From the "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" Department: My Freezer.
My freezer is full. It is always full. This is due to the amazing variety and quality of flash-frozen food. And the fact that it occasionally goes on sale.
I have flash-frozen vacuum-packed meat and fish fillets that are delicious many months after purchase. I buy my breakfast sausage frozen in bulk whenever it goes on sale, and enjoy it for the next several months. A sale on carnitas keeps me happy for a long time.
My huge selection of flash-frozen fruits lets me make any smoothie anytime, no matter what is in or out of season. I also stopped discarding over-ripe bananas: Freezing them for smoothies worked wonderfully.
Best of all, my enormous stock of flash-frozen dark green vegetables proved to be my dietary and nutritional salvation as a single person who loves to cook but who hates left-overs and hates discarding fresh produce I failed to consume rapidly enough.
Earlier this week I encountered an awesome sale on mini-chubs of my favorite breakfast sausage, and I purchased nearly the entire shelf. Only to find no space for them in my freezer.
I had gotten used to having a steady turnover in my freezer, but over the past two years I have been refocusing my eating habits to reduce simple carbs, which meant fewer smoothies. I had also been emphasizing eggs over meat as a protein source, which meant my rate of meat consumption also dropped.
Unfortunately, my purchase habits didn't change quite as quickly. It was time to see what was filling my freezer, and think about what to do to make some room, even if only by rearranging things.
I first found I had way too many ice cube trays in the freezer, most of which were EMPTY! That's another aspect of reduced smoothie production. I pared it down to two.
I next found I had many extra unopened bags of veggies. My habit was to always have one open and one unopened bag, where a freshly emptied bag created an addition to my shopping list. I had kept buying long after my consumption rate had shifted. Who needs 6 bags of frozen peas?
The vegetables revealed a major part of the problem: They were in every corner of the freezer, not grouped together. More to the point, I also discovered several mini-cube trays of the Dorot frozen chopped garlic and basil that had fallen to the edges and bottom of the freezer, never to be seen again, but often repurchased due to their invisibility. Reorganizing these items did wonders.
The greatest surprise was finding over SEVEN POUNDS of frozen meat and fish! This included an entire roast I had purchased for a pot-luck that was canceled at the last minute about three years ago! A pair of steaks purchased for a date at home that never happened. Primarily things bought for specific occasions, not part of my usual eating habits.
An hour later I finally made a home for my sausage mini-chubs.
I am rich with frozen food!
I've also realized I've reduced my smoothie consumption a bit too far: Time to get out the yogurt maker and get that production line rolling again!
I'll also be replacing some of my sausage consumption with other meats.
And I really do need to eat more peas.
About my refrigerator:
My refrigerator has a bottom-mount freezer, purchased because it was the best of the reasonably-priced units that was highly rated for having excellent self-defrosting without causing freezer burn. The freezer consists of two wire basket drawers, which allow air to circulate freely and evenly, especially when stuffed full.
The refrigerator itself is almost empty. The door is filled with jars and bottles of various oils, sauces and marinades. (And my supply of SuperGlue: Always keep that refrigerated in a small freezer bag!) One shelf contains only beverages, another is empty except for eggs.. One drawer contains a few cheeses, and another contains a small supply of currently-thawed meat.
And that's about it. In particular, my refrigerator contains no left-overs. I should probably do a blog post about shopping and cooking for one, because it is a ton of fun!
I have flash-frozen vacuum-packed meat and fish fillets that are delicious many months after purchase. I buy my breakfast sausage frozen in bulk whenever it goes on sale, and enjoy it for the next several months. A sale on carnitas keeps me happy for a long time.
My huge selection of flash-frozen fruits lets me make any smoothie anytime, no matter what is in or out of season. I also stopped discarding over-ripe bananas: Freezing them for smoothies worked wonderfully.
Best of all, my enormous stock of flash-frozen dark green vegetables proved to be my dietary and nutritional salvation as a single person who loves to cook but who hates left-overs and hates discarding fresh produce I failed to consume rapidly enough.
Earlier this week I encountered an awesome sale on mini-chubs of my favorite breakfast sausage, and I purchased nearly the entire shelf. Only to find no space for them in my freezer.
I had gotten used to having a steady turnover in my freezer, but over the past two years I have been refocusing my eating habits to reduce simple carbs, which meant fewer smoothies. I had also been emphasizing eggs over meat as a protein source, which meant my rate of meat consumption also dropped.
Unfortunately, my purchase habits didn't change quite as quickly. It was time to see what was filling my freezer, and think about what to do to make some room, even if only by rearranging things.
I first found I had way too many ice cube trays in the freezer, most of which were EMPTY! That's another aspect of reduced smoothie production. I pared it down to two.
I next found I had many extra unopened bags of veggies. My habit was to always have one open and one unopened bag, where a freshly emptied bag created an addition to my shopping list. I had kept buying long after my consumption rate had shifted. Who needs 6 bags of frozen peas?
The vegetables revealed a major part of the problem: They were in every corner of the freezer, not grouped together. More to the point, I also discovered several mini-cube trays of the Dorot frozen chopped garlic and basil that had fallen to the edges and bottom of the freezer, never to be seen again, but often repurchased due to their invisibility. Reorganizing these items did wonders.
The greatest surprise was finding over SEVEN POUNDS of frozen meat and fish! This included an entire roast I had purchased for a pot-luck that was canceled at the last minute about three years ago! A pair of steaks purchased for a date at home that never happened. Primarily things bought for specific occasions, not part of my usual eating habits.
An hour later I finally made a home for my sausage mini-chubs.
I am rich with frozen food!
I've also realized I've reduced my smoothie consumption a bit too far: Time to get out the yogurt maker and get that production line rolling again!
I'll also be replacing some of my sausage consumption with other meats.
And I really do need to eat more peas.
About my refrigerator:
My refrigerator has a bottom-mount freezer, purchased because it was the best of the reasonably-priced units that was highly rated for having excellent self-defrosting without causing freezer burn. The freezer consists of two wire basket drawers, which allow air to circulate freely and evenly, especially when stuffed full.
The refrigerator itself is almost empty. The door is filled with jars and bottles of various oils, sauces and marinades. (And my supply of SuperGlue: Always keep that refrigerated in a small freezer bag!) One shelf contains only beverages, another is empty except for eggs.. One drawer contains a few cheeses, and another contains a small supply of currently-thawed meat.
And that's about it. In particular, my refrigerator contains no left-overs. I should probably do a blog post about shopping and cooking for one, because it is a ton of fun!
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