While making a week's worth of high-protein mason jar salads or a DIY salad bar is great to meal prep to keep in your fridge, don't forget to utilize your freezer! It's one of the best healthy eating and weight-loss tools you have. Here are some things you can prep ahead of time to freeze for quick and healthy food later.
With this meal-prep freezer hack, you could be dipping bread into a hot bowl of soup in less than 30 minutes! Since finding a recipe and cutting up all those veggies are what take the most time, make these soup freezer packs. Keep a few in the freezer to grab for an easy, comforting dinner any day of the week.
If you're a fan of steel-cut oatmeal for keeping you full all morning long, this freezer hack is a huge timesaver. Just make a big batch on the stove or in the slow cooker and freeze smaller portions using a muffin tin. Pop the little oatmeal pucks into a freezer bag and a week of healthy, fibre-full breakfasts is ready.
Tired of tossing rotten greens week after week? This ice cube hack is a must. Pick up some BPA-free ice cube trays or baby food trays and buy a variety of greens. You can purée them separately in a food processor or blender or purée them together, adding a little water to yield a smooth consistency. Pour the purée into the little wells, attach the lids, and freeze them.
When you're ready to make your smoothie, just grab a few and throw them in your blender — it's a great timesaver. Or try adding a cube to overnight oats. You can also freeze kale, spinach, and other greens as is in baggies to use for smoothies or soups — just be sure to wash and reuse the bags.
Don't stop at oatmeal! You can cook up other grains, such as quinoa, rice, millet, and barley, and freeze those too. You can even combine two or more grains; it's a great, quick way to get some protein and fibre into your meal without having to spend 20 minutes cooking them up each time.
Cut up a variety of veggies like sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, and squash for roasting or sautéing, or cut up celery, onion, garlic, and ginger to have on hand for soups.
For a quick, healthy snack, premake a batch of protein balls to keep in your freezer. Try these delicious recipes:
If you love to bake but know you just can't stop at one cookie, whip up your cookie dough and freeze the batter into ice cube trays. That way you can pop out one or two, bake those in your toaster oven, and indulge a little without the temptation to keep reaching for more.
If you know you have a sweet tooth, indulging it can satisfy cravings and prevent you from binging on an entire pint of ice cream later. Make a batch of a healthy dessert like these no-bake vegan brownies, creamy cookie dough freezer fudge, or vegan dark chocolate salted caramels so you can grab one and be done.
The hurdle of having to prepare your protein- and fibre-packed smoothie can make you want to skip it for a scone. So prep all the fruits and greens you use in your smoothies and freeze individual DIY smoothie packs — better yet, make a week's worth! It not only makes a fast breakfast even faster, but it also ensures you stick to a portion-perfect calorie amount.
Not just for baby food, you can freeze puréed veggies like green beans, butternut squash, and carrots and add them to soups, smoothies, and sauces to increase the fibre and other nutrients.
Make a huge batch of dry beans in your slow cooker and then freeze them in half-cup servings. You can quickly microwave them to add to salads or cooked grains, or use a few bags for soup, casseroles, or burrito filling. Making your own beans not only saves money and tastes better, but it also cuts down on the gas!
If you're into protein in the morning to sustain your energy and always seem to be running out of eggs, this freezer hack is for you. Just scramble a dozen eggs, freeze them in muffin cups, and they'll stay good up to six months. This is the perfect hack if you own chickens and have a ton of eggs or if you have a generous neighbour who gives them to you for free!
Save money by making your own stock or bone broth. Store it in mason jars in the freezer so you'll always have it on hand when you need it for soups or cooking grains.
Purée a can of beans, freeze the purée, and use these magical frozen bean cubes in anything you can think of. Add one to your bowl of oatmeal, throw a few in the blender when whipping up your kale smoothie, or mix them into pasta sauce, soups, or cooked whole grains. Each cube offers protein and fibre to keep you feeling full and energized longer and won't affect the taste of the dish.
Freeze shredded courgette in one-cup servings to be used later for healthy chocolate cranberry courgette bread or a bowl of lower-calorie zoats (courgette + oatmeal).
Flavouring your dishes with herbs is a healthy way to add flavour without a ton of calories. Growing your own or buying big bunches of herbs can save money, but not if you only use a small amount and end up throwing out the rest because they go bad before you have a chance to use them. Freeze leftovers in ice cube trays and add water or veggie broth. This also works well for greens you can add to smoothies, soups, and sauces.
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