Money Saving ideas for Freezer Food – Guest post from Reduced Grub

Freezer Food

Last week there was a huge conversation on my Facebook page about bananas. Yes nearly 4000 people saw the thread of loads of readers giving their favourite ways of dealing with brown bananas. And many of the solution involved freezing them. I totally did not know you could freeze bananas!

My blogger friend Kelly from the fab website Reduced Grub is quite the expert on frugal cooking, and yellow sticker reduced price bargain food shopping and has most kindly written this post about all the wonderful food items you can freeze but maybe never knew you could.

Have a read then go checkout her website for loads of fabulous recipe ideas and save yourself some cash.

Introduction to Kelly

I really think that I should go on Britain’s got talent, as I have one serious talent. The freezer is approached, the door is opened and I have the challenge of catching everything that falls out! Super speed is required as it can come from any direction, and often several things at once. I have adapted my skill to catching things with my toes and teeth, and I am currently getting quotes in about having some Circus themed music wired up, so that every time the door is opened, I get that infamous tune, that would tie in nicely with my acrobatic ability. I have also been accident free for 4 weeks and counting, I am sure that you can all relate to the feeling of a pack of frozen sausages landing on your toes, that is hardcore pain.

Anyway, I am sure that you can all understand what I am wobbling on about and even though it is a minefield when you open the door, the freezer can be a God send if you are trying to be frugal and save some serious cash.

Cut Priced Freezer Food

The world of cut price shopping is so easy to follow that even I manage to do it, and I have saved a fortune in the process. I am a bit advocate for Reduced priced food, as every supermarket and even small high street shop will offer it and a lot of people with their nose in the air, often won’t touch anything wearing a reduced sticker, which is fab, as there is more for like-minded people like me and my family eat like Kings for pennies.

What people don’t know is that reduced priced food means nothing! It is just a way for shops to move food quickly so that they can replenish the shelves with the newer produce. High-end supermarket do this and you get some great quality food for pennies and this is where the freezer comes in!

My freezer currently contains everything from Milk, to Tuna steaks to Curry leaves, and this is how I roll!




I will often buy reduced priced fresh meat or fish and pop it in the freezer and pair this up with fresh produce. Sometimes I will see some great fruit or veg offers and pop those into the freezer for when I can use them. My weekly shopping bill is around £35 by working in this manner and it really does work.

Are you Unsure about What you Can/Cannot Freeze?

Many of you are a bit unsure of what you can and cannot freeze, so I have put a little list together for you and I hope that it gives you a good Idea.

• Milk, I always open and use a bit before I freeze this, as the expansion of the liquid can push the top off. When this is almost defrosted, this makes the best milkshakes as it is sooooo cold and the kids love it.
• Bread, you can pick up a loaf of bread for around 10p and this is fab for sticking in the freezer and using for toast. Avoid French sticks etc. as they tend to go a bit crumbly, but tortillas and flat bread freeze well.
• Butter is a great item to freeze, with the average price over a pound, if you ever see any reduced, get them and freeze them.
• Cheese, after Christmas I had a cheese mountain left over, so I grated it all up, put it into several bags and froze them. You can use the cheese straight from frozen and this is great for adding into sauces, toppings or pizza.
• Birthday cakes cost a ****** fortune and with three kids in my house, two adults plus grandparents, you’re not going to get much change out of £100 pa. I always buy my cakes reduced, usually for around £2 and I freeze them. Get them out of the freezer the day before you want to use them and put in the fridge to defrost. We have been doing this for years, and you have a think of the money that we have saved.
• Fruit and vegetables are great to freeze, I have bought lots of veg reduced after the Christmas holidays and I have blanched it all. Just pop it into boiling water for about two minutes, drain and then submerge in iced water to stop the cooking process. Bag up and then freeze. Fruit is great to freeze and then use in Jams, cake fillings, smoothies or ice cream.
• Pasta is something that can be frozen and a lot of people will often say it can’t. That is actually 50 shades of wrong, part cook your pasta, drain and put it in cold water to stop the cooking. You can put it with a sauce and then freeze, ready for you to do a quick pasta bake, or even freeze it on its own, defrost it then needed and then boil it until soft enough.
• Pastry is also good to freeze, so if you see any fab price ready stuff or have a load of dough left over, chuck in in the freezer.

Storage is also key to a good relationship with your freezer, the fuller your freezer then the more economical to run, that comment there will wipe the smirk of your other half’s face when they moan about your shopping. Always cool foods completely before you freeze them and cover food well to prevent freezer burn.

I hope that you have found this information a tad useful, I am just off to try and close my freezer door, which is another head scratching scenario that makes me crave for a Gin and Tonic, especially when I see that I have left something out, that really needed to go back in!