When you think of your freezer, you may imagine a jumbled mess of half-empty ice cream containers, open bags of frozen vegetables, stacks of ice cube trays, and some unidentifiable items covered in frost. There are definitely better ways of taking advantage of your freezer.
Having a well-stocked pantry and refrigerator is great, but having a freezer that’s always stocked up on ingredients and meals is even better. Sure, you want to eat healthy foods, but with a busy schedule, you don’t want to waste time going out grocery shopping every day.
Freezing your meals will ensure you always have fresh meals on hand while saving time and energy in cooking from scratch. Freezing food not only extends its shelf life but can even make them taste better.
Here are some foods you should always have available in your freezer to make your meal-prepping process easy.
Poultry
It’s never a bad idea to freeze a few pieces of organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Chicken is a good lean protein and extremely versatile. It can be safely stored in your freezer for about four months and defrosts faster than other pieces of meat, making it the perfect staple if you need to cook something on the same day.
Bananas
I bet you didn’t know you could freeze bananas. This fruit has a nasty habit of going from not-so-ripe to overripe pretty quickly. Afterward, you have three choices: you can either throw them away, bake something with them right away, or freeze them. Ripe frozen bananas are perfect for making healthier waffles, pancakes, banana bread, or smoothies. Before storing bananas in the freezer, unpeel and cut them into smaller pieces and place them in a ziplock bag.
Cooked Grains
Another cool meal-prepping tip is having cooked pre-portioned bags of rice, quinoa, and farro in the freezer. They freeze and defrost beautifully, which is a huge timesaver for making meals in a flash, especially for grains with long cooking times.
Berries
Berries do well in the freezer and are great for making pies, scones, or quick and easy smoothies. Often, the quality of frozen berries is just as good as fresh berries as they’re picked at their peak. It’s great that you can still enjoy a variety of berries when they’re out of season.
[RECIPE] SLOW COOKER SHREDDED CHICKEN WITH BLACK BEANS
Serves: 4
Ingredients (use organic where possible):
- 4 cups mixed greens
- 2 cups broccoli slaw (discard any dressing)
- 1 cup pico de gallo
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 15-ounce BPA-free can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds OR sunflower seed
Directions:
- Season the chicken breasts with the seasoning mix.
- Place chicken inside the slow cooker. Add salsa and beans.
- Cook on high for 3 hours. Use a fork to shred the chicken.
To Your Health,
Patti
