The Ultimate Guide of Foods You Can Freeze

Coupons, Save Money, Frugal Living, How To Coupon, Ways to Coupon, Freeze Food, DIY Food

Freezing foods is one of the fastest ways to grow your stockpile and lowering your out of pocket grocery costs. I am not talking about frozen pizzas, fries or ice cream (yes, those are great too), but I am focusing on the main foods.

Think of items like:

  • Cheese
  • Butter
  • Vegetables
  • Fruits
  • and more.

These are items that are bought frequently (if not weekly) and can really add to your grocery budget if not planned accordingly.

One of the key ways that I have been able to reduce my weekly budget is to stock up on essential items like meat & cheeses at low prices and freeze until they are needed. It does require some planning as you will have to wait for the specific food to thaw but it will save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.

 Fruit:

The thing to remember about frozen fruit is they are great in smoothies or for baking, but not so great if you are looking for “fresh” fruit by itself. If you do a lot of baking or smoothie making then this is a great option for you.

The key is to freeze them on a baking sheet or pan before transferring over to an airtight bag. This keeps the berries from sticking to each other.

Berries – Berries are great in breads, pies and smoothies.

Bananas – I love to dip bananas in peanut butter or dark chocolate and freeze for an afternoon snack.  You do not know what you are missing if you have never tried these before!

Grapes – Grapes are another easy and healthy snack when frozen.

Vegetables:

Almost all vegetables can be frozen. Most vegetables will lose their consistency and crispness once frozen, but frozen vegetables are great when adding to soups & broths, crockpot recipes and casseroles.

Celery

Zucchini & squash

Peppers

Carrots

Corn

Mushrooms

Spinach

Tomatoes

Dairy:

Butter– Butter is one of those items that I typically can get for free. When I run across a sale for butter I stock up because I know I can store in the freezer for later.

Milk– Many people do not know that you can freeze milk. This only applies to regular diary milk and not diary-free options.

Cheese– Hard cheeses (cheddar, swiss, etc…) can be frozen and maintain the same texture once thawed. This applies to block cheese and shredded cheese.  I would avoid freezing soft cheese such as cream cheese or cottage cheese since they do not maintain their fluffy texture once frozen.

Condiments & Spices:

Jams & Jellies– Jams and jellies can be stored in the freezer as an alternative to canning.

Herbs– Freezing is a great alternative to drying herbs!

Pasta sauce– Pasta Sauce will normally have a long shelf life, but you can also preserve by freezing. I would suggest that if your sauce is in a glass container that you only freeze in a plastic bag or container.

Baked goods:

Muffins– Have leftover muffins? Store them in a freezer bag and eat later! Often, I will bake a larger batch and freeze to have a quick and easy breakfast later.

Breads– Baked breads & sandwich breads can all be frozen to use later.

Cakes– I am sure you have heard that it is a tradition to freeze your wedding cake to eat on your anniversary? Cake holds its texture and consistency very well in the freezer.

Pies– Have leftover pie from Thanksgiving or another holiday? Freeze it!

Rolls & biscuits– Rolls and biscuits can be frozen and popped in the microwave for easy prep.

Other foods:

Casseroles– Casseroles are great for freezing. You can make casseroles to freeze and use later or freeze any leftover casseroles. These are quick and easy dinners that you can pop in the oven when you need a quick dinner.

Soups/broths– Any time I make soups and broths, I always make a large batch and freeze the remaining to eat later. I love rainy days when I can grab some soup or chili from the freeze and thaw on the stove without having to do any cooking 😉

Nuts– Nuts normally have a long shelf life, but you can freeze nuts to keep them from going rancid.

Beans– Cooked beans are great to freeze and use later as a side or main dish.

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Easter clearance

The week after Easter is the best time to stock up on Easter supplies for next year. For the past few years, since I discovered holiday clearance, I have been able to get baskets, toys, home decor and more at 90 percent off! Every store from Target, Walmart and major drug stores will be trying to get these items marked down and out of the store as quickly as possible to make room for Summer items.

To be honest, after most holidays, I will stalk stores a few days after the holiday to make sure I get items the day they are marked down. Typically once items hit 70-90% off the items will sell quickly and will be completely gone after 1-2 days at 90%.

Check out some of the items that I was able to get today during my Target trip.

Each basket was priced at $1.99.
$1.00-$1.20 each.
.15 cents each.
.30 cents each.
.10 cents – .70 cents.

 

My daughter nabbed a few items before I was able to take pictures, but I spent a total of $30.00 (including tax) for all the items pictured.

Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for Easter clearance the next time you are out and about.

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Shop With Me: Super Doubles

Harris Teeter is currently having a Super Double coupon event.  It started Sunday, 04/02 and runs until today (Tuesday, 04/04). I wanted to share with you my 3 trips that I have made during this Super Double event.  I combined all items into one picture and calculated my total savings for all combined trips.

(5) Frosted Mini Wheats cereal: $1/2 or .50/1 + Buy 5 Kelloggs & save $5.00 = .99 cents each

(5) Special K cereal: $1/2 or .50/1 + Buy 5 Kelloggs & save $5.00 = .99 cents each

(3) Angel soft: $1/1= $2.97 each

(2) Clorox bleach: $1.50/2= $1.15 each

(8) Scrubbing Bubbles: $2/2 + $3 catalina for purchasing $4= .25 cents each

(9) Dial body wash: $1/2= $1.00 each

(6) Dole Fruitocracy: $1/1= FREE

(3) Mariana banana chips: $1/1= FREE

(2) Orange Juice: $1/1= $1.00 each

(2) Luvs diapers: $2/1= $2.99 each

(4) Hefty cups: $1/2= .50 cents each

(2) Tide Rescue: $1.50/1= $1.59 each

(8) Suave shampoo/conditioner: $2/2= FREE

(2) Coconut water: $1/1= FREE

(1) Seattle’s Best K-cups: $1.05/1= $2.89

(2) Galbani string cheese: $1/1= .39 cents each

(4) Deans dips: $1/2= FREE

(2)Barilla Pasta: $1.75/1= FREE

(9) Quaker breakfast flats: $1/1 + Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale= FREE + overage

(2) Chicken breasts packages (marked down)= $2.48-$2.61 each

Before coupons & sales= $305

Total spent= $53

Total saved= 81%

I would love to see your trips in the comment section!

 

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