Guest guest Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 I have heard before that fruits and veggies start losing nutrients as soon as you cut them open. I am curious about this because I am thinking of trying to pre-chop our veggies for the week because that is one of the biggest time savers for me. If I could do that one day while Gavin is asleep it would make meal times way easier for me. But I don't want to do that and then have all the good stuff gone out of whatever I am cooking when I go to use it. Does anyone know anything about this or have any good resources? I tried to google it but I'm getting different responses than what I'm looking for. ) Rachel ~ http://www.thelucastribe.com ~ KUSTOMIZED KIDS ~ http://www.cafepress.com/kustomizedkids Baby & Kids, Pregnancy, Natural Parenting, Wedding, & Personalized Clothing Designs Also lots of Halloween shirts this month! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 I rarely precut myself since I heard the same thing. Hope someone has the answer for us. Rami , " Rachel Lucas " <mommytogavin wrote: > > I have heard before that fruits and veggies start losing nutrients as soon as you cut them open. I am curious about this because I am thinking of trying to pre-chop our veggies for the week because that is one of the biggest time savers for me. If I could do that one day while Gavin is asleep it would make meal times way easier for me. But I don't want to do that and then have all the good stuff gone out of whatever I am cooking when I go to use it. Does anyone know anything about this or have any good resources? I tried to google it but I'm getting different responses than what I'm looking for. > > > ) Rachel ~ http://www.thelucastribe.com > > ~ KUSTOMIZED KIDS ~ http://www.cafepress.com/kustomizedkids > Baby & Kids, Pregnancy, Natural Parenting, Wedding, & Personalized Clothing Designs > Also lots of Halloween shirts this month! > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Yes, all fruits and vegetables start losing nutritional value once they have been cut or chopped--some more than others--but you have to look at the whole picture. How valuable is your time? Do you work outside the home or have limited time for food preparation? It might be worth the small loss in notional value for the convenience of easy-to-prepare meals. I chop some fruits and vegetables and not others depending on the type of fruit or vegetable it is vs. how time consuming it is to prepare at the last minute. For instance, once you cut open a strawberry or pull the stem, it loses nutrition rapidly...but it's quick and easy to cut strawberries at the last minute so I wait. Likewise with citrus fruit...it loses vitamin C rapidly after being cut. It's not so hard to cut an orange or grapefruit in half, so again I wait. But for instance, throwing together a tossed salad at the last minute can be more time consuming (at least my way is...I throw in the kitchen sink!) and I might not get around to it if I'm short on time. I find that by preparing a large bowl of salad with lots of veggies early in the week provides me with an instant side dish for dinner or quick lunch to throw in the car that I might otherwise not eat. It may lose a little nutrition by it being prepared in advance, but I'm actually getting MORE nutrition because I wouldn't eat it if it wasn't ready to go. Same goes for carrot and celery sticks. If they're not pre-cut, it doesn't happen, LOL! On the other hand, I have a friend who lives alone in an apartment and has plenty of time to chop, slice and dice as needed. She is, however, a neat-freak and cannot bring herself to put away fruits and veggies in the fridge unless they are totally chopped and stored in Tupperware containers--even if she's not going to use them for 6 or 7 days! This too me is a sad waste of nutrition as it's strictly to done to satisfy an organizational compulsion. <shrugs shoulders> Does that make sense? Just figure out what's right for you and your family. As long as you are eating an abundance of fruits and veggies--both raw and cooked, I'm sure you will receive more than adequate nutrition... (((HUGS))) --Celia-- vegetable nutrient loss in preparation Posted by: " Rachel Lucas " mommytogavin rachellucas6 Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:48 pm (PST) I have heard before that fruits and veggies start losing nutrients as soon as you cut them open. I am curious about this because I am thinking of trying to pre-chop our veggies for the week because that is one of the biggest time savers for me. If I could do that one day while Gavin is asleep it would make meal times way easier for me. But I don't want to do that and then have all the good stuff gone out of whatever I am cooking when I go to use it. Does anyone know anything about this or have any good resources? I tried to google it but I'm getting different responses than what I'm looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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