War on waste: Are fresh vegies always healthier than frozen?
If you're trying to cut down on food waste, yet often have piles of limp and discoloured vegies in your fridge by the end of the week, it might be time to rethink your view of frozen veg.
There's a common belief fresh is best and buying frozen vegies is a cop out.
But certainly on the nutrition front, frozen veg aren't necessarily inferior, says Melanie McGrice, a spokesperson for the Dietitians Association of Australia.
"Whether fresh is better [than frozen] depends on how fresh the vegies actually are," Ms McGrice said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2017-05-14/fresh-vs-frozen-vegies/8443310
i dont buy much frozen stuff, but get peas, berries, and sometimes a pack of potatoes in cream and cheese, as hubby doesnt like them like this, and sometimes i cant be bothered doing a dish for myself, frozen veg are full of vitamins as they are snap frozen, i am lucky having the market, i can go mon, wed, fri, sat, sun so always have fresh veg and fruit, always get my fresh fish there to, its straight out of the ocean, beautiful fish, as i am an 8 minuete walk , its no trouble to get there,
i dont buy much frozen stuff, but get peas, berries, and sometimes a pack of potatoes in cream and cheese, as hubby doesnt like them like this, and sometimes i cant be bothered doing a dish for myself, frozen veg are full of vitamins as they are snap frozen, i am lucky having the market, i can go mon, wed, fri, sat, sun so always have fresh veg and fruit, always get my fresh fish there to, its straight out of the ocean, beautiful fish, as i am an 8 minuete walk , its no trouble to get there,
i buy veggies in small quantities (no more than a few days supply) so I dont have to bin them if I eat out a lot that week
Keep a packet of stur fry frozens, and also bottle garlic and ginger paste if I run out.
Think smart - dont waste
I buy some frozen Veg if it is grown in Aussie
Tried to copy and paste but it all ran together..too hard to read...but there are lists here which detail all the brands and where the food comes from..worth reading.
Personally I usually buy Coles own brand as they are grown in Oz. If it does not say so I dont buy.
Thanks Radish, one of the best thing about buying frozen apart from it being out of season is that you can take out just the amount you need so no wasted food.
Radish I also buy Coles frozen veges. Not beans though. I don't like frozen beans.
I'm getting lazy these days and buy the mixed diced ones for putting in my soup.
Just add fresh of the ones that the frozen one doesn't contain, like celery, swede,turnip, potato,pumpkin & sweet potato. Saves a lot of work doing it that way.
I use a combo of fresh and frozen. I find frozen very handy since living alone. At first after hubby died, found myself totally 'overshopping' and stuff ended up in the bin.
Only shop on the day now, or a couple ahead for 'fresh' food items.
Consider myself so lucky since Woolies opened a small suburban shopping centre 3 minutes away, with ample parking.
:) I call it 'My Big Fridge/Pantry'.
Years ago I had a disaster with frozen peas. 8 months pregnant just returned to England I was busy restocking before the baby arrived. I put a 5 kilo plastic container of peas on the floor prior to loading stuff into the Freezer. My 17 month old son decided to "help" 5 kilos of peas spilt all across the floor are a nightmare to clean up when very pregnant. Put me right off peas for a while.
I often make a meal of frozen peas add In anything like mushrooms Put in microwave for 2 mins add Cucumin and pepper and garlic . Meal in two minutes .
I just LOVE raw peas if they are very sweet -- I also love barely cooked but don't like them in other things like soup of pasties etc
War on Waste
A couple of petitions up and running at the moment.
• Stop wrapping small portions of herbs, vegetables and fruit in plastic and styrofoam.
• We don't care what size and shape our fresh food is!
Thanks for that RnR -- I have also sent some emails to the Premier and the TV Channels and have signed these petitions as well -- it is interesting to see IF the supermarkets are doing the right thing when we take the bags BACK --- seems some DO NOT -- that bloke doing that show is doing a GREAT job!
War on Waste
Do you know how many times you need to use your green bags?
A 2009 study led by Dr Verghese of RMIT, Melbourne considered what goes into creating different types of bags (the materials and their weight, as well as energy and water) along with how each of them can be disposed (whether they can be recycled or whether they have to go into landfill).
Overall, reusable bags need to be used at least 50+ times in order for their environmental benefits to be realised. Not surprisingly, it takes much more material and energy to create thick reusable bags than the thin single-use high-density polyethylene plastic bags that are given out for free at supermarket checkouts.
