Freezing food: 5 things you’re scared of & why you shouldn’t be

Everyday, whether in person or via Facebook Messenger or Instagram DMs, I get a message from a concerned mama about how she’d love to start freezing a few meals but is worried about a number of things.

This is besides the large number of ladies who have tried freezing, not quite rocked it, and thought freezing was a half baked attempt at time management in the food department.

I’ve made my fair share of freezing mistakes and doubted whether freezing was really all it is made up out be, so I get it.

The freedom that freezing meals promised however was more than enticing, so I ploughed on, trying this, that and the other, until I finally taught myself the ins and the outs of freezing, and what to do, what not to…and here I am sharing this wisdom with you.

The truth is, if you do not freeze your food properly, you can very easily come across a number of less than desirable situations.

So if you’re dying to start freezing but anxious about what can go wrong, or you’ve given freezing food a shot only to end up disappointed, this blog post is for you.

Here are the top 5 things you’re scared of & why you shouldn’t be

1. The taste of the food will change

All that food sitting in the freezer for months can cause the tastes of the different food to blend together, resulting in altered and a less distinct, not-as-great taste if certain precautions are not taken.
Make sure your freezer is clean, and that your food is properly sealed and packaged up. This will ensure that your frozen meals do not absorb any undesirable odours in your freezer and that the taste remains intact.

2. The food won’t taste as fresh, will taste bland, or changes texture

The primary cause of this is freezer burn. While it’s not at all harmful, it certainly is off-putting. It adversely changes the texture and also, the taste of the food. I’ve been there, and when it happened, I tossed the food into the bin. I HATE waste, but this looked downright disgusting. Most often, this happens due to dehydration and oxidation. You can fix it by making sure your food is properly packaged so as little air as possible is inside the container. Your best bet is using freezer bags, as you can manually expel the air before closing.
Freezer burn also happens when you put warm food into the freezer. Always make sure your food is cooled throughout inside your fridge before transferring it to the freezer.
It’s important to note that certain food won’t taste fresh or change texture when frozen because they don’t freeze well and they’re not meant to be frozen. Check out this blog post which tells you what you should and shouldn’t be freezing.

3. Food, particularly vegetables, will lose it’s vitamins and minerals when frozen

The only way your vegetables won’t lose any nutrients (or almost), is to buy them as fresh as you possibly can, wash them, and eat them raw. All preparation and cooking processes will affect the nutritional value to some extent. Of course, some less than others (such as slow cooking & steaming). So when you are thinking about freezing meals, think of the benefits of eating a wholesome homemade dinner as opposed to something very quick and lacking any nutritional value at all.

4. You don’t have enough freezer space.

You don’t need to have 20, fully-fledged backup meals at the ready in order to be successful at freezing. Even if you just double whatever you’re cooking once a week, that means you’ve got almost one week of no cooking the following month. Besides, if you freeze well you can easily pack 10 meals into one freezer drawer. And you can always freeze foods which take up less space – such as pasta sauces or patties as opposed to full meals. If this is your worry, you’ll love this blog post and Facebook live recording.
Also, if you’re batch cooking and freezing, you need to flip your thinking and your routine. So rather than heading out to the butcher’s and buying 10 items to put in your freezer, it might be time to meal plan and buy intentionally, so you can then turn your shopping into meals and freeze those instead.

5. It’s a hassle

Might it be that you’re a tad overwhelmed? Freezing food means you’ve at least doubled what you’re cooking, and frozen an extra batch. It will take substantially less time than cooking another meal on another day. Think of where freezing extra meals will take you. Imagine coming home after a long day, taking a curry you’ve defrosted out of the fridge, and serving it with some rice you’ve just boiled.
That’s a surefire way to get access to at least one more hour that day (remember – you’re not just saving time cooking, but also cleaning and possibly shopping!)

That’s all for today mamas. Happy, happy Friday!

Nakita xxx