10 FOODS YOU CAN FREEZE THAT SAVE YOU MONEY
Growing up I remember always have a freezer full of food at home. My parents would make larger portions of different meals and freeze one so that it was already made and ready to go for an easier weekday dinner. Creating a freezer storage has helped us stay on budget. I make double up on a meal sometimes to save time later on and am able to buy items when on sale to stock up.I have always been asked how I keep on track with my $40 a week budget and when you have a well-stocked pantry and freezer it makes it easier to keep on track with the budget. I usually do not have to buy something because I need it accept for some fresh produce and maybe milk. I have heard you can freeze milk but here in Canada milk really doesn't go on sale and I have never had any luck freezing milk at all.
Here are some of the foods that I have had luck saving:
Lunch Meat - I find lunch meat on sale quite often so I pick it up and only keep one in the fridge at a time and put the rest in the freezer until I need to pull it out.
Bread - The price of bread is getting crazy. I really need to start making my own but for some reason, I find it a scary venture. When I find bread on sale I pick up a few loaves that will fit in my freezer and only keep one out at a time.
Vegetables - Depending on which vegetables we are able to pick up on sale we usually dice them up if they are peppers, onions, and celery before putting the in the freezer. In February, we were able to pick up Cauliflower on sale and we blanched them before tossing them in the freezer. It really doesn't take that long to blanch them before freezing them.
Broth - When cooking a chicken or turkey I always take all the bones and make a broth out of it. I put it in freezer bags and date it. The broth is good for about 6 months.
Baked Goods & Cookies - I like to bake up muffins, cookies and brownies to have for snacks for a couple weeks at a time. This is where my freezer comes in handy for freezing them so we can keep better portion control of them.
Casseroles - Last week we had Lazy Cabbage Rolls and we prepared two casseroles at once putting one in the freezer to feed us another day. We also have Cabbage Rolls and a Lasagne in our freezer currently.
Waffles - My daughter really enjoys waffles so on a morning when I am making them for breakfast already I use up all the mix I have made and go a head and make the extra waffles and freeze them.
Soup & Chili - If the soup and chili will not get eaten during the week for lunches I put them in freezer containers and freeze them for other meals. Even if it is not enough chili for a full meal because chili is something you can use to make chili fries, chili baked potatoes or chili nachos.
Fruits - Don't let your fruit spoil on the counter. Freeze is up for smoothies or baked recipes later when you have time.
Bagels - When bagels come on sale I stop up on them but I find I don't like to have them every day. Freezing them allows me to take one out at a time for breakfast and not having to worry about getting them done before the best before date.
Let's Chat!
I spend a little time planning so that I can save down the road. How do you use your freezer to help save you money?
