Have fruits or veggies that are at the use-or-lose point? Ready to head out of town but your fridge is stocked with fresh produce? Don’t have time to whip up a produce-heavy recipe to use it all up? Freeze it!

Use-or-lose fresh produce

I meal plan but life happens, so sometimes we wind up with unused produce but I’d loathe to waste it. When this happens, I grab the produce, my cutting board, a sharp knife, a couple of gallon size freezer bags, and a permanent marker.

I rinse the veggies, chop them, put them in a freezer bag, label the bag with the type of produce and the date, and position the bag flat to freeze. Next time I need to throw together a quick meal, I thaw the bag of veggies (or wack the bag on the counter, grab the desired amount of frozen produce from the bag, reseal the bag, and toss the unused portion back in the freezer) to use in a recipe.

Rinsed, chopped, and labeled produce ready for the freezer

Stir fry, pasta, couscous or quinoa dishes, rice bowls, omelets, pizza toppings, soups, stews, smoothies… the prepped frozen produce makes meal prep a cinch. And, bonus: no waste!