Veggies (and whatnot) in the freezer.

I think, in some cases, that frozen is actually better as it keeps the nutrients in the vegetables, and they are less likely to go off than their fresh counterparts.

Re. prep, you'll need to specify what sort of veg you're talking about, and what you're trying to do with it.

The boy has said he hates frozen veggies so I have stopped buying them. :(

I can't shop enough to get fresh and keep them from going bad.

Frozen corn can be really excellent, also frozen petite peas. That's it for the frozen veg for us.

Frozen peas are definitely better than fresh, unless the fresh come from your garden. I find frozen sweetcorn is kind of tough, though. I wouldn't buy frozen meat - I think there's a legal requirement it has to be less than four years old or something (four years!) but I buy a lot of meat reduced in the supermarket and then that gets bunged in the freezer until I need it. Freezers are handy if you're cooking for one, and I am a hunter and gatherer of the yellow labelled stuff.

Frozen did pretty well in this test

What's a good way to prepare them then? Maybe that's what I'm missing.

No idea, actually. We don't have a freezer but our new flat (moving on Monday) does, so I am also interested in these issues.

Also: it's my understanding that for some (most?) seafood (shrimp especially), it's better to buy frozen rather than 'fresh', as it's got to be frozen right after catch anyway, so when you buy 'fresh', you're just letting the shop defrost it for you (probably earlier than you would have wanted). Is this right?

I think if you live close to the sea or are buying it at a fancy grocery which would have flown it in, fresh is better.

One thing to remember with frozen veg stuff is that it has generally been blanched (briefly boiled) already. So it's partially cooked. It takes very little heat to finish it off. One of my favorite things to do with peas is make up some basmati rice w/ a little toasted sesame oil and when it's done, nuke a big handful of frozen peas for 45 sec - 1 min (just enough to warm them up), then mix into the hot rice. If you've got some pine nuts, or maybe some slivered almonds, those are really good to add in too.

Trader Joe's has a type of frozen sweet corn that is really excellent. When I'm feeling decadent, I empty the whole bag into a small rectangular casserole, slice an entire stick of butter evenly over the top of the whole thing, and cover and nuke for 3 - 5 min.

When my kids were toddlers, they got frozen corn and peas as treats.

The nutrients tables are really interesting (LOL at skyrocketing beta carotene in carrots) but my definition of 'best' would also have to include taste and texture.

Frozen brussels sprouts seem to work out well.

I got some! Still haven't used'em as hubby does not like sprouts. First time I cooked carrots and peas. Turned out pretty well. I love it more than the bottled (?) alternative. My husband doesn't so much, he prefer it out of a pot/can.

Jaq, this is what I have (all cut/chopped):

peas
carrots
mixed peppers
mushrooms
onions

I also have:

salmon (first time I flunked with this)
white fish
shrimps

When I wok/bake the onions, I tend to let the excess water flow away. (Does this sound right? Me tired, me English crap.) I tend to bake the onions at high temp. Just seems to work better, but I could be wrong of course. :-) I tend to use most of the veggies for bolognese and also when I bake rice (with bacon and/or egg).

I can imagine frozen onions would have a lot of extra water! Also mushrooms. They have a lot of water in them when they're fresh, and freezing breaks down the cell walls, so they'd be even wetter. It might work better to let them thaw out and drain them first before cooking them. I've only used fresh or dried mushrooms and only fresh onions (they store pretty well in a cool dark pantry for me).

Hubby is insane. I will have his share of sproutses.

I know. On top of that he needs his green veggies as he has/had low folic acid. -> Very funny considering *I* am the pregnant one. :-)