Our freezer is always packed with different foods! In this second post of a three-part series, I’m providing a list of what items we typically have in the freezer and how we use them in the kitchen.
It’s been a while since I shared the post with Items I Always Have in my Refrigerator, and I’m definitely ready to move on to the freezer, because I’m a HUGE fan of it. Freezers make it easy to stock up on items without them going bad as quickly. I often stick products into the freezer when I know I’m not going to eat them in time, and the freezer also comes in handy during the summer when we have an overabundance of veggies from our garden.
We have a large upright freezer on our inside porch that is mostly full of meat (lots of beef from Zack’s family’s cows) and garden veggies. Most of the stuff we use everyday is in the smaller freezer on top of our refrigerator inside.
If you’re looking for some ideas for healthy items to stock up on or if you’re just curious about what I have in my freezer, keep on reading!
Vegetables
We have all kinds of vegetables in both freezers. There are gallon sized bags full of shredded zucchini, chopped tomatoes, and cut green beans from our garden (which we should probably start eating quickly–some of them are from two summers ago). I also occasionally pick up a bag of steamable veggies from Aldi for a quick side dish with dinner, even though roasting fresh veggies is my favorite way to make them. I keep vegetables that are good to add to meals in the freezer, too, like corn, peas, and kale.
Instead of throwing out vegetables that are about to go bad, I suggest tossing them in the freezer. Always make sure to research how they should be frozen (many types need to be blanched first) and put them in freezer bags to avoid freezer burn.
Vegetable Scraps
I try to use up as much of a vegetable as possible, then compost the rest. When I’m cutting certain veggies, I’ll save most of the inedible stuff and stick it in a bag in the freezer. Onion and garlic skins, carrot peels, kale stems, and celery pieces are great for homemade veggie stock (I follow this recipe and often add other items, like herbs, mushrooms, coconut aminos, and ginger). Pieces of broccoli and cauliflower stems are also great to freeze and add to smoothies! They make a nice texture and provide some added nutrients.
Vegetable Broth
After I make the veggie broth, I typically let it cool, then put it in jars and stick it in the freezer. When I need broth for a meal, I set the jar out on the counter or defrost it in the microwave. There’s nothing quite like homemade broth!
Fruit
There are always two to three bags of fruit in the freezer–usually blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and mango or another kind of tropical fruit. I’ll add it to smoothies or use it to flavor my kombucha. I’m a huge fan of fresh fruit, but it’s handy to have some frozen available.
Ginger
Ginger is one of those items that I love to have fresh to add to meals, but it typically goes bad before I use it all. I was excited to hear about storing ginger in the freezer and now I always have some in there. It gets pretty hard, but with a sharp knife I can break off a piece to flavor my kombucha or chop up and add to a meal. I’ve been drinking tea a lot and I plan to start adding ginger to it, too.
Bread
Ahh, bread. Isn’t it just so delicious and satisfying? Sourdough is my absolute favorite and I’ve recently starting baking my own (I follow these instructions. It’s a long process, but definitely worth it).
We don’t eat bread very quickly–I’ll maybe have a piece or two every other day–so I either keep it in the fridge or freezer. Also, when we visit my sister in Harrisburg, there’s a booth at the market with really good bread, so I’ll sometimes get a few loaves and store them in the freezer.
Meat
As I mentioned earlier, we have a ton of beef in our large freezer because Zack’s family owns cows. We honestly don’t eat very much of it. I’ll occasionally make a roast or beef vegetable soup, but we’re not huge beef eaters. Other meats we usually have in the freezer include seafood (fish and shrimp mostly), chicken, turkey, venison (Zack got a deer this year), and sometimes pork. There are some turkey burgers from Aldi I really like that we keep in the freezer, too, because they are easy to cook last minute.
Veggie Burgers
I’ve actually been eating A LOT less meat in general. I’m not going full-on vegetarian or anything, but I’ve been experimenting with more plant based meals for health, environmental, and humane reasons. Aldi also has some kale veggie burgers that are awesome. I typically microwave them, which makes them pretty mushy, but I’ll add them to a salad or eat them with a fork.
P.S. If you’d like to learn more about plant based eating, I’ve been listening to the Party in My Plants podcast a lot, and I also recently watched Food Choices. I highly recommend both.
Like in my fridge post, there are a couple items that aren’t always in my freezer, but occasionally you’ll find them in there, including:
Smoothie Packs
Sometimes I’ll make up baggies with fruit, veggies, and seeds for smoothies. I can just throw it all in the blender quickly without having to get a million things out of the freezer. I don’t do this all the time because I only eat smoothies every so often, but it does come in handy in the mornings when I’m rushing out the door to work.
Dessert
Dole sells dark chocolate banana dippers that are a perfect little after-dinner sweet treat. It’s just bananas covered in chocolate, but something about them is super satisfying. I know I could make my own, but I always make a huge mess when melting chocolate for anything. Besides those, I sometimes will buy a pint of Halo Top or Arctic Zero ice cream.
My freezer might not be the most organized or fanciest, but it sure comes in handy. It’s almost too full with all the things listed above. If you’re looking for a way to stock up on different items for meals, without them going bad quickly, I suggest finding ways to use your freezer, too.
Your turn: What items do you always have in your freezer?
You can check out items I always have in my fridge here and items I always have in my cupboards here.
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