When it comes to meal prepping and bulk cooking it can get confusing as to how to freeze cooked food safely and conveniently.  Let’s take you through what simple little things we do to freeze our food that is best for the food, with as little as possible impact on the environment.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

  • We scrounge up every container and pre-loved bag we can find lying around our kitchens.  We quite often have leftover bags from when we’ve bought bread from places like Baker’s Delight.  Don’t throw these bags out because you can clean them out and reuse them to freeze and store your homemade bread, scrolls, pinwheels muffins etc. in.  Keep reading on how to freeze these so they don’t stick together.

  • When storing things in plastic, always choose containers that are freezer approved and BPA (Bisphenol A) free.  BPA can be very toxic to your health.

Portion everything out

The secret to maximising your freezing potential is portioning everything out into ready-made meals or snacks so you can just grab them at a moment’s notice and shove them straight into a school box or heat and serve.

  • Slice up cakes/slices etc and freeze in portion sizes.  You’ll be able to pop a frozen slice into a lunchbox that morning and they’ll be defrosted by lunch.
  • Double batch cook meals the freeze them in individual portion-sized containers.

  • Freeze things like sauces, lemon juice, stock, egg whites, egg yolks (not whole eggs), baby food in individual portions in an ice cube tray and then store in a Sinchies reusable pouch or reusable/biodegradable ziplock bag or container once frozen.

  • Freeze meat in containers.  Take your container into the butchers and reduce the plastic, makes life so easy when you get home too.

Reduce the air

Freezer burn usually occurs when the food has been sitting in the freezer surrounded by air.  Therefore, you need to minimise the exposure the food has to air.

  • When freezing in containers add a sheet of baking paper between each layer of food to reduce the amount of air exposure and ensuring you use all area of the container.
  • When freezing in a Sinchies reusable pouch or reusable/biodegradable ziplock bags, lay them flat and press out all the air before you seal the bag.
  • Wherever possible do your best to remove as much air as you can from the bag or container before popping in the freezer.

  • Let’s say you slice up a cake and at the beginning the container is full.  But as you eat piece by piece the container gets emptier and emptier, this can cause freezer burn quicker (as there is more air in the container) so decant the containers into smaller ones as you go.

Layer and protect

As stated above, when using your containers to store your food, make sure you use every last square inch you can.  But doing this means you have more likely the food will stick together.  So to stop this…

  • Place each item of food out in a layer on the bottom, then lay a sheet of baking paper over the top of the food and then stack another layer of food on top of the baking paper and so on and so forth depending on how many layers you can fit in your container.  Don’t worry, your food won’t stick to the baking paper.  This will make it much easier to just grab a portion and pop it into a lunchbox.
  • Keep the baking paper when the container is empty because it can be reused.  We often reuse sheets of baking paper over and over again when freezing food.  Obviously, you need to be extra careful of cross-contamination so we don’t reuse a sheet of baking paper that has been sandwiched between meat and then reuse it again to be sandwiched between cake slices (for example).  Make sure you reuse them for like-for-like products and if you are unsure what you have used it for, then best to wash it up in a sink of warm soapy water (yes, baking paper can be washed).

  • When freezing ice-creams made in a mould (like the Magnum ones), once they are frozen pop them out of the mould then place them into a container and layer them flat between sheets of baking paper to ensure they don’t stick to each other.  Oh and side note… once you’ve eaten the ice-cream don’t throw the Additive-Free Lifestyle stick out because they can be washed and reused over and over again!

Store everything flat

When freezer space is at a premium, you have to get your Tetris game face on… seriously! ?  It can become quite the fine art learning how to physically store everything in your freezer to get maximum storage space as well as ensuring your foods are frozen properly.

  • Wherever possible store your frozen items as flatly as possible.  This is why we have stated above when freezing in reusable bags or pouches, lay them flat and compress the air out.  This allows you to be able to stack the flat bags on top of each other or standing up side-by-side, giving you more space.
  • Store similar sized containers on top of each other so that they all slot in together like a lego stack.
  • Make sure that you leave enough room in your freezer to allow the air to flow freely without blocking the air vents.

And one last thing – make sure you wash up any plastic bags you use.  Keep using them over and over and contribute towards making this planet a cleaner, less polluted place.

There you have it, once you get your head around it all, you’ll be freezing food with ease.

Much love,
Jo and Tracey x