Easy to Freeze Foods

Many foods are quite easy to freeze and this can be a substantial time saver. Dinner time is often rushed and it is great to have some homemade food prepared and waiting in your freezer. Frozen meals purchased at the supermarket are not as healthy. Take a look at the ingredient list on the back of these foods and you will see some you won't recognize as food ingredients!

Lets take a look at some foods that do not freeze well:

• Mayonnaise
• Artificial Vanilla
• Cooked egg whites and anything that contains egg whites
• Gelatin (including Jello brand)
• Cakes and pies that contain a custard filling
• Sauces that contain flour or cornstarch as a thickening agent
• Milk, light and heavy cream or sour cream.
• Raw veggies (unless they have been blanched)
• High water content vegetables: eggplant, radishes, celery, fennel, tomatoes, leafy salad greens, cucumbers, potatoes and zucchini.

Note: You can freeze these high water content veggies if you cook them first. They must also be finely chopped or pureed.

So we need some foods that are simple to freeze. Hearty soups such as vegetable, chicken vegetable or bean are great for this purpose. Cooked noodles and pasta sauce can be frozen. Shepherd's pie is a favourite that freezes very well. Just think casseroles as most are easy foods to freeze.

Boiling a whole chicken is another quick freezer food. Boil it, shred it up, pack it into freezer bags and freeze it. The chicken is now cooked and ready to throw in with some cooked veggies or rice. Great time saver!

You will need to invest in an assortment of freezer containers suitable for large meal sizes or for dividing into smaller portion sizes. Be sure to date all containers because you run the risk of freezer burn if it is left in the freezer for too long. Although most frozen foods can last several months in the freezer, I don't like to leave meals in the freezer for any longer than one to two months. Just pick up a quantity of stickers and a black marker at the local dollar store. Easy!

You will find that most foods are great for freezing. It's a fantastic time saver to be able to take some homemade foods straight out of your freezer and prepare them in half the time. There is an infinite number of recipes for cooking meals for the freezer. Cooking in bulk and loading up your freezer not only saves time during the week, it also saves you money.