In a busy world, people often forget the importance of freshness. For example, how many days or hours are you willing to spend to preserve the quality of your life-force? How many days do you spend preparing food for your family? Probably, more days than you care to admit. In order to avoid the problem, it is important to understand the answer to this question.
A good way to understand the relationship between freshness and life-force is to consider fruits and vegetables. When we eat fresh fruit or vegetable, it is not our conscious mind that is thinking, but the life-force is there. This is because fruits and vegetables contain nutrients such as water and fiber, which are necessary to live. These nutrients are not immediately available to us when we consume fruits and vegetables. It takes some time for these nutrients to build up in our bodies.
Since the life-force cannot survive without the food, we store it in our diaphragm. The diaphragm has three compartments and it is possible to store only what is needed. In other words, what we eat stays in our stomachs for a period of time; vegetables stay in our diaphragms until they are digested; and finally, the digested food moves to the smaller intestines to be broken down further. Only the portions of vegetables that need to be used that day are digested.
In this way, we can see how freshness depends upon the duration of storage. Vegetables that are stored for a long period of time – even weeks – are termed as ‘frozen vegetables.’ You will find both fresh and frozen vegetables in most grocery stores. The main difference lies in the way the products are packaged.
A vegetable that is fresh today can be bought in a few days. In contrast, frozen vegetables take days to get to you. But the good news is that, with modern technology, fresh vegetables can now be preserved even up to a year-long period. Some examples of such vegetables that are kept for such long periods are carrots, broccoli, peas, potatoes and yams.
On the other hand, when it comes to vitamin C, fresh fruits and vegetables are much better sources. Vitamin C that is stored for a long time also loses its ‘freshness’ meaning it loses all the positive attributes of a natural vitamin. If the person who has consumed it says that the vitamin is good for you, then it must have been really fresh when consumed. On the contrary, vitamin C that is kept for a few days loses all the good features of a natural vitamin and is even tasteless.
So, you should always opt for fresh vegetables, especially if you want to get the right health benefits that come with them. Vitamin C can help to prevent colds and flu and can boost your immune system. It can also fight cancer-causing cells. For this reason, eating frozen vegetables is not advisable because it prevents the body from receiving all the benefits. Vitamins A and E are great antioxidants, which help the body in many ways. When they are kept for a longer period of time in the refrigerator, they start to show their effects.
When it comes to stewing, the most delicious vegetable to use is the beet. The taste of the beer gives a nice color to the entire dish and adds the perfect level of crispiness and freshness to your food. Just peel the beet leaves and throw them into your crock pot along with all the other ingredients for maximum benefit. Then add some stock and simmer it on low heat for about 2 hours or until the meat is tender. Serve it with fresh crusty breads and fresh vegetables like tomatoes and celery. Your family will love it.