Frozen veggies over fresh for budget meals, my 6 month switch

I know everyone pushes fresh produce for cooking, but I swapped to frozen for most of my dinners back in March and honestly it's been better. A bag of frozen spinach costs like $1.50 versus $3 for fresh that goes bad in 3 days, and I waste way less food now. Last week I made a stir fry with frozen bell peppers and broccoli, they held up fine and took half the prep time. I mean, sure, fresh is nicer for salads or something raw, but for stews, pasta sauces, and casseroles, frozen saves me about $20 a trip. Does anyone else skip the fresh aisle for certain meals, or am I missing something with texture or taste?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

hannah_west392mo ago

...and honestly that's what sold me on frozen. My friend Sarah used to swear by fresh everything, she'd shop three times a week just to keep her fridge stocked. But last fall she had a total meltdown because she spent like $40 on fresh herbs and greens for a dinner party, and half of it ended up in the trash by Tuesday. She finally tried frozen spinach in her lasagna and now she buys the big bags every month. She told me the texture is actually better for cooking because it doesn't get all watery and soggy like fresh spinach does when you bake it. Plus she stopped feeling guilty about wasting food, which was a big deal for her. I still use fresh for salads and raw toppings, but for anything cooked I'm with you, frozen is the way to go.

3