Friday, August 20, 2010

Freezer Meals

Recently, I was asked about some good recipes to make ahead and freeze - to make dinner time easier. I think just about anything you make can be frozen and heated up or thawed later. The Eat Clean Diet recipes usually make a ton and I have to freeze half because it usually makes way too much for the 3 of us. Especially if its one of Tosca's soups.

I actually freeze alot of my leftovers, so we aren't eating it for 2 weeks straight! You can freeze just about anything, including cheese. I have a friend who buys me a block of this really good sharp white cheddar every time he travels near this cheese factory. We don't eat very much cheese, so I freeze it. Then, when I know I'm gonna need it, I pull it out of the freezer, cut off what I need and throw it back in the freezer.

If I have too much of a homemade salad dressing or fixins to a big salad (like beans, beats, hard boiled egg, little corns, water chestnuts, etc.) I freeze them and when I need them again, I just let them thaw either on the counter or in the fridge. I'm not sure there is anything that you can't freeze. I make extra oatmeal, quinoa, protein bars, cookies, etc., etc. and I freeze them all.

The cookies and protein bars are actually really yummy to eat frozen in the summertime! A cool treat!

One more thought: Just today, I had two bananas left over from last week, so
when I got home from the store, I put the fresh bunch
in the hammock and I peeled the other two and put them in my freezer. I will use them in my protein shake or oatmeal next week. If you have any fruit that is on the "ultra" ripe side, cut it in half (& pit it or peel it, if necessary) and pop it in the freezer. No more wasted fruit! You can toss it into a shake or smoothie for extra flavor & coldness without the ice!

The key to freezing your meals/leftovers is to actually use it later; which I'm pretty good at doing; however, I am really bad at labeling the containers, so I have to remember what stuff is and sometimes we have a little surprise when it thaws cuz it wasn't what I thought it was!

Keep checking my Recipes page for more ideas. There is a sensational Chicken Parmigian recipe by Guy Fieri that is not "clean", but man, is it good for a splurge. I'll try to get some stuff like that added to my page in the next couple of days.

In the meantime, just take your favorite recipes and double it - freeze half - and enjoy it later.

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