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Freezer Essentials for Healthy Family Meals (Plus, Win a Year of Ziploc Products)

Now is about the time when people start falling off the healthy eating bandwagon. But have no fear, I am here to help. One way my family and I maintain healthy eating habits is by keeping some essentials stocked in the freezer. An added bonus to this approach is that it also helps you stay on budget.

Although we all strive for “fresh,” the reality is that due to outside factors, like the season or a particularly hectic schedule, many days we are required to rely on our freezer to help out. Therefore, I wanted to share my essential freezer staples in hopes that I can provide some valuable ideas to help you through a busy week.

On to the freezer essentials:

Fruit:
•  I keep strawberries and blueberries stocked as the season here in New England is so short. Toss them into smoothies and muffins or when thawed, toss them onto salads, cereal and pancakes.

Vegetables:
•  Frozen peas, corn, edamame and green beans are the top four I reach for during the week.

•  Peppers and onions: I enjoy buying these in bulk from the farmer’s market. I then prepare them for freezing by chopping and julienning them and placing them in Ziploc Brand Freezer Bags.  Talk about a time saver!

Shrimp:
•  I buy a two pound bag of raw shrimp – they are quick to thaw and cook while adding protein to a dish.

Bulk Meats:
•  Make sure to stock up on your family’s favorites when they are on sale. The meats we keep are: ground bison, pork chops and boneless, skinless chicken breasts. We separate them into one pound increments and freeze them.

•  I am going to let you in on a little secret: It is the best tip ever for freezing meat! Place the meat in the bag, place the bag on the counter, press down on the meat to flatten it out, remove excess air and zip it closed – it will now thaw much quicker than it would if you froze it as a large ball.

Fish Filets:
•  Wild Alaskan Salmon and Tilapia

Breads:
•  Phyllo dough and puff pastry. I enjoy taking leftovers and creating pockets with the phyllo. They look elegant and you feel like you are having a treat.

•  Breads: We make a trip to our local bakery every weekend and toss rolls and our favorite breads into the freezer. However, the sleeves the bread comes in are not freezer-friendly so package the loaf in a Ziploc Brand Freezer Bag.

Cheese:
•  Whether you grate your own Parmesan or buy a pre-grated bag at the store, you can extend the life of it by keeping it in the freezer. Cheddar cheese also freezes well.

Herbs:
•  You can easily crush the herbs in your hand and toss them into the simmering pot of goodies.

My personal favorite for freezer bags and containers are from Ziploc Brand as I have found them extremely reliable. The containers are perfect to store my soups and sauces, and the lids come off easily (thank goodness!). They come in handy to freeze some of my favorite recipes, which are bison meatballs and marinara sauce . With these two items alone I can make grinders, spaghetti and meatballs, and also use the sauce in many different pasta dishes.

Be sure to spend some time on theZiploc Facebook Fan Page as they have great tips, coupons and recipes. In fact, share your freezer essentials on their Facebook page!

What are some items that you cannot live without in your freezer and what meals do you make from them?

Would you like to test them out yourself? Now you can win your own set of Ziploc Brand Bags and Containers! I’m giving one reader a YEAR’S SUPPLY of Ziploc Products!

All you have to do is leave a comment telling me your favorite way to use Ziploc Brand products. The winner will be chosen using Random.org.

Good luck! It’s super easy to enter and you can enter up to four times!

TO ENTER:
1) Go to the Ziploc Facebook Page and click the “Like” button to become a fan.

2) Leave a comment on the Ziploc Facebook Page wall.

3) Join my Community on Facebook and leave a comment on the wall that you have entered the Ziploc giveaway.

4) Tweet this giveaway, “Win a YEAR’S supply of Ziploc Brand products from @savorthethyme “http://su.pr/5kNXEC”

On February 28, we will draw one winner via Random.org to win a set of Ziploc Brand Bags and Containers.

Open to U.S. Residents. Ziploc is providing one Savor the Thyme reader a year’s supply of products (12 products total).

* This post is sponsored by Ziploc®, but my thoughts, statements, recipes and opinions are my own.

