I consider freezer-stocking to be an important survival skill. The freezer can be a fantastic source of healthy midweek dinners and if you have a well-stocked one, you can eat well no matter how busy things get. It’s a great feeling to come home after a busy day to find a delicious dinner defrosted in the fridge and ready to be transformed into a hot meal in minutes. If you don’t have a freezer, consider investing in one – even a small one. If you do have a freezer, make the most of it. Here are my tips for becoming firm friends with your freezer.
As soon as your big batch of freshly cooked dinner has cooled, pop the leftovers into a freezer-safe container. Make sure that you have labels so that you can write the name of the dish and the date it was cooked. There are few things more frustrating than a freezer full of mystery foods.
It’s great to start the working day by going to your freezer and choosing a delicious dish to defrost for dinner. The only challenge is remembering to defrost it in the first place. So set a reminder on your phone or write a sticky note for yourself: do whatever you need to do to get that dinner defrosting on time!
Remember food safety tips when using your freezer. Don’t leave food in your freezer for too long: I try to use up everything within 3 months. Defrost food in the fridge (not on the counter). Never re-freeze defrosted food. And if you have a power cut, keep that freezer door closed! The food should hold for a day or so.
Once you start using your freezer regularly, you’ll come to really rely on it: so you’ll need to keep it clutter-free. Organize your freezer into sections, such as meat, fish, vegetables, fruit and complete meals. Then you’ll always be ready to grab something and go!
Some people assume that frozen vegetables are inferior to fresh vegetables, but it’s just not true. Vegetables that are frozen from fresh retain a huge amount of their nutritional value. And having a freezer full of prepped vegetables is a major step towards having a healthier lifestyle. There’s no compromise on taste either: frozen vegetables are full of flavour and can brighten up any dinnertime.
Most fruits do really well in the freezer, especially if you want to use them in smoothies. If you’re feeling super-organized, you can chop up the fruit for a particular smoothie, put it in a ziplock bag, write the name of the smoothie on the bag and throw it in the freezer. You’ll have cool, fresh smoothies on tap.
Fresh ginger never has to go to waste. Buy it in bulk, peel it and grate it. Then, taking one teaspoon at a time, scoop the grated ginger onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze until solid. Stack the frozen ginger pieces in an airtight container and store in the freezer. You will have ginger bombs ready to throw straight from the freezer into your cooking pot!
You never want to be without garlic. Fortunately, it freezes really well. Crush or finely chop several bulbs of garlic. Then tip the whole lot into a ziplock bag. You’ll have a big ball of garlic in your freezer, ready for you to break off pieces as you need them.
Chillies can bring something special to a meal, so it’s a good idea to have chopped chillies ready to go. Deseed and finely chop several chillies. Spoon the chopped chillies into an ice-cube tray, leaving enough room to top each cube with water. Freeze until solid. Whenever your recipe calls for chopped chilli, just drop a frozen chilli cube straight into the cooking pot. This trick also works with fresh herbs.
If you’re going to make stock (see here), make the biggest batch your kitchen can handle: you’ll always find use for good stock! Freeze the stock in smaller portions so that you can use what you need when you need it.
Bread freezes really well. If you bake Almond, Pine Nut & Hazelnut Bread (see here), slice the loaf and freeze the slices. You can take a slice straight from the freezer and pop it in the toaster. Delicious, healthy toast in minutes! Keep a packet of wholemeal pittas in the freezer too.
We all have busy lives, so it’s unlikely we can go to the butcher every time we want to buy fresh meat for a recipe. This is where the freezer comes into its own. Fill your freezer with a variety of cuts of meat: you won’t be stuck for ideas at dinnertime.
Fresh fish is delicious: enjoy it whenever you get the chance. But remember that fish freezes really well too. Keep your freezer stocked with fish. I always have plenty of oily fish in my freezer: it’s like omega-3 goodness on ice.
So many Fit Foodie recipes are dinners that freeze well. Look for this symbol throughout the book: 
Make sure that you have a selection of these meals in your freezer so that you’re ready for those days when only a ‘ready meal’ will do!