Dr Verghese's study found that encouraging people to buy reusable bags without making sure these bags actually get reused an adequate number of times results in a worse result for the environment overall. As an example, if polypropylene bags (those green bags that you can buy at the supermarket) are only used 52 times then their impact on global warming is actually greater than that of single-use plastic bags.
How many uses should you be getting out of reusable bags? The study from Dr Verghese puts the figure at 104 — that's weekly for two years.
Full details:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-24/war-on-waste-what-bags-to-use/8528350
That may be so, but, I am for anything that reduces waste. Particularly the rubbish that gets thrown on our streets to end up down the stormwater drains and then into ocean outfalls. Disposable coffee cups, plastic drink bottles, aluminium cans, straws and polystyrene burger boxes ... thinking of you!!
Plus fishing lines from both amateur and pro fishos.
Oh, and the fatbergs, sanitary products and non-degradable disposable wipes that are clogging our sewers.
I am all for getting rid of plasric. Yoou cam take your plastic bags and put the in a speciall bin for recycling.The more use you can get out of bags the better. The stronger the bgas that are used the better. Ireuse my green bags as much as possible and then use as rubbish bags.
No plastic bags at all in the UK
What do they use Brocky?
You take your own shopping bags . Or they have bio degradebul bags you can pusrchsae . Or cardboard boxes .
i have noticed that people don't do the big weekly shop but shop more often .
Geez louise, you fitted out with helicopter wings? You're in a different spot every five minutes, what's it now? Security guard at Tesco? No plastic bags in the UK?
Brocky, there is evidence that the ones that break down are as bad as any as they break into smaller bits that last forever, it was stated on the program the other night -- might be OK to go to the shops every day in the UK -- such a small place BUT here in Aussie you do a shop once a week or maybe less -- some people are so far from shops they do once a month.
What do the people in UKuse to wrap their garbage?
Micha what is your problem , yes I enjoy travel .. so what ..
PlanB it varies from council to council . Where I am now in Derbyshire the local council provides bio degadeable bags .
Brocky like I said in the post above they said on the program the other night here that the biodegradable ones are just as bad as they break down into ever smaller bits and stay around for a very long time
Plan B my love your are obviously more informed on this than me . I can only tell you what the Brits are doing .
Have no idea where you are getting your information because plastic bags are still available in ALL supermarkets and shops in the UK..
However..since 2015 ..5p is charged per bag and people still pay it..although a great number take their own..no one is going to lug bags to their office to save 5p when they pick up some shopping on the way home...
The charge of 5p only applies to shops or chain stores with 250 or more full time employees and plastic bags are still given for free at smaller outlets including airport shops..trains..planes or ships..
This is only a few days old...how come if you are in the UK Brocky..you didn't know this??
You are also exempt from paying the 5p if your shopping falls within this criteria...
IMO they should either get rid of them and not even sell them or leave it the way it is -- as it seems they only want to make money out of selling them anyway -- Target did away with them for awhile TILL everyone stopped shopping there as much -- they now have the bags back again.
Totally agree..it's just a half hearted attempt to be seen to be doing something..
To anyone with a food bill of around 50 to 100 pounds what is the cost of say 10 bags totalling 50p matter...
I agree Thea, SEEN to be doing the right thing -- if everyone spent 50cents on bags--they WERE getting for nothing the shops are making a bloody fortune -- but it is NOT solving the problem.
Why can't they do THIS on a bigger scale?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWdNUDfgCRc
Perhaps we should do the same as Britain 6 billion less bags used is certainly a mammoth amount.
Britain banishes plastic bags as 5p 'tax' sees usage plummet by 6 billionhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/30/britain-banishes-plastic-bags-as-5p-tax-sees-usage-plummet-by-6/
Single-use plastic bags to be banned in Queensland from 2018.
South Australia (2009), the Northern Territory (2011), the ACT (2011) and Tasmania (2013) already have plastic bag bans.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-25/queensland-to-ban-single-use-plastic-bags-from-2018/8056084
Here in WA it is just voluntary with reminders to bring your own bags or buy reusable Green bags, the majority, by observation, use the free plastic bags.
The plastic bags make good bin liners
so I for one do t see the waste
you would have to buy plastic bin liners otherwise
Yes I want to know IF they would stop selling the plastic bags for bins -- bet they won't
Now why can't this take place,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWdNUDfgCRc
Agree Sandi . When I am home I use farmers markets . But buy my berries and peas frozen .