Alma from Seaham said:
Teenagers should be taught food management as part of the curriculum. It would help them, their families and the... More
The freezer is a food lover's hero because there's not much that can't be frozen until its needed: homemade ready meals (see Timesavers); veg and wonderful herbs; grated cheese for toppings and meat cut in strips for quick stir-frying. This section has a few surprises for us all. Visit the freezer often to keep tabs on what's inside.
If you buy a big bunch of grapes and find you can't eat them all, wash and freeze the leftovers. You can use the frozen grapes to decorate ice cream, blend them into smoothies or just eat them as they are. They taste like mini ice lollies!
Frozen sliced bread is always useful – simply pop a frozen slice directly into the toaster for a little longer than normal.
I use the crusts my daughter won't eat, fresh or from toast to make bread crumbs, then freeze them so I have some when I'm making fish cakes.
Buy veg from the reduced price counter in the supermarket, take it home, blanche it and freeze it. You can save a fortune on what can be really expensive things like fine beans. Not quite their best tomatoes can be chopped and kept in the freezer for adding to pasta sauces.
If you live alone cook double the amount of your favourite dish, freeze one portion for another day. Saves on fuel, time and food waste.
If you buy a large bunch of parsley which often works out cheaper than small packets, you can wash it, chop it up finely and put it in small containers in the freezer. This is always ready to add to sauces and or a quick garnish.
Cheese seems to be cheaper in larger pieces and easily goes mouldy. I buy it in larger blocks then cut it into small blocks and freeze. I can then use what I want when I want it and it never goes to waste.
If I have used the juice of a lemon but not the zest, I freeze the shell until I have a recipe that needs the zest. It can be grated straight from the freezer. This also works the other way - freezing the juice for future use.
A couple of days before your holidays, stop buying groceries, so as to I try and empty out the fridge. Vegetables (tomatos, mushrooms, onions, peppers) that could otherwise go to waste can be chopped and cooked, then frozen ready for use in a pasta sauce on your return. Making some extra servings of whatever you are having for dinner and then freezing them, makes cooking easier the first couple of days your back -- just defrost! Leftover slices of bread can also be frozen, ready for making toast on your return.
Juice lemons and freeze juice in an ice-cube tray then freeze the skins. They are much easier to zest with a grater when frozen.