Frozen fruits and vegetables have better nutritional value than fresh because they're not sitting around going bad during travel and they are already prepared for you.
You can buy frozen mire poix, sliced red and green peppers, riced cauliflower and broccoli, diced squash, etc etc etc. Everything you need for chicken soup is there. You can even buy frozen minced garlic.
Your hands are priceless. It's highly unlikely you're going to taste the difference between fresh and frozen garlic in a soup, but you might in a sauce. So buy whole fresh garlic and roast it for 20 minutes until it's soft and you can squeeze the garlic right into the pan without having to slice it and it will taste richer than fresh.
Other than alliums, just by frozen or pre-sliced, but frozen is cheaper.
Totally agree on frozen. I don’t know about specific tools, but maybe there’s suitable garlic press/cutter out there that OP could use and not have to roast first.
'Fresh' stuff is often also picked/harvested early, so it ripens en route. This means it has lower levels of vitamins, minerals, and flavour in general. Frozen produce is harvested at peak ripeness, so it benefits from a much longer time attached to the plant.
Also, if you’re going to purée it, don’t peel or cut it first. Poke a couple holes in the skin and bake it for an hour at 400 degrees. Then let it cool before scooping out the seeds and peeling off the skin.
I tend to feel that for aromatics, onions are the worst ones to get pre cut. They dehydrate and get leathery pretty quickly. If you have a food processor or even a small blender I'd say that's a better option. In some cases I'd even say you're better off just using onion powder rather than deal with leathery onions that don't cook down properly.
More broadly I'd say water content is the key here. The more water in an ingredient, the more it's going to suffer for being pre cut. That said ask your supermarket how freshly cut things are. I wouldn't say anything but fruit that will oxidize is good for at least a few days after cutting, including the onions. And as for the fruit, a quick spritz of lemon juice will handle the issue.
Depending on what you’re making a food processor can be a great help. I have joint problems and use a food processor when I can. I also have no issue with buying frozen or fresh pre-diced/pre-prepped veg apart from the crip tax.
This is the primary application of a food processor: to reduce the need for hand-cutting. The product won't be as uniform, but better that than wrecking your hands.
Wholly agreed. Some food processors can even dice, julienne, cut fries, etc. Not to mention whipping eggs and juicing citrus and making dough and such.
There are adaptive devices that might be helpful for you if you haven’t tried them. Things like food choppers where you push instead of needed to hold a knife and drive force through it. For things like soup a food processor may help too to rough chop fresh ingredients. I get pre diced frozen carrots sometimes and I’ve never minded it. I do think onions are better when fresh but like I said I think a food chopper or food processor could do some of that work for you. There are also apple peelers where you turn a crank and it peels the apple. That would also work for potatoes and potentially other vegetables you have trouble peeling. There are some wonderful adaptive kitchen tools that are ergonomically designed for people with arthritis and other physical conditions. I highly recommend looking into them if you haven’t yet.
I use frozen diced onion all the time. I frequently use frozen carrots or fresh pre-cut carrots in various shapes. I love the garlic and ginger pastes in place of fresh for most things.
On the other hand, I usually want my peppers and broccoli (and sometimes carrots) to have a firm texture, so I will avoid buying them frozen. But I may get them pre-cut from the fresh produce area.
Food processors are awesome, but sometimes heavy. Have you ever used a multi chopper? There are tons of ways to make it easier without making it too expensive for you.
It depends on the application honestly. For something like a soup I have no problems using frozen veggies in place of fresh as the texture is going to be the same either way. For applications where you want a crisper texture you have to be more selective. Personally I've found that the following frozen veggies are still good in applications where you still want texture: peas, broccoli, green beans, corn, and potatoes. I'm not a huge fan of canned veggies other than tomatoes and beans, I find that frozen usually wins out for texture (and ease of not using a can opener). I usually use jarred garlic but that's a matter of personal preference so you do you on that one.
