During my insanely busy university years and work schedule, I would often fall off the “healthy wagon” for a couple to a few weeks and eat horribly. I don’t eat takeout (except sushi…guilty!), but I wouldn’t make good choices at the store and I would sometimes get sushi takeout up to 5 nights a week. (Sushi is usually healthy, but I would also get a couple of naughty sides with it.) This was because I felt like I was so busy and needed to place all my time and energy into school and work. Aside from that, even if I did have the time, sometimes I just don’t feel like making a meal from scratch every night.
This is probably something that loads of people do already, but I really didn’t think about it or utilize it until about a year ago. I started to double/triple/quadruple recipes and then freeze single servings of it in the fridge. I have done this with burritos, soups, pattys/veggie burgers and granola/protein bars so far and all have worked out. I could just grab a burrito and head out the door.
This can be especially useful if you are trying to stick to a health diet/lifestyle and don't want to be caught out with no food in the house, or tempted by fast food or grabbing a less-than-ideal meal or snack. Try to give yourself at least a couple of hours each month to prepare a bunch of food and freeze it.
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• When freezing soup, I use freezable jam containers and freeze single serving amounts in each of the containers. I usually remove serving the night before and place it in the fridge so it doesn’t take as long to heat up the next day.
• Remember: Not everything freezes well (aka, some things taste nasty and never really recover after being frozen). See the list later in this post for ideas.
• Here is a Vegetable Freezing Chart
• Make sure to store things well so that they don't get freezer burn.
Things that don't freeze well
• Raw Onions, Cucumber, Potatoes, Fruit (*some berries however, freeze really well when prepped properly: look into blueberries and raspberries!), Tomatoes, Celery, Lettuce, Nondairy Milk (in my experience, it has separated and gets lumpy.)
Things that generally freeze well
• Soups/Chili/Broth
• Burgers
• Jams
• Nuts
• Coffee
• Breads
Some freezable recipes (most are vegan. the ones I comment on are ones that just need to be substituted with the vegan alternative)
1. Sweet Potato Burritos (just use vegan cheese)
5. Veggie Shepherd’s Pie (easy to veganize)
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Thanks for the tips! Very informative. Liz @ Virtually Homemade
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Pleasure! :)
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Thanks for the tips, Clare! I'm going to make up some sweet potato burritos and freeze them for my vegan teen to grab when I'm not there to cook!
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No problem Kristin! Sounds like a great idea...what a considerate mom :)
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