# Cooking frozen vegetables



## healthyeatingxyz (Jun 7, 2012)

In the past, I would boil hot water and put them over frozen vegetables.  That was not very appetizing.

Today for lunch, I put some extra virgin olive oil in a bowl and baked peas and carrots and for dinner, I put some extra virgin olive oil in a bowl and baked green beans.  The taste was excellent.

I have a few questions.

1 - Am I maintaining the nutrients in the vegetables and olive oil by using this method?
2 - What other ideas do you have to mix with vegetables that would make them taste better?

Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated. 

Thank you in advance.

healthyeatingxyz


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## CWS4322 (Jun 7, 2012)

Welcome to DC! I steam my frozen veggies. For green beans, I love to toss them with EVOO and some tumeric or curry powder (a friend supplies me with homemade curry powder). You can add mint to peas or grate some fresh ginger on them. Soy sauce on beans also is tasty. With broccoli, I like ume plum vinegar. I'm sure others will give you more suggestions. Nutmeg on carrots or cauliflower.


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## Andy M. (Jun 7, 2012)

I microwave frozen veggies (steaming).  Then I season/flavor them afterwards.


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## Aunt Bea (Jun 7, 2012)

In the summer I take a one pound bag of frozen mixed vegetables, the kind with the carrot cubes , and slightly under cook them.  Then I mix them with pasta, onion, celery, peppers, grape tomatoes, olives and toss with ranch dressing or a vinaigrette dressing made with EVOO, red wine vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper.  Each time it is different but, it packs in a lot of vegetables and it keeps well in the refrigerator.  Great during a hot spell when I do not feel like cooking.


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## Savannahsmoker (Jun 7, 2012)

I braze or steam frozen veggies with lots of herbs and spices added.


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## Zhizara (Jun 7, 2012)

Whenever I'm making any kind of pasta, I add some frozen veggies to the water.  It adds flavor and color to the pasta.


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## CraigC (Jun 7, 2012)

Most of the frozen vegis we use end up in pot pies with the fresh vegis we use as well.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jun 7, 2012)

I recommend microwaving vegetables with only the minimal amount of water necessary to produce sufficient steam to cook the vegetables. This avoids the pitfall of boiling vegetables and pouring off good vitamins and nutrients in the cooking water.

Another good method is to steam them. I have a rice cooker with a steaming attachment, just add water, put the vegetables in the attachment (which keeps them out of the water) and steam them.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 7, 2012)

When I have room in the freezer, I take the water left after I've steamed the veggies and freeze it in ice cube trays. I then bag the cubes and use them for veggie broth--I add them to rice, use them for making veggie-based soups, etc.


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## chayati (Jun 13, 2012)

healthyeatingxyz said:


> In the past, I would boil hot water and put them over frozen vegetables. That was not very appetizing.
> 
> Today for lunch, I put some extra virgin olive oil in a bowl and baked peas and carrots and for dinner, I put some extra virgin olive oil in a bowl and baked green beans. The taste was excellent.
> 
> ...


 
Hello healthyeatingxyz,

Is there a reason that you are using frozen vegetables? Fresh is much better tasting, has a better texture and is higher in nutrition. I recommend using only fresh when it comes to vegetables. 


There are a number of methods that you can use when preparing vegetables to make them very nutritious and taste great. 


Roasting: Cut the vegetables in uniform size pieces so that they cook evenly. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the vegetable in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. At this point you could add fresh herbs or dried spices. I really like fresh thyme and rosemary as they are both flavorful and very aromatic. Place the vegetables on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil (makes cleanup easier) in a single layer and roast until cooked through. 


Steaming: Cut the vegetables in uniform size pieces so that they cook evenly. Place the vegetables in a steamer or large pot of boiling water with a steaming basket and cook until the vegetables are tender. Steaming is the best way of cooking vegetable when trying to maintain the nutritional value. You can add things like lemons cut in half, fresh herbs, and salt to the water to give the vegetables more flavor. 


Grilling: This is my favorite method for preparing fresh vegetables, especially during the summer months. You can marinate the vegetables in a large bowl with a red-wine vinaigrette, Italian Dressing, or simply olive oil and salt and pepper. Vegetable kebabs are great and the flavor from the grill is awesome. you can try placing fresh thyme and rosemary on the grill and closing the lid to give the vegetables extra flavor. I personally like to marinade my kebabs in soy sauce with minced ginger, brown sugar, and garlic. 


Stir fry: This is another great way to cook your vegetables. Most of the time stir fried vegetables are cooked al dente (a bit crunchy) which means that they are usually higher in nutrition. You can add any number of ingredients to flavor the vegetables: garlic, ginger, scallions, chili, lemon; just about anything that you like, not to mention that you can also create a sauce right there in your wok. If you don't have a wok they are very cheap or you can use a large saute pan and get similar results. 


When cooking vegetables remember a couple of things: the longer that you cook them the more nutrients that they lose. Vegetables like to be cooked quickly and eaten shortly thereafter. Fresh is always better. 


Good luck!


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jun 13, 2012)

Chayati, nice post! Good summary of "all the ways" to cook delicious vegetables!

Just to add to what you said about cooking them more loses nutrient value (and IMO taste), boiling vegetables also loses a lot of nutrient value by leaching the nutrients out into the water, so boiling is not generally a good idea if other means are available.

I use frozen vegetables only as an emergency source of vegetables like when I run out and don't want to drive to the market just to buy a small amount of vegetables before cooking dinner.


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## CharlieD (Jun 13, 2012)

Well, since the OP asked about frozen vegetable I want to say, that personally I too prefer frozen. First of all they are convenient, second of all there is not always time to go to store, third of all, oh well never mind the first two are enough for me. I like to defrost them first and then lightly sauté them with some olive oil and seasoning. Works wonder as an addition to starch as a side dish. Also they are convenient to muse for soups.


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## Dawgluver (Jun 13, 2012)

CharlieD said:
			
		

> Well, since the OP asked about frozen vegetable I want to say, that personally I too prefer frozen. First of all they are convenient, second of all there is not always time to go to store, third of all, oh well never mind the first two are enough for me. I like to defrost them first and then lightly sauté them with some olive oil and seasoning. Works wonder as an addition to starch as a side dish. Also they are convenient to use for soups.



+1

Frozen works for me.  They're available year-round, and don't go bad.


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## jennyema (Jun 14, 2012)

chayati said:


> Hello healthyeatingxyz,
> 
> Is there a reason that you are using frozen vegetables? Fresh is much better tasting, has a better texture and is higher in nutrition. I recommend using only fresh when it comes to vegetables.


 

Frozen vegetables are often higher in nutrition than fresh, depending on how old the fresh veggies are when you cook them.

Frozen vegetables are excellent alternative.


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## angiew (Jun 17, 2012)

excellent alternative, but i'm trying to avoid that much as possible..
Every morning my first station is marketplace with fresh vegs..


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## Vanilla Bean (Jun 17, 2012)

angiew said:


> excellent alternative, but i'm trying to avoid that much as possible..
> Every morning my first station is marketplace with fresh vegs..


This is about frozen vegetables.  The person that posted had a question about that.  I'm not sure why you posted.  There are many threads on here for questions, recipes, etc on cooking fresh veggies.



Anyway,  I like to do my frozen veggies in the microwave with a little water and season after.  At 50% of the time I use them, they end up in soups, stews, a pasta dish or pot pies.


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## babetoo (Jun 19, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> I microwave frozen veggies (steaming).  Then I season/flavor them afterwards.







me too.


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