Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Saving Money: Freezing Fresh Veggies

As I have said before, I am by no stretch of the imagination a domestic diva. I worked full time as a nurse for many years before being blessed with another baby (a 15 year gap)! That is why now that I am a SAHM I love to save money through all the new methods I am learning, and share them with anyone who happens to stumble upon my site. Here is my newest tip to save some cash: freeze fresh veggies yourself!

Broccoli was on sale for 99¢ at my local grocer yesterday. Since that is a decent price for this time of year and because I use it for a lot meals I bought extra. It was incredibly simple to prepare and freeze, not to mention a great money saver too.

Here are the easy steps:



1. Chop it.




2. Steam it for 2-3 minutes, or until you can pierce it with a fork then drain and rinse with cold water.




3. Blanch it by shocking it in a bath of ice water.



4. Remove excess water and place in a ziploc or food saver bag, then toss into the freezer. 

5. When you are ready to use, just put it directly into the dish you are preparing.  You can also resteam it and serve.

I can find frozen veggies on sale for around $1 for 10 oz from time to time. But I figured by buying 5 pounds for $5, I saved at least $3. Imagine how much I will save by doing this when it goes on sale for 69¢ over the summer!

I've read that broccoli will stay good for around 9 months in the freezer prepared this way.

There are lots of other veggies you can do this with too and save money, including asparagus, carrots, cauliflower,celery, peas, sweet corn and more.  I found a great guide here.

5 comments:

The Keevy Family said...

Thanks for this great tip! I didn't realize I'd need to put the ice on it to cool it off, but that makes sense. I'll have to try this! I've frozen peppers (like bell peppers) before. I chop them up and seed them. I like to put them in baggies that are enough to use for one dish of eggs.
Jane
Alltogetherbeautiful.blogspot.com

Kim said...

Thanks for commenting Jane! Sometimes I don't know if these tips are as useful to others as they have been to me :)

Jen said...

Great tip, Kim! I've always wondered how you freeze veggies - I'm definitely not a cook, so don't know all these little tips!

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet said...

Great idea! I'm going to have to try this. :D

'Becca said...

I love freezing veggies when they are fresh and local and cheap in summer, then eating them well into the winter! One of my favorites to freeze is kale because you don't have to cook it before freezing and there are so many ways to use it--click my name for about 14 ideas--and it's very nutritious, too!

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