you get the same nutritional benefits of vitamins and minerals in your food as you would eating fresh fruits and vegetables.
Frozen produce creates less waste. If you&#;re craving a summer fruit smoothie, you can pull out the amount of fruit you need from your freezer and put the leftovers back without worrying about them going bad.
You can do the same whether you&#;re adding spinach to a baked chicken dish, making , or baking . If you&#;re someone who tends to let fresh produce go uneaten until it goes bad, frozen fruits and vegetables may be the better choice for you.
While frozen produce is an excellent option due to the wider variety, ripeness level, and food waste reduction&#;there are few situations in which fresh produce is the better option.
For example, choose fresh when you&#;re eating raw produce on its own (like a bowl of strawberries) or as part of a larger dish (like spinach on a sandwich). When you thaw frozen produce, the texture and moisture level changes and it can become unpleasant to eat.
However, the texture change doesn&#;t affect how the dish tastes when the produce is cooked or blended. In those situations, frozen is just as good as fresh.
If you recently bought a lot of fresh fruits or veggies you love from the grocery store or have grown some in your garden&#;like berries, pineapples, or squash&#;and you don&#;t want them to go bad, you can freeze them yourself! Simply slice or cube the produce (other than the berries), lay them flat on a sheet pan, and freeze.
Gather them into a freezer bag and mark the bag with the ingredient name and date (most frozen produce will last eight months to one year in your freezer). Now you have your own frozen produce to enjoy at your leisure!
No matter what fruits and vegetables you decide to stock your freezer with, be sure to sign up for the Diabetes Food Hub e-newsletter for ideas and inspiration on how to use them in new recipes.
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