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Comments

  3. Real Life Sarah says

    A year of Ziploc! Wow! I love to get a whole pork loin when it’s deep on sale. I get the butcher to chop it into 1/2 thick chops and freeze 4 of them in each ziploc bag. That gives me the perfect amount for a family dinner, and I don’t have to cook all that pork at the same time

  11. Betty Mullis says

    I am known as the “Ziploc Queen” around here…I use their stuff for EVERYTHING from cooking to trips! I have all sizes of bags and containers. This pize would be AMAZING to win…GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! ♥ {{{HUGS}}} ♥
    #1 – I already follow you on FB
    #2 – I already “liked” the ZipLoc FB page
    #3 – I sent the tweet about the giveaway
    #4 – I left the following comment on the ZipLoc page “This little Aussie loves your products! ♥ “

  13. Trina says

    When I travel with my dogs I pre-portion their kibble in Ziploc bags. So easy to organize, keeps the food fresh and doesn’t take up tons of room!

  14. Anne-Marie @ This Mama Cooks! says

    #1 – I already follow you on FB
    #2 – I “liked” the ZipLoc FB page
    #3 – I sent the tweet about the giveaway
    #4 – I left the following comment on the ZipLoc page

    Do you know if they make snack sized Ziplocs. I only find the generic store brand in that size.

  18. Quyen says

    My favorite use for ziploc bags are storing meats that I buy in bulk at Costco (such as chicken thighs and ground turkey). It’s great because it’s preportioned and I save money.

  22. Bill Gent says

    I did all four to enter. Thanks to Angie (up above me) for tweeting this. I love Ziploc. I can’t have a garbage disposal because of how the plumbing is set up in my kitchen, well, not without a couple of thousand bucks of plumbing renovations. So I use ziplocs for food I’m going to throw away. There are Raccoons, Armadillos, Possums and Foxes around here. My dog is hard enough to stop from getting into the trash. Thanks for the chance!

  23. Mike G says

    I’m a single dad whose kids have grown and left home. Using ziploc products for storing portions from larger packs of food products. I’ll by a large bargain pack of meat, for example, and portion it out into freezer bags. I save money and minimize food waste. I couldn’t get by without it.

  26. PurpleLarkspur says

    I like to make a big batch of healthy breakfast muffins (like apricot bran) and then freeze them in ziplock bags. Then, when I am running out the door, I can grab a yummy breakfast.

  28. Lara says

    I use them to pack up leftovers for the freezer -then when I don’t feel like cooking I can just take something out for dinner!

    Also, they can stand-in for pastry bags! Fill with icing, snip off one corner and pipe away!

  32. Ellen Fitz says

    I did the following:
    #1 – I already follow you on FB
    #2 – I “liked” the ZipLoc FB page
    #3 – I sent the tweet about the giveaway
    #4 – I left the following comment on the ZipLoc page:
    Just finished filling up ZipLock containers with a big batch of meat sauce to freeze. So much easier to cook it all at once and then defrost as needed!

  36. Jamie says

    I really like Ziploc freezer bags and containers. I like freezing extra meat when I stock up on sale. Also when I make a big pot of spaghetti sauce and freeze the leftover sauce. Also, I like to freeze blueberries when they are in season so I can use them throughout the year. Thanks for the giveaway.

  40. Dana says

    Wow, great giveaway! My favorite use for large ziploc bags are to portion out family sized packages of chicken into individual portions and freeze until I’m ready to use. This way I always have chicken when I need it!

  46. Aggie says

    I love Ziploc bags! I freeze everything. If I make any kind of meat I usually have extra so I immediately freeze it for quick meals i.e. shredded chicken or ground turkey for tacos.
    I freeze leftover chipotle peppers. My grandpa has a lemon tree and always makes lemon juice cubes and freezes them.
    I love having frozen ripe bananas on hand, throw them in oatmeal to sweeten it up and also in smoothies!

    Great Giveaway!!

  47. Jeanette says

    I use ziploc bags for freezing fruits for smoothies, that way it’s easy to just throw fruit mixtures into the blender. I posted a comment on facebook, liked Ziploc, joined your community on facebook and tweeted about the giveaway.

  53. Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting says

    My absolute favorite usage for Ziploc products is saving money! I don’t buy those frozen pancakes/waffles or baked goods, I make my own, store ’em in Ziploc gallon storage bags, and freeze them myself. Hot fresh breakfast whenever my children want them for less than half the price.

    And? Ziploc has BoxTops, so each purchase helps my school save money, too. Win/win!

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