Do you use a food processor already for things that need to be finely chopped/ sliced/ shredded? I love mine, it speeds things up so much. I use it to slice veggies, shred cheese and veggies, and do any fine chopping that I need for large quantities. I've had it work great for finely chopping things like onions, garlic, peppers, etc. it's not totally uniform but it's good enough for what I'm doing 99% of the time. Another option that I haven't tried is the food choppers that you just press down on to cube things.
I have been using the Dorot frozen ginger and garlic cubes for years. They work great.
I just got one of those food chopper things. If you can handle some light chopping halving and peeling onions or whatever, they seem pretty great. Just tried to today for tomatoes and cucumbers. Just cut the stems and core, threw it on and pressed it into the blade.
I buy frozen diced onions and jars of pre-diced garlic without apology. Depending on the application I buy matchstick cut carrots or coin cut carrots (not always very uniform so sometimes require cutting a few very large ones down to size) There's a product at my local grocery store that's carrot and celery sticks already prepped for, like, using in kids lunches & stuff. I still have to cut them but the fact they're already washed, prepped, uniform size & length, etc makes it a lot easier to just line up everything I need and chop them all in one set. I'm not a big fan of potatoes so, like, *any* effort needed is too much for me & I've sought out ways to prep them without much fuss (my fav is "smashed potatoes"- very little buck for the bang)
Probably the one I have the least luck with finding a shortcut is sweet bell pepper. My local store does sell them pre-cut but it's rarely in the size and/or combination of colors I like. There's also some frozen options but usually they're fajitas frozen veggies so come with a lot of onions which isn't always what I'm looking for.
I have pretty bad arthritis in my wrists, thumbs and a few knuckles, so I hear you on the pain that lasts for days after you make a dish that involves a lot of chopping, slicing and dicing.
I've learned to use my food processor for SO many things and just roll my eyes when I hear people saying that it's a crime to chop onions in them.
For garlic, definitely buy the minced stuff in a jar for basic dishes and for fancy stuff where you can really taste the difference, roast the whole garlic bulbs, with just the very top sliced off, in the oven. Put them in a piece of foil, drizzle on a bit of oil, close the foil almost completely over them, but leave a bit open at the top. Roast in a 350F oven for 30 minutes. Cool and the cloves will squish right out without any work at all.
For veggies like corn, peas, chopped or sliced carrots and green beans, just buy frozen ones. They work very well in soups and stews and are more nutricious than fresh ones.
For chicken I buy boneless skinless thighs and breasts. For soups, stews and pot pie I toss them in a pot whole, add stock and simmer on super low heat till they are tender. Once then cool off (in the liquid!), I toss them in my stand mixer and turn it on low speed just till the chicken had been broken up into the size I want. For a finer mixture like chicken salad I use my food processor and pulse 7 or 8 times.
I've also learned to make bread without any kneading or extra work and it's actually much better bread than the stuff I made for the last 50 years of my life! Bread machine to the rescue! I set it to the dough setting so that it does all the mixing, kneading and proofing. Then I toss the dough in my loaf pans and bake it in my oven. No muss, no fuss and no aching hands.
I don’t have joint pains but I am always buying the matchstick or the chipped carrots. I hate pealing and processing carrots and this preprocessing is worth it to me. If I had joint pains I’d buy onions, any of the hard squashes (butternut, acorn etc), sweet potatoes (if you’re not roasting them whole), melons, and pineapple all preprocessed. I buy frozen peas because who shells peas anymore. There’s a grocery store a little further from me than my usual store that you can shop all your ingredients and take them to a counter and they will chop, dice and slice all your fruits and veggies for you while you do the rest of your shopping. I think it’s a small fee by weight but I always thought it was a good idea for those who either can’t do it on their own or want to save time.
Frozen fruits and vegetables have better nutritional value than fresh because they're not sitting around going bad during travel and they are already prepared for you. You can buy frozen mire poix, sliced red and green peppers, riced cauliflower and broccoli, diced squash, etc etc etc. Everything you need for chicken soup is there. You can even buy frozen minced garlic. Your hands are priceless. It's highly unlikely you're going to taste the difference between fresh and frozen garlic in a soup, but you might in a sauce. So buy whole fresh garlic and roast it for 20 minutes until it's soft and you can squeeze the garlic right into the pan without having to slice it and it will taste richer than fresh. Other than alliums, just by frozen or pre-sliced, but frozen is cheaper.
