Meal prep and food prep: what is best to freeze?

Answer

Freezing prepared food and semi-finished products is a great way to extend the shelf life of foods and always have healthy homemade food on hand. However, not all foods tolerate freezing equally well, so it is important to understand the characteristics of different food groups so they don't lose their taste and texture after thawing.

To successfully implement the meal prep concept, it is extremely useful to carefully read the labels and ingredients of future frozen meals, paying special attention to the content of sugar, salt, fiber, and protein. Compare product values per 100 grams of finished weight to choose the most nutritious ingredients for your culinary preps.

The following categories of dishes and products tolerate deep freezing best:

Soups, broths, and stews on a vegetable or meat base, which retain their consistency and taste after reheating.
Casseroles, cutlets, meatballs, and whole pieces of boiled or baked meat and poultry, if they are packaged with a minimum amount of sauce.
Boiled grains, such as buckwheat, rice, and quinoa, as well as legumes (lentils, beans, chickpeas), which retain their structure perfectly after thawing.

It is not recommended to freeze fresh salad leaves, foods with a high water content like cucumbers and zucchini, as well as dishes with mayonnaise dressings and plain potatoes, because they become watery and lose their appealing appearance. Choosing the right preps for the freezer will save you from midweek hassles.

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