Freezing food is the best way to stretch your food budget!
By purchasing food in large quantities, you can always have a range of meats, vegetables, and dairy on hand.
For serious food-peppers and meal planners, you might want to consider a separate stand-alone freezer. Do the math and determine if the cost of an extra freezer will help reduce your food costs in the long run.
When you have decided how much you can freeze, here are some more tips to help.
scroll down to get your FREE Freezer Inventory Printable!!
BUDGET FRIENDLY FREEZER FOOD TIPS
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HOW AND WHAT TO FREEZE
Let’s start with those items that are freezer-friendly so that you know what to start buying in bulk.
There are the obvious choices like most types of meat, poultry, and seafood. You probably already freeze portions of ground beef, steak, fish, shrimp, chicken, and pork before you use it.
While you want to look up the exact storage times for each type of meat or seafood, it will last an average of 4-12 months if sealed properly.
You can also freeze just about any type of vegetable or fruit, though fruits with thick skin like citrus and bananas should be peeled first.
These work great if you use produce for smoothies, as you can put them right in your blender from their frozen state.
NOW FOR A FEW SURPRISES!
Did you know you can freeze cheese? You do need to shred it first, but it allows you to buy bigger packages of cheese and freeze it so it never goes to waste.
You can save quite a bit of money by doing it this way. You can also freeze sticks of butter if you wrap it in cling film or foil, then put it in a freezer bag.
PREPARING FOODS TO FREEZE
It is really important that you understand the proper way to freeze different types of foods.
For example, if you want to freeze cheese, it should be shredded first. Avocados and bananas need to be peeled before being frozen.
For meat and poultry, decide beforehand if you want to divide them up or not. This is necessary if you will only need some of the meat to be defrosted, and not all at once. Otherwise, keeping them together is fine.
Make sure you label everything!
No matter how much you think you will use it, you never know. To avoid freezer burn and using up food that should have been thrown away earlier, write down what it is, the date you put it in, and when it expires.
FREEZER-FRIENDLY COOKED FOOD
Another option for freezing food you buy in bulk is to cook some of it before freezing.
Most types of meat, fish, and poultry can be frozen in their cooked form, just make sure you let it cool down before putting it into freezer bags or storage containers.
Don’t forget to label it so you know what it is and when it expires. Also, include any thawing or reheating instructions.
Get your FREE Freezer Inventory Printable by clicking HERE.
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