I want to try frozen peas instead of canned....maybe even blueberries, strawberries, etc. I love the steam fresh veggies so wondered about defrosting small portions of the other fruits and veggies for DS.
just curious with fruit/veggies if they're not in season do you prefer frozen or canned?
Re: frozen, fresh, canned?
frozen
somehow I have in my head that they are better than canned.
I try to use only fresh, with the exception of peas. The one time I made steamed peas from fresh ones, DD hated them and got terrible gas. There were no problems when I tried again using frozen.
Frozen is better than canned, because the fruits/veggies are usually flash frozen when theyr'e at peak ripeness. The canning process often destroys many nutrients and there have been studies of aluminum cans containing BPA. That said, a few canned items now and then probably won't hurt. I have given DD low-sodium lentil soup from a can on occasion.
Frozen all the way. It's as close to fresh as you can get.
Except for tomatoes. I prefer them canned. And spinach, peppers, onions, and carrots, which I buy fresh. I buy broccoli fresh, but have a mixed bag of broccoli and cauliflower in the freezer just in case.
I don't exclusively buy steamfresh anymore because I rarely make a whole bag. I just measure out a serving, dump it in a little teacup, add a dash of water, cover with some plastic wrap and nuke for 2 minutes. Perfect.
L loves the peas and carrots frozen mix. And mixed veggies. We haven't had any problems with freezer burn on the remainder in the bag.
For fruit, I rarely defrost anymore. Blueberries are perfect in less than 5 minutes from the freezer and she enjoys chopping on them especially when she's teething. Mango and pineapple I do cut the larger chunks down to bite size. I buy bananas by the bunch, and strawberries in season I'll give fresh.
Canned - Beans and Greens Beans (and only in a pinch when I need to throw a meal together quick). Most canned veggies have more sodium than I prefer.
Frozen - peas, spinach, corn, peaches
Fresh - All berries, bananas, apples, asapargus, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, any other salad veggies.
I buy fresh only if it's local or if I can't use frozen. Flash frozen products tend to hold more of the fruit or vegetable's nutrients because they're normally picked fresh then frozen. Fresh fruit and veggies that we get up here tend to be picked green and then 'ripen' over weeks in transport. Ew.
My ex MIL uses canned veggies for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. Umm, gross much?