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It has long been thought that fresh vegetables were always healthier than canned or frozen vegetables. I have never believed this myself, and I have good reason not to. I have recently read a couple of articles that said frozen and canned vegetables are as healthy as fresh vegetables; the only difference is that each type is stored in a different way. Lots of people always prefer one out of the three ways, but it pays to know that any one of three is as healthy as the other two.

I have long been a fan of frozen vegetables. You could keep them in the freezer for as long as you like, so you do not have to worry about eating them just so that they do not go bad. Frozen vegetables never have an expiration date. Every time frozen vegetables have been in my freezer for a couple of weeks, they still taste fresh. They never have that stale taste that other foods get when they are past their expiration date. Frozen vegetables always take at least a half and hour to cook, but this is the only negative thing about them.

Canned vegetables are what I grew up with. They are the easiest to make. They only take a couple of minutes to heat up. The only drawback I could see is that they naturally have alot of salt packed in there, but all of the brands are making the "less salt" varieties, so this is not something to be concerned with. The only ingredients in canned vegetables is a small amount of salt, and water.

Fresh vegetables take about a half and hour to cook, just like frozen vegetables. Even though you have to refrigerate fresh vegetables, they do start to go bad after only a few days. The only day they taste really fresh is the first day that you buy them. A couple of fresh vegetables are not available in the frozen form. Some of these are white and sweet potatoes, lettuce and cucumbers. Since these are only available in the fresh form, they must be enjoyed this way.

Certain vegetables are not available fresh in particular seasons, so this is one reason that I am thankful there are three ways of keeping vegetables. For example, cauliflower is not always available in the summertime. Cauliflower, I must admit, tastes better fresh than frozen, but this only holds true for cauliflower.

In concern to vegetables, freshness if in the eyes of the beholder. Every person is going to differ with what form they like the most, but as long as the vegetable they are eating is not moldy and gone bad, I would tell them to cook and enjoy.

Learn more about this author, Erin Yarrobino.
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