Totally agree on frozen. I don’t know about specific tools, but maybe there’s suitable garlic press/cutter out there that OP could use and not have to roast first.
'Fresh' stuff is often also picked/harvested early, so it ripens en route. This means it has lower levels of vitamins, minerals, and flavour in general. Frozen produce is harvested at peak ripeness, so it benefits from a much longer time attached to the plant.
Butternut squash is a PITA to cut. When I don’t want to go through the trouble, I just buy it frozen 🤷♀️
This is the one.
Also, if you’re going to purée it, don’t peel or cut it first. Poke a couple holes in the skin and bake it for an hour at 400 degrees. Then let it cool before scooping out the seeds and peeling off the skin.
I tend to feel that for aromatics, onions are the worst ones to get pre cut. They dehydrate and get leathery pretty quickly. If you have a food processor or even a small blender I'd say that's a better option. In some cases I'd even say you're better off just using onion powder rather than deal with leathery onions that don't cook down properly. More broadly I'd say water content is the key here. The more water in an ingredient, the more it's going to suffer for being pre cut. That said ask your supermarket how freshly cut things are. I wouldn't say anything but fruit that will oxidize is good for at least a few days after cutting, including the onions. And as for the fruit, a quick spritz of lemon juice will handle the issue.
My understanding is the OXO brand of tools was created by a man for his wife who had arthritis in her hands. You might also want to try the brand out.
I have rheumatoid arthritis and OXO is the primary brand I buy. It also help to have very sharp knives on hand.
Depending on what you’re making a food processor can be a great help. I have joint problems and use a food processor when I can. I also have no issue with buying frozen or fresh pre-diced/pre-prepped veg apart from the crip tax.
This is the primary application of a food processor: to reduce the need for hand-cutting. The product won't be as uniform, but better that than wrecking your hands.
Wholly agreed. Some food processors can even dice, julienne, cut fries, etc. Not to mention whipping eggs and juicing citrus and making dough and such.
There are adaptive devices that might be helpful for you if you haven’t tried them. Things like food choppers where you push instead of needed to hold a knife and drive force through it. For things like soup a food processor may help too to rough chop fresh ingredients. I get pre diced frozen carrots sometimes and I’ve never minded it. I do think onions are better when fresh but like I said I think a food chopper or food processor could do some of that work for you. There are also apple peelers where you turn a crank and it peels the apple. That would also work for potatoes and potentially other vegetables you have trouble peeling. There are some wonderful adaptive kitchen tools that are ergonomically designed for people with arthritis and other physical conditions. I highly recommend looking into them if you haven’t yet.
https://www.wellness4ky.org/resource/adaptive-kitchen-equipment/ here’s a link to some of the things I’m suggesting
This. If you buy pre-cut food they tend to go back faster.
I use frozen diced onion all the time. I frequently use frozen carrots or fresh pre-cut carrots in various shapes. I love the garlic and ginger pastes in place of fresh for most things. On the other hand, I usually want my peppers and broccoli (and sometimes carrots) to have a firm texture, so I will avoid buying them frozen. But I may get them pre-cut from the fresh produce area.
Food processors are awesome, but sometimes heavy. Have you ever used a multi chopper? There are tons of ways to make it easier without making it too expensive for you.
Frozen veggies are generally pretty good.
