It’s hard to believe we’ve been living in a pandemic for almost a year and that we are still facing life in the ‘new normal’. Time flies when you’re…oh never mind!   But here we are.  Many of our habits have changed drastically as a result, including the ways in which we shop, cook and eat.  Gone are the days of multiple trips to the grocery store each week and taking restaurant meals for granted. 

Many families have come to realize one thing that we’ve long known here at FoodieKid:  the freezer can be your best friend in more ways than one when it comes to feeding a family.  Here are some of our favorite tips for putting that ice cold work horse to best use and lightening your cooking load for the whole family:

•  Baby food purée is ideal for freezing. Since babies eat such small portions and are always changing how much they eat from meal-to-meal, it makes a ton of sense to freeze portioned purée in ice cube trays or food storage containers to thaw and re-heat as needed.  Cook once, even make a double batch of food, and then freeze for meals later.  Want to make it even easier? By using Simple Starters Organic Baby Meals, you’ll also cut down on the prep work. Just steam, purée and freeze. You’ll have a freezer full of homemade, healthy baby food on hand whenever you need it, and far less food waste since you’ll only thaw what you need. 

• Speaking of prep – one of the best kitchen hacks we know is to prep extra veggies when you are cooking anyway, and then freeze them for later use.  Peeled and chopped sweet potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash are just a few veggies that can be prepped in advance, frozen and then thrown into recipes as needed.  Not only does this cut down on time spent on prep, but you’ll also reduce food waste by saving extra produce in the freezer. 

• Make extra sauce and freeze baby freeze! Double your recipe for tomato sauce, chimichurri, pesto, or even cheese sauce and freeze the extra in an ice cube tray. Having sauce on hand in the freezer can take any weekday meal from boring to flavorful in flash.  This is especially helpful for toddler sized bowls of pasta, where you just need a small amount of sauce. Tip! When thawing cheese sauce, make sure to add a few drops of milk or even broth to thin out as needed.   

• Cook a double batch of soup base (broth, veggies, herbs etc.) and freeze for later use.  When the time comes, add in fresh ingredients like pasta, rice or cream and you’ll have cut your cooking effort in half.

• Overbought at the butcher counter on your last grocery run? Before you throw that chicken, pork or beef in the freezer, add some marinade!  Homemade or from a bottle, marinades are a great way to add flavor to your proteins and they freeze very nicely for a tasty meal at a later date.

• Bonus tip: drowning in fresh herbs from the garden at the end of summer?  Had to buy that huge bunch of basil for a recipe that only called for a teaspoon?  Great news: you can freeze the leaves of fresh herbs in ice cube trays to use later.  Remove the stems and put individual leaves like basil, oregano or thyme in an ice cube tray and cover with water.  When using, allow the cube to thaw and sprinkle into your recipe.  You can also use oil to freeze the herbs and then dissolve the cubes into soups or stews. 

Simple Starters were created to take the hassle out of making baby food at home with busy parents in mind. Flash-frozen organic ingredients, prepped and ready to cook, our baby meals make it easy to prepare healthy, homemade meals for your little ones in only minutes. To learn more or shop for Simple Starters, click here.