By Marsha McCormick

SNAP-Ed PA, OSU Extension, Adams County

It is often a challenge to eat the recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables, but this can be even more of a challenge during the winter. With fewer fresh fruits and vegetables available, we may not be getting at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

However, fruits and vegetables do not have to be fresh to be nutritious. In fact, people who include fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables in their diet tend to eat more of these foods and have an overall healthier diet. Dried fruits can also add important nutrients to our diet.

Canned and frozen fruits and vegetables are often harvested and packaged at peak ripeness, allowing the nutrients of the fresh produce to be locked in during processing. Using canned and frozen foods also allows us to have access to out-of-season produce year-round. You can easily add them to recipes or eat them straight from the package because they are already cleaned and chopped. You might think of them as a healthy convenience food, and they are often less expensive than their fresh counterparts.

We often have less food waste with canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. Unopened frozen foods will last up to six months in the freezer without losing quality and canned fruits and vegetables can be stored safely for two to four years. While frozen foods do require adequate freezer space, canned foods can be easily stored without any special equipment.

An added convenience of frozen vegetables is that you can cook as much or little as you want at a time. If you are cooking for one or two and want to remove one cup of frozen broccoli to cook for dinner, the rest of the bag will be available to eat later, with no waste. Also, if you are making a soup, stir-fry, or casserole that calls for a variety of vegetables, you can purchase a mix of different vegetables rather than purchasing many different fresh vegetables.

While many people do not care for the soft texture of canned fruits and vegetables, this can be a benefit for young children and older adults who have difficulty chewing hard foods. Canned foods are also great for emergency food supplies.

Of course, fresh fruits and vegetables have their own benefits. When purchasing fresh produce, you can see, touch and smell what you are buying. When fresh foods are in season, they may be just as affordable as canned and will likely be at peak flavor which means we may eat more of them.

There is not one form of fruits and vegetables that is best when it comes to nutrition, cost, and storage. Include all forms in your diet, planning to use fresh produce shortly after going to the grocery store, while using canned and frozen foods to make sure you are eating healthy between shopping trips.

For more information, email me at [email protected] or call the Adams County Extension Office at 937-544-2339.