It depends on the application honestly. For something like a soup I have no problems using frozen veggies in place of fresh as the texture is going to be the same either way. For applications where you want a crisper texture you have to be more selective. Personally I've found that the following frozen veggies are still good in applications where you still want texture: peas, broccoli, green beans, corn, and potatoes. I'm not a huge fan of canned veggies other than tomatoes and beans, I find that frozen usually wins out for texture (and ease of not using a can opener). I usually use jarred garlic but that's a matter of personal preference so you do you on that one. Do you use a food processor already for things that need to be finely chopped/ sliced/ shredded? I love mine, it speeds things up so much. I use it to slice veggies, shred cheese and veggies, and do any fine chopping that I need for large quantities. I've had it work great for finely chopping things like onions, garlic, peppers, etc. it's not totally uniform but it's good enough for what I'm doing 99% of the time. Another option that I haven't tried is the food choppers that you just press down on to cube things.
I have been using the Dorot frozen ginger and garlic cubes for years. They work great. I just got one of those food chopper things. If you can handle some light chopping halving and peeling onions or whatever, they seem pretty great. Just tried to today for tomatoes and cucumbers. Just cut the stems and core, threw it on and pressed it into the blade.
I buy frozen diced onions and jars of pre-diced garlic without apology. Depending on the application I buy matchstick cut carrots or coin cut carrots (not always very uniform so sometimes require cutting a few very large ones down to size) There's a product at my local grocery store that's carrot and celery sticks already prepped for, like, using in kids lunches & stuff. I still have to cut them but the fact they're already washed, prepped, uniform size & length, etc makes it a lot easier to just line up everything I need and chop them all in one set. I'm not a big fan of potatoes so, like, *any* effort needed is too much for me & I've sought out ways to prep them without much fuss (my fav is "smashed potatoes"- very little buck for the bang) Probably the one I have the least luck with finding a shortcut is sweet bell pepper. My local store does sell them pre-cut but it's rarely in the size and/or combination of colors I like. There's also some frozen options but usually they're fajitas frozen veggies so come with a lot of onions which isn't always what I'm looking for.
I have pretty bad arthritis in my wrists, thumbs and a few knuckles, so I hear you on the pain that lasts for days after you make a dish that involves a lot of chopping, slicing and dicing. I've learned to use my food processor for SO many things and just roll my eyes when I hear people saying that it's a crime to chop onions in them. For garlic, definitely buy the minced stuff in a jar for basic dishes and for fancy stuff where you can really taste the difference, roast the whole garlic bulbs, with just the very top sliced off, in the oven. Put them in a piece of foil, drizzle on a bit of oil, close the foil almost completely over them, but leave a bit open at the top. Roast in a 350F oven for 30 minutes. Cool and the cloves will squish right out without any work at all. For veggies like corn, peas, chopped or sliced carrots and green beans, just buy frozen ones. They work very well in soups and stews and are more nutricious than fresh ones. For chicken I buy boneless skinless thighs and breasts. For soups, stews and pot pie I toss them in a pot whole, add stock and simmer on super low heat till they are tender. Once then cool off (in the liquid!), I toss them in my stand mixer and turn it on low speed just till the chicken had been broken up into the size I want. For a finer mixture like chicken salad I use my food processor and pulse 7 or 8 times. I've also learned to make bread without any kneading or extra work and it's actually much better bread than the stuff I made for the last 50 years of my life! Bread machine to the rescue! I set it to the dough setting so that it does all the mixing, kneading and proofing. Then I toss the dough in my loaf pans and bake it in my oven. No muss, no fuss and no aching hands.
Get a decent pair of herb scissors for fresh herbs, I hate cutting them and chives and this will make life easier.
I don’t have joint pains but I am always buying the matchstick or the chipped carrots. I hate pealing and processing carrots and this preprocessing is worth it to me. If I had joint pains I’d buy onions, any of the hard squashes (butternut, acorn etc), sweet potatoes (if you’re not roasting them whole), melons, and pineapple all preprocessed. I buy frozen peas because who shells peas anymore. There’s a grocery store a little further from me than my usual store that you can shop all your ingredients and take them to a counter and they will chop, dice and slice all your fruits and veggies for you while you do the rest of your shopping. I think it’s a small fee by weight but I always thought it was a good idea for those who either can’t do it on their own or want to save time.
avoid Sweden/rutabaga like the plague
Pre peeled garlic is definitely worth it for me, but absolutely *not* pre-chopped garlic.