I used to be throwing out rotten stuff after overspending on groceries for my small household and not utilizing what I'd purchased in time but then I realized I have a freezer. And its much more versatile than people realize.
Made too much bread? Freeze it.
Bought too much milk? Freeze it.
Leftover soups, stews, rice dishes, casseroles? Portion and freeze it.
That fresh fruit and veggies thats about to go bad in the bottom of your fridge? Guess what? You can chop it up and freeze it, then use it for a smoothie or throw it in a stir fry.
If it's eaten within a few weeks it's perfectly fine and if you live alone or in a small household getting into the habit of freezing leftovers is a great way to save money and cut back on grocery costs.
Just wanted to share in case anyone didn't know, a lot of perishables are freezer safe for at least a few weeks even if rudimentarily packaged.
One thing that really helped me extend my groceries was realizing that almost anything can be frozen.
byu/Kiriyuma7801 inFrugal
Posted by Kiriyuma7801
11 Comments
Milk?! It isn’t weird when you thaw it back out? Literally never tried milk. But freezing bread is my superpower (looking at you, delicious costco bagel 2-pack that goes moldy in 3 days).
If there’s a big sale on any type of meat, I’ll marinate or dry rub and freeze it. Any raw meat comes back to life really well
Peel.bananas before you freeze them.
True! We do the freezing method, then we set reminders in our calendars and plan meals. It works for us 🍞🥖🥯🧇🍗🥩🥓🍕🍽 Fruit and veg? We won’t don’t over-buy. Two pears, two apples. Two, three tomatoes. One head of romaine. One cuke. Just minimal for the fresh.
If you find this system works for you, a vacuum sealer will extend the life/quality of your frozen food quite a bit. Well worth the cost if you freeze things regularly.
My life was changed when I learned how well bread keeps in the freezer.
In your freezing adventures What would you not recommend to freeze? My leeks, for instance, are ruined
Jane Brody’s Good Food Book has an excellent chapter on freezing food. One of the more interesting things I learned was that pickles could be frozen. Back in the day, one time the 99 Cents Only Store (RIP) had food service sized jars of pickled banana peppers for .99. I didn’t really have enough room for the whole thing in my fridge, but I had a separate freezer. I divvied them up and had pickled peppers on my sandwiches for more than a year.
Lemons, avocados*, bell peppers, most produce…
*The texture will be weird but they’re fine cooked after being frozen.
This is the way. A nice trick I picked up here was to freeze ginger, since I use it in moderation, I can take it out, grate it directly in the dish (it grates so well when frozen) and keep it for a long long time without spoiling.
Also, nuts! We eat a lot of them but buying very big bags, they can get rancind overtime. Keep them in the freezer! Since they do not contain water they can also be eaten right away from the freezer, they will not break your teeth I promise.
Cheese also can be vac sealed and frozen for portioning and long lasting.
Bread is stil the best item to store in my opinion, slice it fresh, freeze it and take out only the slices you need every single time. A toaster or airfrier will quickly take care of the reheat.
Yeah, learning to properly use my freezers saved me a ton of money! I hate cooking a meal and eating it for 5 straight days, so when I first moved out I lived on frozen dinners so I could have something different to eat every day. Now, instead of making a meal that makes 5 portions, I make *6* meals that make 5 portions each and boom, I have 30 days worth of dinners to eat and something different to eat almost every day of the week! My cooking sprees are absolute torture, I really loathe cooking, but once they’re done they’re done, and the rest of the month I just have to reheat my food and I’m good to go.