Fresh out...the freezer.

It’s 6pm on Sunday evening, and I still have to make the weekly grocery store run. It’s okay though! This doesn’t mean I have to spend the rest of my night in the kitchen. In a bind frozen vegetables can save a Sunday meal prep or prevent a midweek frustrating store run. Unfortunately, they get a bad rep because they don't seem as real as fresh veggies.

In reality, that bag of broccoli you picked up out of that freezer section was harvested at peak ripeness, chopped up, blanched or lightly cooked and frozen with optimal nutrients. On the other hand, that broccoli off the produce shelf was likely picked early so that it could last the distance it needed to travel to get to the store where it found you. These frozen foods provide options that are slightly precooked, cutting down your time in the kitchen; and you don’t have to sacrifice your nutrients.

If chopping up vegetables sounds like a chore to you, or you're running short on time, or tonight you just want to get in an out of the kitchen, then frozen vegetables are a clutch staple to keep stocked.