Interesting veggie myths…

Myth: Fresh vegetables are more nutritious than frozen

Fact: Studies show that sometimes you can get more nutrients from frozen veggies, depending on variety and how old the vegetables at your supermarket are. That's because produce starts losing nutrient quality as soon as it's picked.

Frozen vegetables are flash-frozen right after harvest so they are preserved at their peak of freshness when they are most nutritious. Your best bet in terms of taste, nutrition, and the environment is still local in-season produce.  When that's not an option frozen can be a better choice (from a nutrient standpoint) than spinach that takes two weeks to reach your table.   

Myth: Cooked veggies are less nutritious than raw

Fact: It depends on the vegetable. "Cooking destroys some nutrients, but it releases others," says Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat. It destroys vitamin C and folic acid, according to Nestle, which is why it's not a great idea to cook oranges.

On the other hand, she says, cooking releases vitamin A and the nutrients in fiber and makes them easier to digest. It's also easier for your body to absorb more lycopene, a cancer-fighting antioxidant, in cooked tomato sauce than from raw tomatoes.

Steam or roast veggies instead of boiling, which leaches out water-soluble vitamins into the cooking water.