frozen vegetables

In the morning I always make a breakfast smoothie using fresh produce. But sometimes our household goes a little overboard in the amount of produce we buy. Instead of throwing out spoiled fruits and veggies, we freeze our produce to preserve its nutritional content and halt the ripening process. Freezing produce is also a good way to stock up on fruits and veggies that are on sale or going out of season.

If there's an abundant amount of produce in our house, we estimate how much we'll need to last the rest of the week and then freeze the rest. Produce is best frozen when it's perfectly ripe, and it can last in the freezer for up to a year.

To find out how to freeze produce at home, read more

Summertime offers an abundance of fresh veggies at lower costs, but now that Winter is on the horizon, the produce aisle isn't exactly overflowing with inexpensive produce. Since your choices are limited (and pricey), opting for canned or frozen veggies may be your only choice, but which is healthier?

Learn which comes out on top in canned veggies vs. frozen veggies when you read more

What's the deal with frozen green beans? Last Fall, a New Zealander discovered a shrunken mouse's head in hers, and, proving we're just as prone to the situation stateside, a Texas woman reportedly opened a bag to find a frog's face staring back at her.

Chasity Erbaugh from Tyler, TX, went to stir butter into her green beans and encountered the whole front end of a frog, spinal cord attached, with its tongue hanging out. Horrified, she notified county health inspectors, who got in touch with the Wal-Mart where she purchased the beans to have the rest of the lot pulled from shelves. Although the county health department filed a complaint with the FDA, it also urged consumers to look closely at their food before eating it. But Erbaugh has lost her confidence with frozen foods. Moving forward, she vows to only buy fresh vegetables, even if the measure is at her expense. "Do you know how much my grocery bill is fixing to go up?" she said.

After hearing about a shopper who — almost literally — got a frog in her throat, are you less likely to buy frozen fruits and vegetables? Do you agree with the health department, which insinuated that the responsibility lies with each diner to ensure he is eating safe food? Have you ever found something that's less than kosher in your frozen produce?