Pasta and rice
Cook, allow to cool, divide into serving sizes and freeze in plastic zip lock bags. In the morning, take out what you need for dinner that night and thaw in the fridge – that’s dinner half done already!
Did you know?
When cooked pasta is reheated, your body digests it differently and can reduce the rise in blood glucose levels by a whopping 50% (compared to pasta which is cooked and eaten straight away). Your body also absorbs fewer calories too. Bonus!
Frozen veggies
Keep a stock of frozen veggies – they are great for throwing into soups, casseroles, stir-fries, and curries. They are frozen as soon as they have been picked, so they often have more nutrients than ‘fresh’ veggies which have been hanging around on supermarket shelves for a while.
Chopping onions can be a bit of a chore, so prepare them in bulk. Slice or dice onions and fry them in a little oil until they’re golden brown. When cool, freeze them in portion sizes and pull them out whenever you need them for a recipe. And because they are cooked, the oniony smell won’t take over your freezer. This will save so much time mid-week – you can also do this with mushrooms.
Sauces
Make a batch of ‘base’ tomato sauce (there are sooooo many recipes available online). When defrosted, add extras such as bacon, mushrooms, or chicken - this way, you don’t feel like you’re eating the same meal over and over again. Pesto sauces to mix with pasta are also great for freezing as are creamy sauces (but don’t use reduced fat dairy as it can curdle when defrosted and reheated). 5 things that don't belong in your freezer
Sandwiches for lunch
To save time making lunches the night before – do a week’s worth at the weekend and freeze them instead. In the morning, take it out and it will be nicely defrosted by lunchtime! Sandwich fillings that freeze well include cheese and cooked meats. Obviously don’t freeze them with salad (no one wants limp lettuce for lunch) – but you could prep that in a separate container and add it when you eat it later.
Soups
Soups are great for freezing and are delicious with warm, crusty bread.
Here are three easy recipes to get you started:
Simple and Delicious Chorizo Minestrone
Thai-style Sweet Potato and Leek Soup
Casseroles and curries
Often, these taste better once they are reheated. Freeze in different quantities such as individual portions and some big enough for the family – just in case there are lots of people for dinner or just you.
Totally Delicious Flemish Beef Stew
Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Dahl
Meat/fish
Prepare your meat and fish before you freeze it – you can chop it up, make burgers, marinate it in a sauce or herbs and spices, add breadcrumbs, or stuff it! The choice is yours and you have saved prep steps when you pull it out of the freezer.
Brilliant Burgers with Onion Jam
Herbs
Chop and freeze in an ice cube tray with a little water and add them to your prepared sauces and soups for a burst of fresh flavour.
Or you could grow your own handy herbs for cooking!
Bits ‘n’ pieces
- Freeze chillies and odds and ends of ginger or garlic and they can be grated while frozen into your cooking (remember those sauces you premade?)
- Label everything with the contents and the date it was frozen – this way you won’t end up with a mystery meal for dinner!
- Remember remove your meal from the freezer 24 hours before you plan to eat and leave in the fridge to defrost - this makes life easier when reheating and you won’t have frozen bits in the middle while the outside is cooked.
Cookies/biscuits/muffins
Make your cookie mix as usual then form into the shape of a log. Wrap in cling film and when you want to make a batch of cookies, just slice the log (you can do this while it is frozen) to make a few and then pop it back into the freezer. Try our Pistachio & Cranberry Shortbread
Bake up a batch of muffins and pop them in a container in the freezer – but get them in there fast before they all get eaten and you’re back to square one!
Try our Rhubarb and Vanilla Muffins
Fruit
You can buy frozen fruit to put on cereals or make smoothie packs (everything you need for your smoothie in a zip lock bag) to blend up in a morning – this is also good for fruit that is a little overripe such as bananas.
How to reduce fruit and veggie waste.
More ways to save time when cooking:
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