Getting dinner on the table in a timely manner can be difficult for the modern adult, as can eating all pf the healthy produce you buy before it goes bad. A study from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases found that nearly 40 percent of Americans’ food goes to waste, wasting our time and money, as well as affecting the environment. Instead of throwing healthy leftovers or rotten produce away, freeze it for future use.
FOODS THAT FREEZE WELL
One of the best ways to preserve the summer’s bounty of fruits and vegetables is to freeze it. Fruit is best frozen in 2-cup bags, according to magazine "Cooks Illustrated," and should be washed and dried before freezing. To reduce the formation of ice crystals, which can damage the produce, freeze fruit with a light layer of sugar syrup. To freeze vegetables, blanch them before freezing, which preserves the taste, color and texture. Lean, uncooked meat, poultry and fish is better to freeze raw because it has more moisture. Whole-grain breads can be frozen and then thawed or toasted, as can fiber-rich beans, brown rice and whole-wheat pasta.
FOODS NOT TO FREEZE
Some healthy foods don’t freeze and thaw well, as its texture or flavor will change when exposed to extremely cold temperatures. This includes salad greens, which will lose their crispness, and eggs, which will crack if frozen in the shell and become tough or rubbery if frozen after they are cooked. Cream or cottage cheese will both change texture and become grainy if frozen, while potatoes frozen raw will be mushy once thawed and tough if frozen after cooking.
FREEZER BURN AND SAFETY
The work to freeze foods is all for naught if it’s unsafe, spoiled or destroy the taste. Foods stored frozen at zero degrees Fahrenheit will always be safe, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as it halts any microbes present in the food. Some foods might display freezer burn, which appears as a gray-brown color and caused by air reacting with the food. This does not make the food unsafe but decreases the quality of the food. To prevent freezer burn, wrap food carefully and thoroughly in products that are meant to keep air out when frozen.
FREEZING MEALS
To save time, you can make double or triple batches of your favorite healthy meals and freeze them for future use. Ensure that all of the ingredients in the meal freeze well before you cook extra. Meals that freeze well include soups and stews and casseroles such as lasagna. When preparing the meals initially, undercook it slightly to compensate for the extra cooking time the healthy meal will undergo when being reheated. You can also divide the full meals into individual portions before freezing for easy future lunches.
THAWING AND COOKING
If you thaw your healthy frozen foods incorrectly, it can lead to spoiling or bad-tasting food. Don’t thaw foods on the kitchen counter or outdoors, which can cause them to become unsafe. Instead, thaw them in the refrigerator, in cold water or in the microwave; the safest method is slowly defrosting the food in the refrigerator.