Summer is in full swing—or at least what passes for full swing in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even if you and your family aren’t quite as busy this year, you still may not want to spend lots of your precious free time in the kitchen. That’s where planning and preparing some meals or ingredients ahead of time can help you out. But once you’ve done that, you’ll want to store those items so they’ll be fresh and flavorful when you need them. In this article, we share some tips for safe storage of those foods you’ve carefully shopped for and prepped.
Storage containers and what to put in them
If you’re serious about preparing meals and meal components ahead of time, you’ll probably need to buy some storage containers to keep your food fresh and tasty. Those mismatched plastic containers or old Tupperware pieces will probably not do the trick. Make a list of what you’ll be storing, both types of food and amounts. Maybe you plan to store marinated raw chicken breast strips in the freezer, sliced vegetables for snacks in the refrigerator, and you also need something to take your lunch in. Shop for airtight, leak-proof containers in a variety of sizes. You may even want a few divided containers that will keep items separate. Food storage containers don’t have to cost a lot, and there are plenty of options online and in stores.
So what types of foods will you store?
First on your list should be vegetables. Summer is a great time to enjoy a wonderful variety fresh from the market or garden and many can be enjoyed during Phase 1 (see your Ideal Protein Phase 1 sheet for specifics). Most vegetables keep well in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator, and you can easily prep for future meals by rinsing, slicing and dicing the ones you plan to use over the next few days. For example, keep well-rinsed and drained lettuce, kale, or spinach wrapped in a paper or kitchen towel and stored in a container or plastic bag in the refrigerator. Voila—the basis for your next salad is waiting.
Another possibility is to freeze certain vegetables you’ll use cooked in recipes. Some, like peppers and zucchini, can be sliced or diced and frozen flat on a baking sheet or tray. Once frozen, package them in a zip top bag and store in the freezer. That way you’ll be able to use smaller quantities at a time, without having to chip them off a large frozen lump. Other vegetables will need to be blanched or fully cooked before freezing.
A few more tips
If you plan to freeze cooked foods, cool them before freezing, first at room temperature (no longer than two hours) then in the refrigerator. For best flavor and texture, you want food to freeze quickly. Place the containers of food to be frozen directly on the refrigerated surfaces of the freezer, not stacked on top of each other.
Label all frozen foods before storing. You may think you’ll remember what’s in that plastic container, but do you want to take that chance? And don’t forget to include the freeze date.
Keep a running list of what’s in the freezer so you always know what you have on hand.
We hope these meal planning and preparation articles will help you cut down on the time you spend planning, shopping, and cooking, while still helping you meet your weight loss goals and learn food preparation skills to help keep you eating healthy.