Frozen vegetables are not often talked about. Yet, they definitely are a popular item at the grocery store. How do I know that? Grocery stores are not charitable organisations, they are in it for the money. Space is limited and expensive, and freezer space even more so. If it were not worth the money and effort, the stores would gladly replace the costly freezer units with cheaper shelves and cardboard boxes.
Frozen vegetables are great for people who live alone. Not only because they are convenient, but also because they offer good nutrition. As a restaurant person told me close to five decades ago: the freshest food you can buy is in the freezer. And he was right. It only takes a quick look at the often sorry state of supposedly fresh vegetables in grocery stores to know that.
The only fly in the ointment is that frozen vegetables take up space in the freezer and that space is usually rather limited in the typical freezer compartment of a typical fridge, condemning the single person to eating the same thing over and over until the bag can be replaced by another. Luckily, there are also vegetable mixes, a very convenient way to have a variety of vegetables.
My personal favourite is the oriental style blend by Selection, one of the Metro house brands. I don't have any idea of why they call it oriental, because it contains nothing I recognise as oriental: broccoli, green beans, carrots, onions, red peppers and mushrooms. It is a great basic mix, without any outlandish flavours and textures that tastes great on its own and great in combination with most other vegetables.
These are the nutrition facts as given by the company on the bag:
I hate it when the numbers are not given for a standard quantity of 100 grammes, but since there is nothing I can do about that, let me calculate it myself:
I happen to love vegetables and there is no way I am going to be limited to a laughable amount of 85 g or even 100 g. I also like to combine these vegetables with one other vegetable. That way, I have even more variety, and the taste changes all the time so as not to become boring while not requiring lots of work.
Experimenting has somehow convinced me that a quantity of 300 grammes in combination with 50 grammes of something else (spinach, tomato, kimchi, okra ...) is ideal for me. These are the numbers for a 300 gramme portion:
I am well-aware of the fact that I could simply have multiplied the numbers for 100 grammes by 3 to obtain the same results. I just want to make clear how easy it is to use a standard method for calculating the values we need.
Several things always strike me when I look at these numbers. While it is often claimed that vegetables are full of fibre, that very much depends on one's definition of 'full'. At this rate, one would need to eat a whopping 1.25 kg of the oriental blend, just to get to a meagre 30 g of fibre, the amount recommended for someone my age.
There are, of course, other sources of fibre, but they come with their own difficulties, such as lots of calories, which is not all that great when you are attempting to lose weight. That said, there is definitely more fibre in the oriental blend than in Tim Hortons' honey crullers or Boston cream donuts:
Source: https://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/menu/nutrition-and-wellness.php (unfortunately, there is no direct link to this specific information).
I did not choose these two at random. They really are my favourites, even if I have not eaten any of these in close to a decade. I was actually disappointed with the crullers last time I ate them: they were cold and tasteless, like industrial cardboard, not the way I remembered them from years earlier. I did still like the Boston cream though even if it looked rather sloppily made. I can only wonder what I would think now but I do not think it would be in my best interest to try one right now, so I won't.
In short, while the oriental blend may not be an ideal blend that will let me live beyond the heat death of the universe, I think there is a good chance it'll give me a better shot at it than Tim Hortons' offering. It is also tasty, convenient and reasonably priced in comparison with so-called 'fresh' vegetables. What more could a person living alone possibly want?
Two examples of how I am using the oriental blend:
*****
Please note that I make no health claims and no nutritional claims. There are enough alternologists and quacks on the Internet already and I have no intention of joining them.
I sincerely encourage you to talk to an actual medical doctor or registered dietitian before making any health- or nutrition-related decisions.
If I made any mistakes in this post, please *do* feel free to point them out to me.
Frozen vegetables are great for people who live alone. Not only because they are convenient, but also because they offer good nutrition. As a restaurant person told me close to five decades ago: the freshest food you can buy is in the freezer. And he was right. It only takes a quick look at the often sorry state of supposedly fresh vegetables in grocery stores to know that.
