To buy or not to buy frozen fruits and veggies — that is the question. The #1 reason people recommend buying fresh produce to freeze yourself is because of cost. The message is, “The cost is worth more than the convenience.”
Is it truly, though?
I’m a spoonie. It’s the least romantic thing ever to non-spoonies out there who are obsessed with everyone not being a spoonie, so I’ll understand if you decide to close out this window or tab and never return.
If not, however, perhaps this post will help you to understand why spoonies find the frozen foods sections of grocery stores to be more than mere “conveniences”, but lifelines — vital aspects of our lives and well-being.
Food is not my friend. It is becoming my friend, but that doesn’t mean we’re besties. I love and hate food at the same time.
Eating it is not my cup of tea, so looking often fulfills my appetite thanks to years of training for something called OSFED, or other specified eating disorders, which includes something called atypical anorexia: all symptoms of anorexia, minus the fragile weight loss.
But that’s not what makes me a spoonie — or maybe it kind of is, regardless of my opinion. What I think makes me a spoonie is that I only have so many spoons for the day to use, and my collective self — issues, illnesses, disorders, etc. — simply cannot be bothered to do basic tasks sometimes.
I think we all half-make our bed sometimes, but how many of you forgo brushing your teeth as long as you can in a day because the sensory input is going to use up several spoons today? The bristles on your teeth feeling like a chalkboard being the last thing you want?
How to freeze fruit in a nutshell
While you can freeze fruit whole, strawberries freeze quicker when halved.
To freeze fruit at all, you have to lay them out on a baking sheet (I cover mine in parchment paper), make room in the freezer to freeze (or have it at all), package into plastic baggies or smoothie packs, and label them.
I surmise it’s an easy task, or part-of-life task for non-spoonies, but for me it’s a lot to remember. If I run out of spoons the next day, or can’t bag the frozen fruit for whatever reason, then I may’ve just wasted that fruit.
Reasons to buy frozen fruit & veggies
1. Cost
The thing about freezing your own fruit is, you have to buy the fruit and the materials to freeze it.
I purchased the cheapest frozen fruit packages from Walmart. Prices at your store may vary.
- Great Value Raspberries: $2.16
- Great Value Berry Medley: $1.98
- Great Value Mango: $2.36
- Dark Sweet Cherries: $3.47
The total comes out to $9.97. I might have spent less had I purchased from Aldi or a farmer’s market, but for what was available within my vicinity, this spending wasn’t too bad.
2. Convenience
If you’re going to DIY the frozen fruit, you need space to do so.
I learned a hard lesson once — it only took once — that you need more space than you think. It needs to be straight, too, so it doesn’t fall off.
While I have frozen fruit by carefully aligning sliced strawberries into Ziplock bags and stacking them atop each other, the task was a tedious one I’ll likely not be doing again anytime soon.
My carpal tunnel syndrome tends to act up during the worst of times — when I was holding a baby, drinking from a glass, and holding a knife. The latter happens more often than you’d expect, and it’s not fun.
Because smoothies are a Big Deal for me and often determine whether I can eat, they’re more than a convenience. I’ve the choice between buying a $10 pack of nutritional shakes or using $10 to buy ingredients for smoothies — which produce a greater quantity than that of six nutritional shakes.
3. Not much nutritional difference
Freezing foods high in antioxidants apparently lowers the content, but my understanding is that it’s still significant.
I tend to follow a scale when it comes to canned vs. frozen vs. fresh foods:
Canned < frozen < freshAlso, frozen produce is the key to smooth smoothies — not ice.
