Our spending patterns are being impacted by the issue in the cost of living. This entails cutting back on weekly grocery spending for a lot of folks.
Fresh fruit and vegetables could be one victim. Australians may have consumed less fruit and vegetables in 2022–2023 than they did the year before, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Living expenses are probably making an already-existing issue worse: Australians generally don’t consume enough fruits and vegetables. According to Australian dietary guidelines, for maximum health, those nine years of age and above should have two servings of fruit and five servings of vegetables daily.
However, according to the ABS, just 4% of Australians consumed the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables in 2022.
In addition to offering a variety of vitamins and minerals and fibre, fruits and vegetables are essential for a healthy, balanced diet.
There are alternative ways to make sure you still receive the health advantages of these food groups even if you are now unable to afford as much fresh produce. You may even be able to raise the amount of fruit and vegetables you eat.
Frozen
Consider the proverb “fresh is best”—fresh produce is frequently promoted as the healthiest. However, this isn’t always the case.
When produce is being transported from the paddock to your kitchen and is kept in your refrigerator, its nutritional value may decrease. Since frozen veggies are snap frozen so close to harvest, they may actually contain higher levels of some nutrients like vitamin C and E. Transport and storage variations may have a small impact on this.
When frozen produce is compared to fresh, minerals like calcium, iron, and magnesium remain at comparable quantities.
Since you can only use what you need at any given time, frozen fruit and vegetables also have the potential to reduce food waste.
In addition to purchasing frozen fruits and veggies from the store, you can freeze your own produce at home in case you have an excess of it from your garden or when it might be more affordable.
The safety and quality of the product can be enhanced by briefly blanching it before freezing. This involves temporarily immersing food in boiling water or steam-cooking it for a brief period of time.
While they work well in soups, stews, casseroles, curries, pies, and quiches, frozen veggies are not recommended for salads. Instead, they can be roasted or steamed. Frozen fruits can be used in baking recipes, such as fruit pies and cakes, or added to cereal or yoghurt dishes for breakfast.
In a similar vein, canned fruit and vegetables frequently provide a less expensive option than fresh produce. Additionally, having them on hand is incredibly convenient. There’s no need to add salt or any other preservatives because canning is a preservation technique.
In comparison to fresh food, the cooking process causes several heat-sensitive nutrients, such vitamin C, to become slightly less abundant. If you want to minimise the quantity of nutrients lost while using canned veggies in a hot dish, you can add them later in the cooking process.
You can freeze the quantity you don’t need in order to reduce waste.
Fresh veggies’ vitamins and minerals are mostly preserved through fermentation. However, by producing new nutrients and making it easier for the body to absorb already-existing ones, fermentation may also improve the nutritional profile of the meal.
Additionally, foods that have undergone fermentation contain probiotics, which are good for our gut flora.
5 more ideas to satisfy your craving for fresh
While frozen or canned fruits and vegetables are excellent replacements for fresh produce, there are other affordable options for those who want to increase their intake of fresh produce.
1. Buy in season
Purchasing seasonal fruits and vegetables locally will always be less expensive than importing out-of-season goods from other nations, as supply and demand dictate.
2. Don’t avoid the unsightly fruits and veggies.
These days, the majority of shops stock “ugly” fruit and vegetables—those that aren’t quite ideal physically. This has no effect whatsoever on their nutritional content or flavour.
3. Reduce waste
An Australian household wastes between A$2,000 and A$2,500 worth of food annually on average. Three of the top five things thrown out in our homes are fruits, vegetables, and packaged salad.
Thus, handling fresh fruit correctly could result in financial savings as well as environmental benefits.
Plan your meals and groceries in advance to reduce waste. Additionally, freeze any fruit and veggies that you don’t believe you’ll be able to consume before they spoil.
4. Exchange and distribute
If someone has more fresh produce than they need, there are many of websites and apps that allow them to trade it in or even pick it up for free. Look through your local area to discover what exchanges are available; some local municipalities encourage them on their websites.
5. Gardening
It does not matter how little your garden is—you can always grow food in pots. Strawberries, cherry tomatoes, herbs, rocket, and chillies all thrive well. These will eventually somewhat offset the expense of your fresh produce purchases.
Furthermore, you are less likely to discard produce that you have worked hard to grow.