To ditch fresh veg

[chitterdidntchatter]

As the title says really. Just thrown out loads of it. I obviously over estimate how much we will use but it feels wrong not to buy it. I menu plan but quite often deviate from That (ie I forget to get things out of the freezer etc etc)
I'm thinking I'll just get a load of frozen veg and just go with that
Never really used it before (apart from peas obvs)
Boring topic I know but tell me your take on this. Is frozen veg horrid and soggy like I imagine?

I always buy fresh vegetables. I do buy frozen berries.

@butterpuffed

Frozen veg is often much fresher as it's frozen shortly after being picked, whereas 'fresh' veg often takes days before it gets to the supermarkets.

On the other hand, it hasn't had huge amounts of carbon emissions generated by a frozen supply chain. I think that's being ignored here by people focussing on food waste, which is actually far less 'wasteful' than having to keep goods frozen during transport from farm to warehouse, to supermarket warehouse, to homes.

Hello! We do one grocery shop delivered a week on Fridays . Our veg consumption is as follows -

Friday- Monday: fresh veg
Tues- Thursday: Frozen veg and canned veg

So meals differ accordingly. We tend to eat more chillis/stews/curries on the second half of the week to use frozen and canned veg.

Simple :) it’s not an either or scenario !

Frozen broccoli and cauliflower is disappointing

I only use peas and sweetcorn frozen (but the sweetcorn is usually my emergency stash for the days before a shop as prefer fresh). I found I wasted less when I bought less variety.

I live alone, so I buy two veg, and eat it consistently. This week is kale and brocolli, i try to cook it differently (roast/stirfry/steam) to keep it more interesting and use things like parmesan and seasonings to keep it varied.

I switch veg out every week instead and waste less!

Also i have no qualms in buying prepared tubs of mixed things if I want variety, i’d rather pay more, waste pess and eat more veg/less beige food!

We grow a lot of veg, so I always have chopped onion in the freezer, but in the autumn when fresh, I tend to chop an onion or two every meal I use onion, and any I don't use in that day's recipe I add to a ziplock bag in the freezer,

Frozen veg just doesn’t taste the same. I enjoy frozen peas and corn but cauliflower, broccoli and green beans are just watery and and tasteless.

Frozen veg is worse for the environment than using fresh, but still better than chucking it out.

I always assumed frozen veg was better for the environment - less food waste, less transporting non seasonal veg etc.

As I live with just me and my DD fruit and veg goes off really quickly which is why I tend to buy frozen. I think I too will start buying fresh and then freezing it.

@toocold54

Frozen veg is worse for the environment than using fresh, but still better than chucking it out.

I always assumed frozen veg was better for the environment - less food waste, less transporting non seasonal veg etc.

As I live with just me and my DD fruit and veg goes off really quickly which is why I tend to buy frozen. I think I too will start buying fresh and then freezing it.

Honestly with this ‘It depends’.

Down to which fruit or veg were talking about, where it’s grown, the food waste in the fields, at processing, where it’s packaged then Shipped to

after all that whether you personally use it all up or let it rot at home, how you get it home, store it, dispose of it etc.

If you use up all your peas and make sure never to waste them then buying local to you (eg grown within 50miles) and buying fresh would be the best option.

But if you’re busy, often forget and throw them out, can’t get them really local then frozen peas can be the better option.

It also depends whether the food is in season or not. Grown locally or not.

There’s no black and white answer except do the absokute best you can with the resources you have available.

Not a huge fan but what I do keep are:
Green beans - literally min in microwave.
Corn on cob
Pre chopped onion
Sliced mushrooms for chilli

I think as frozen veg i keep only peas and edamame beans.

What's great way to lower any waste is to have a bag in a freezer for scraps and rejects. I have massive bag and there goes different peels, herbs stalks and so on, or that little veg which goes not so nice, but not off. Then you just throw it in a slowcooker with various bones and joints and, fanfare, a delicious broth full of goodness.

There’s no black and white answer except do the absokute best you can with the resources you have available.

This is great advice thank you EveningOverRooftops

I’m not keen on frozen carrots but aside from that go for it!

Peas are the only acceptable frozen vegetable

I like frozen, but aside from lettuce and tomato on sandwiches, tacos, and such, I don't like raw veg. If I'm going to cook them anyway, I find frozen to be more convenient. I'm not that picky about crisp texture, though. I actually prefer things cooked to death...

Tips to save fresh veg waste: keep fridge at the medium to low setting (3c?)
But as fresh as poss.
Meal plan.
Only buy what you need!
Don't cram fridge too full.
Remove mushrooms from plastic packaging, and put on kitchen towel in dry container (no lid)
Peel and slice carrots and put them in a container with some water in a tightly lidded container if they are starting to look suspect. Change water daily and they'll last a bit longer.
Chop and freeze onions if you have time. If not, buy frozen ones.
I always have frozen peas in though.

We shop weekly, and I clear out fridge the day before, and make soup with stray veg.

Re the environmental impact, none of us can do it all. We have to do what works for us. I try to be mindful of how much of anything I bring into my home.
Ideally I buy things that aren't in plastic, but I'm painfully aware that the more expensive loose veg in a supermarket is probably just unwrapped 'out the back'.
@chitterdidntchatter if buying frozen works for you, then do it.

*One day I'll preview my longer posts before hitting send 🙄 Apologies for typos and nonsense grammar

Pass them over here.. we can't have enough of this stuff. I am a massive veg fan and eat bucket loads of salad, in fact I can live on raw fresh veg all day long. As long as they are of the good kind with loads of flavour. For example an English cucumber wrapped in plastic in the supermarket puts me off and does not have good flavour IMO.
.. don't know why, I just love them..

Just how much veg are you buying that it's going off? I never need to throw anything away. I may have the odd carrot which has started to go soft but generally I never have an issue.

Well just reduce your fresh veg buying by 50pc and top up if you need to. You can use a bit more frozen but I don’t think you’re going to love it beyond spinach, peas, chopped onion and soup base mixes - Waitrose do some fancy frozen Picard veg, but it’s v £££

Oh I meant to say the fridge vegetable preserver bags - you can get them from Amazon/Lakeland do keep them going longer - and you can wipe and reuse.

I eat only frozen and tinned for a large portion of the year and I always find it disappointing.
Cauliflower and broccoli frozen is always a disappointment.
I freeze my own grated courgettes up and they're always good for throwing in a dish.
Store bought frozen onions I've always found massively hit or miss.
Frozen veg just tends to have quite the mush factor when cooked, make sure you pair them with something a bit crunchier

Frozen veg is generally fine for peas, beans, carrots and mixed veg, squash.
Sweetcorn is fine from tins.
I much prefer fresh courgettes, peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, and cabbage.
It's just a case of looking what's in the fridge and planning accordingly and it will soon become habit.

@chitterdidntchatter

What temp should my fridge be at I shop every weekend and my broccoli is always yellow and my carrots are always bendy... Should I be keeping some stuff out of the fridge. Bloody hell I feel like I've been leading some sort of double veg life.

Just eat it. Plan meals, make better choices, eat your greens.