This is an important thing to know so you don't cook all of the goodness out of your vegetables and just eat what is left. Here are some tips for properly cooking your produce so you can enjoy it and your body can benefit from it also.

1. Eat them raw.

Sure, you can buy frozen produce, and it does still have a lot of the nutrition that it had when it was freshly picked. This is the convenient way to eat vegetables. However, if you want to get the most vitamin B and C from your vegetables, it is best to eat them raw.

If you have no choice but to eat frozen vegetables-- maybe you are short on time-- it is important to cook them directly from your freezer without letting them thaw. Take them from your freezer and put them right on the pan on your stove. Studies have shown that allowing your frozen vegetables to thaw speeds up the loss of vitamin C, especially when it comes to vegetables like peas, green beans, and spinach.

2. Boil or steam them.

When you do want to cook your vegetables, either boil or steam them in order to maintain the amount of antioxidants present in the raw form of the vegetable. This is especially true for certain produce, such as broccoli and carrots, which also have important phytochemicals that can be maintained if they are properly cooked.

However, it is important to know when to stop cooking them so you don't cook them too much and drain them of these important nutrients. You want your vegetables to still have some crunch when you eat them. If they are mushy, you have cooked them for too long and most of their nutrients have probably escaped.

To get back the nutrients that you lost during the cooking process, use the water that you cooked your vegetables in to make a soup or a broth. This way, you will still be consuming them.

One important thing to remember is to never microwave your vegetables. Doing so destroys the nutrients right away and leaves you with not much benefit from eating them.

3. Store them correctly.

It is also important to store your vegetables correctly if you want to preserve the nutrient content. You want to store your vegetables in cool, dry places – like your refrigerator. This is because cool temperatures will slow down the process of the molecules breaking down in the vegetables. Alternatively, warmer temperatures will speed this process up, so if you leave your produce on your kitchen counter, it will break down faster than if you stick it in your fridge.

4. Don't cook vegetables at a high temperature.

Try to use a very small amount of water when you're cooking your vegetables and use the lowest temperature that you are comfortable using. High temperatures will kill away the important vitamins and minerals quickly so if you're able to cook your vegetables at a low temperature with just a little bit of water, you have the highest chances of retaining the most important parts of the food.

Remember, don't leave your produce items in hot places such as under the sun or close to your hot stove. If your vegetables have lost their natural color, they should be thrown out. Because vitamin C is such a delicate nutrient, you have to take care of your food so it can take care of you in return.

Also, the most unhealthy thing you can do to your vegetables is to fry them in oil. Fried vegetables lose all of their vitamins and minerals and will only provide your body with trans fats and carbohydrates. If you want to have some oil on your vegetables, drizzle a small amount of olive oil over them before enjoying them raw.