According to a recent OnePoll survey conducted with 1,000 millennial parents of school-aged children on behalf of Veggies Made Great, the majority of parents know how many cups of vegetables they need each day (63% said they should get two to three cups of vegetables a day), yet in reality they admit to getting half of this – only one to two cups per day. The good news is that 88% are interested in increasing the amount of veggies in their diet.
Among the top barriers to getting more vegetables in their family’s diet was the taste of certain vegetables (49%), followed by forgetting they were in the refrigerator (42%).
While the cost of vegetables was not as significant a factor to adding more vegetables in their diet, spoilage was. In fact, 64% said that one to three of the fresh vegetables they buy weekly go bad before they use them. Buying frozen vegetables would eliminate this issue, however, 67% of those polled believe that freezing decreases the amount of vitamins and mineral in vegetables, and 46% believe frozen vegetables contain preservatives.
“When picked fresh and eaten right away, fresh vegetables are at their highest nutritional quality. However, some store-bought fresh veggies lose valuable nutrients, such as vitamin C, the longer they sit,” said Karen Buch, RDN, LDN, a consultant for Veggies Made Great. “In addition, nutrient loss is amplified if proper temperatures are not maintained throughout the food supply chain from farm to fork. After harvest, fresh veggies travel from the farm to a distribution center, followed by transport to the grocery store, plus time on display and storage time in the home kitchen prior to being eaten.”
“What most people don’t realize is that frozen vegetables are actually picked at the peak of ripeness and frozen within the same day, locking in their nutritional value. No preservatives are added in the freezing process. Numerous studies show that frozen vegetables are equally as nutritious as fresh, and in some instances may actually retain more nutrients than fresh.”
Parents said some strategies they have used to get more veggies in their family’s diet include sticking with common veggies such as carrots (53%), while others add spices (48%), hide them in dishes (45%), or grate or cut them into small pieces (43%). Half of respondents said they would eat more veggies if they tasted better.
“Veggies Made Great products are designed to do just that – to take veggies from good to great,” said Elliot Huss, CEO of Veggies Made Great. “Our line of frittatas and muffins are all made with real veggies as the first ingredient, but instead of tasting vegetables, you just taste deliciousness.”