We know Fruits and vegetables are the most healthiest food available to eat. The source and form matters? Absolutely!

Fresh Produce:

Often, the fruits and vegetables available in the produce section are harvested/hand picked prior to ripening.This allows them to ripe during transportation and ready by the time it hits the grocery stores. Unripe fruits and vegetable do not develop the full range of vitamins, minerals & antioxidants.

It can take 3 days to several weeks to reach our plate based on our geographical location to farms. Chemicals are added to preserve the freshness throughout the transportation.

Frozen Produce:

Produce are picked when they are ripe and most nutritious. They are washed, blanched (only vegetables), cut and frozen after few hours of picking. Even though the frozen vegetables are nutritious, the blanching process can steal some water soluble vitamins (B & C).

We have built cities in food desert and these are health risk we have taken as a result. In order to mitigate these risk, you can try the below options:

1. Buy local produce

   a. Buy from Farmers market

   Dallas Farmers Market

   Fort Worth Farmers Market

2. Buy Local produce from grocery stores

   a. Grocery stores that mark local produce:

   i. Central Market

   ii. Whole Foods

3. Buy Seasonal produce

   Link to read What is seasonal?

4. Freeze Seasonal produce at home when possible

   If you want to deep dive into freezing and nerd out use the link

This is not to scare y’all about the produce we buy but to understand the risk we take from buying fresh/Frozen produce from grocery stores. They both are equally nutritious, but I prefer the frozen produce for the convenience aspect.

Always buy local when possible, or grow them in your backyard if you have the resources :)

References:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/fresh-vs-frozen-fruit-and-vegetables#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2