The only fly in the ointment is that frozen vegetables take up space in the freezer and that space is usually rather limited in the typical freezer compartment of a typical fridge, condemning the single person to eating the same thing over and over until the bag can be replaced by another. Luckily, there are also vegetable mixes, a very convenient way to have a variety of vegetables.
My personal favourite is the oriental style blend by Selection, one of the Metro house brands. I don't have any idea of why they call it oriental, because it contains nothing I recognise as oriental: broccoli, green beans, carrots, onions, red peppers and mushrooms. It is a great basic mix, without any outlandish flavours and textures that tastes great on its own and great in combination with most other vegetables.
| Vegetable blend | Nutrition facts | |
 |
 |
 |
| Weight | 85 g |
| Calories | 25 |
| Fat | 0 g |
| Carbohydrate | 5 g |
| Fibre | 2 g |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Sodium | 20 mg |
I hate it when the numbers are not given for a standard quantity of 100 grammes, but since there is nothing I can do about that, let me calculate it myself:
| Weight | 85/85*100=100 g |
| Calories | 25/85*100=29.4 |
| Fat | 0/85*100=0 g |
| Net carbohydrate | (5-2)/85*100=3.5 g |
| Fibre | 2/85*100=2.4 g |
| Protein | 2/85*100=2.4 g |
| Sodium | 20/85*100=23.5 mg |
I happen to love vegetables and there is no way I am going to be limited to a laughable amount of 85 g or even 100 g. I also like to combine these vegetables with one other vegetable. That way, I have even more variety, and the taste changes all the time so as not to become boring while not requiring lots of work.
Experimenting has somehow convinced me that a quantity of 300 grammes in combination with 50 grammes of something else (spinach, tomato, kimchi, okra ...) is ideal for me. These are the numbers for a 300 gramme portion:
| Weight | 100/100*300=300 g |
| Calories | 29.4/100*300=88.2 kcal |
| Fat | 0/100/300=0 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 3.5/100*300=10.5 g |
| Fibre | 2.4/100*300=7.2 g |
| Protein | 2.4/100*300=7.2 g |
| Sodium | 23.5/100*300=70.5 mg |
I am well-aware of the fact that I could simply have multiplied the numbers for 100 grammes by 3 to obtain the same results. I just want to make clear how easy it is to use a standard method for calculating the values we need.
Several things always strike me when I look at these numbers. While it is often claimed that vegetables are full of fibre, that very much depends on one's definition of 'full'. At this rate, one would need to eat a whopping 1.25 kg of the oriental blend, just to get to a meagre 30 g of fibre, the amount recommended for someone my age.
There are, of course, other sources of fibre, but they come with their own difficulties, such as lots of calories, which is not all that great when you are attempting to lose weight. That said, there is definitely more fibre in the oriental blend than in Tim Hortons' honey crullers or Boston cream donuts:
I did not choose these two at random. They really are my favourites, even if I have not eaten any of these in close to a decade. I was actually disappointed with the crullers last time I ate them: they were cold and tasteless, like industrial cardboard, not the way I remembered them from years earlier. I did still like the Boston cream though even if it looked rather sloppily made. I can only wonder what I would think now but I do not think it would be in my best interest to try one right now, so I won't.
In short, while the oriental blend may not be an ideal blend that will let me live beyond the heat death of the universe, I think there is a good chance it'll give me a better shot at it than Tim Hortons' offering. It is also tasty, convenient and reasonably priced in comparison with so-called 'fresh' vegetables. What more could a person living alone possibly want?
Two examples of how I am using the oriental blend:
*****
Please note that I make no health claims and no nutritional claims. There are enough alternologists and quacks on the Internet already and I have no intention of joining them.
I sincerely encourage you to talk to an actual medical doctor or registered dietitian before making any health- or nutrition-related decisions.
If I made any mistakes in this post, please *do* feel free to point them out to me.
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