I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to throw out yellowed heads of broccoli because I had not managed to use them within 3 or 4 days of purchase. Or at least had to cut off the yellow parts to salvage the parts of a whole head of broccoli that were still fresh.

I’ve still learnt to use frozen broccoli instead. The benefits are numerous:

1. From a bag of frozen broccoli, I can use as much or as little as I want, and keep the rest for another day. No worry about a whole head of fresh broccoli turning yellow, limp, slimy and unusable if I don’t use it up fast enough.
2. The nutrients are still intact, as can be seen by the frozen broccoli florets still looking green and feeling crunchy even after several weeks, compared to ‘fresh’ broccoli after less than a week in the refrigerator. And there’s no ‘pressure’ to quickly use up the vegetable, so as to avoid feeling guilty when you have to throw away the spoiled food.
3. Frozen vegetables have been rapidly frozen shortly after harvest and this helps to lock in nutrients, flavour, and colour for a longer time. Whereas for the broccoli that I bought from the ‘fresh’ produce section in the supermarket, there’s no telling how long ago it was harvested, and how long it had spent in the warehouse, in transport and supermarket storage, before being displayed in the fresh produce section. In the meantime, the nutrients would have degraded somewhat, and probably not be as ‘garden fresh’ as we would generally assume.
4. I don’t need to use a whole head of broccoli when I only need a few florets, say in mixed vegetable stir fries. A bag of frozen broccoli can be used for several dishes, so less waste overall.
5. It’s also convenient for making a “less healthy” but quick meal healthier. For instance, on those days where I only have time to cook instant noodles, I would just throw in a handful of frozen broccoli, with some protein, and still manage to make a balanced meal 😉
6. Frozen vegetables like broccoli are also convenient and time saving. You don’t need to spend time slicing them before cooking.
7. Many types of vegetables can be bought frozen besides broccoli. I’ve personally used frozen cauliflower, carrots, green beans, peas, corn, spinach, bell peppers, mushrooms in my cooking. These are the types that I can get easily from my neighbourhood supermarket. Of course there are more varieties sold in other places.