Baby Bites - Why the Freezer Aisle is Your Friend

Here we are. Not only is it the end of fall, in central TX we are in the midst of a pretty major drought (Although we have rain today!!!!!). This means that fresh kid friendly veggies are getting harder to come by at the farmer's market. Now my little one loves winter squash, and sweet potatoes are always a hit. I know that brussels sprouts are in season, but who really has a kid that loves those? My kid likes peas. They are round, she can pinch them, and they have fun insides that pop out. Not to mention her Moo-moo taught her how to zerbert them across the kitchen.

Unfortunately it is not spring. Meaning I won't be picking up some fresh organic peas grown by a local farmer. I'll have to get something else. Don't worry! It's okay! There is a solution!

Head to your local grocery store and head straight to the freezer aisle. Trust me, there are organic frozen veggies. Frozen veggies are easy to keep (duh freezer), and they don't have that scary aluminum taste like canned veggies. (I really haven't done that much research into canned veggies, but I don't like the taste or texture so I never ever buy them. Aside from Ro-Tel..)

I love frozen veggies because you can get them out of season. Now I can't stress enough how much I love fresh organic produce. It tastes better. You can get it before it's been blanched. While blanching and flash freezing is amazing in it's own right, there are a few vitamins that are water soluble like vitamin C and vitamin B that loose some of their punch in frozen packages. That being said, frozen veggies are often picked when things are their ripest and the flash freeze process preserves MOST nutrients. Not to mention frozen veggies are often cheaper during the winter and easier on the wallet.

There are a couple things to be careful of when buying frozen. Make sure to read the allergy alerts. Sometimes, but not often, you will run into an issue with veggies being run on equipment that also processes wheat. This has only happened to me once with chopped spinach. Also know the dirty dozen rules still apply. There are things that you absolutely should not compromise organic on.

So like all things be informed before you buy. Look for organic, even in the freezer aisle. Read your labels, and buy fresh when you can.

Happy eating! (or throwing, mashing, and giggling)

Tori