If you’re someone who doesn’t use the freezer very often it may be because you don’t know for sure what foods can or cannot be frozen.  So here it is:  anything can be frozen.  Freezing food cannot make it go bad or become rancid.  However - in some cases, freezing can alter the texture of certain foods.  But think about this.  If you have a huge amount of something that’s left over or something that you just bought too much of – and if it is going to spoil – then why not take a chance and freeze it?   If that food is going to be wasted anyway, you’re better off throwing it in the freezer and at least trying to freeze it.

The big no-nos for the freezer are things like lettuce and watermelon.  Water is the primary enemy of freezing.  Fruits and vegetables with an unusually high water content do not freeze well.  But sometimes those same foods, if they are cooked first, freeze beautifully.

Use your freezer for the usual things like juice, meats and vegetables.  But also consider freezing extra bread, sweet rolls, muffins, cookies and bagels.  I love baking but I don’t want to eat a whole batch of cinnamon rolls in two days.  So I portion them in usable amounts and they go to the freezer and I pull them when I feel like a cinnamon roll again.   Bread and baked goods keep so well in the freezer.  They should never be wasted.

You can freeze cottage cheese and about any cheese.  The texture of some cheeses might change a little but the cheese won’t go bad.  I even freeze brie cheese with great success.  Portion all your foods in the portion size you will be using them.  Freeze leftover meats, pasta, rice, beans, sauces of any kind, meat broths, the list is endless.

Here’s a final thought and a suggestion.  Think of all the frozen food items you see in the grocery store.  Have you seen foods frozen with cheese, legumes, rice, peppers, mangoes, frozen eggs?  If they can freeze a particular food, you can too.  In order to be prepared to freeze make sure you stock a variety of air tight containers or freezer storage bags in various sizes and with a marker label those bags and containers with the name of whatever is inside, maybe even a date.  For the plastic containers you may need to use masking tape to create a writing surface.

This is a wonderful way to do something about waste and you’ll feel great utilizing everything you’ve paid for.