How to Make the Most of Your Freezer

Fantasy Digitals

Around 98% of people in England own a fridge/freezer, despite them only being common in households less than 100 years ago. A boon to freeze fresh produce or homemade meals and soups.

Freeze Fresh does contain non-veggie recipes, but it’s more a guide on how to freeze over 55 popular fruits and vegetables, to retain colour, texture and flavour.

Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets. Bin allium scraps (onion, garlic, shallots, leeks, chives) and citrus/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures. 

The Make-Ahead Vegan Cookbook offers 125 simple meals that you can make and freeze, to later enjoy. From pasta sauce to green bean casserole.

Enough food is thrown out worldwide to feed every hungry person on earth. A third of all food produced in the world is thrown out, almost half of which is fruits sand vegetables.

25% of the world’s water is used to irrigate fresh produce, that is never eaten. The average family spends around £500 on food that goes to waste.

How to Freeze Common Foods

• Use your freezer to store homemade vegan ice-cream and ice-lollies (using silicone freezer moulds).
• If freezing juice, avoid unpasteurised juice for children, pregnancy/nursing and weak immunity.
• Bread loaves (a main source of food waste) are easily frozen. Buy sliced, then just pop what you need straight into the toaster.
• To freeze green veggies (runner beans, broccoli, asparagus), blanch in boiling water then plunge in iced water, drain, freeze on a tray and transfer to silicone freezer bag. Boil (don’t steam) from frozen. Don’t freeze high-water foods (lettuce, cucumber, radish).
• Other foods should be thawed in the fridge overnight, before cooking. Don’t re-cooked thawed items, once frozen.
• You can freeze homemade pastry for a few months. It will thaw in around an hour, if you’re in a pie-making mood!

For fridges, transfer opened canned foods to containers, and store animal foods on the bottom shelf, to avoid dripping onto surfaces below.

Store Food in Silicone Tubs

Swap plastic tubs and freezer bags for silicone containers. Silicone is flexible and lasts much longer than plastic. It seals tightly to keep air out, helping food stay fresh and free from freezer burn. You can stack silicone tubs for space-saving storage. Many are dishwasher friendly too, so cleaning them is easy.

Label and Date Everything

Always label what goes into the freezer and add the date. Use a permanent marker or sticky labels. This stops confusion and avoids food being forgotten in the back.  You can quickly see when you froze each item, which helps you eat things before they lose taste or texture.

Store Food Correctly

Place new food at the back or bottom, pushing older items to the front or top. Arrange foods in clear sections, like meat, veg, and cooked meals. This makes it quicker to find what you need and keeps you from wasting food that’s gone off. Avoid overfilling your freezer since cold air must move around for even freezing.

Cut Down Food Waste

Freeze leftovers in single portions right away if you won’t eat them soon. Wrap bread, cheese, and fruit in small packs so you only thaw what you’ll use. Even wilting herbs can be chopped, placed in an ice cube tray, and covered with oil for easy use later in soups or stews.

Clean Your Freezer Safely

Unplug the freezer and move food to a cool box while you clean. Use warm soapy water (never harsh cleaners). Remove shelves and baskets to scrub them in the sink. Dry everything before switching the freezer on again. Wipe spills right away to stop smells or sticky spots building up.

How to Choose a Freezer

• If time has come to replace your freezer, then look for one with an A-rating, for energy-efficiency.
• A common annoyance is a noisy freezer, so look for one that carries the Quiet Mark if you can afford it, based on quality, as well as quietness.
• Freezers that gurgle and hum day and night can be due to faults, so have it checked (Curry’s have a ‘no-fix, no fee’ service).
• Cleaning the condenser coils with a vacuum cleaner soft hose every few months can help prevent noise, as can ensuring the base is stable (adjust the feet and tighten the screws).

Fridge/freezers are expensive (a common family one can be up to £800). But you can buy a decent new brand for around £200, and this can save you a fortune on food bills, if you use it right.

If you can’t afford that, then see if you can buy a used (PAT-tested one) from benefits-related stores like Reuse Network. Some places (including councils) give grants for those in need:

• Turn 2 Us has a national grant search tool
• British Gas White Goods Fund offers help by referral
• Family Fund provides grants for families with disabled children

How to Keep Your Freezer Cold

• To avoid ice crystals (when air and moisture combine), keep your freezer full (not over-full) with items stacked, for good air flow.
• Keep ‘the coldest’ foods at the back and bottom of the fridge.
• Use a fridge/freezer thermometer to check temperatures weekly (Food Standards Agency says fridges should be 0 to 5 degrees and freezers below 18 degrees C (wait for food to cool, before adding).
• If defrosting a freezer, don’t leave food out more than a couple of hours ((keep doors closed during power cuts, and food should be okay for a few hours). If the temperature goes above 4 degrees C, throw food away.

Great Reasons to Use Silicone Souper Cubes

Silicone Souper Cubes (sold in Lakeland) have become a must-have for cooks who love easy meal prep. These clever freezer trays let you portion, freeze, and store soups, stocks, sauces, and more with no fuss.

The sturdy silicone construction and smart lid design make them stand out in any kitchen. Here’s a closer look at why Silicone Souper Cubes are so popular and how they can help you save time, reduce waste, and enjoy better meals.

Easy to stack and dishwasher-safer, each Souper Cube has fill lines, to freeze in small portions (they were created by a busy mother, and designed by her engineer husband!) If you make a lot of soup, it’s worth investing in a stick blender, as it’s much easier to blend soup mixes.

It’s UK law that stores selling small appliances, have to take back the old one for recycling. So take the opportunity to find some electrical dusty appliance under the counter, to get it freely recycled, when you buy a stick blender.

Pre-Portion Meals for Convenience

Souper Cubes let you portion meals ahead of time. Each well in the tray holds a measured amount, like 1 cup or 2 cups, making it easy to control serving sizes. You just freeze leftovers or meal prep batches, taking the guesswork out of portion sizes later.

Cut Down on Food Waste

Using Silicone Souper Cubes helps reduce waste by freezing exact portions of leftovers or excess stocks. Instead of letting food spoil in the fridge, you can freeze single servings or family-sized portions to use whenever you need them.

Keep Freezer Neat and Organised

Traditional storage containers can leave your freezer messy and crowded. Souper Cubes are stackable and designed to fit neatly inside your freezer drawer or shelf. Their sturdy lids prevent spills and frost, so you get a tidy, organised space that makes it easy to find what you need.

Enjoy Simple Pop-Out Release

Souper Cubes use flexible but tough silicone that lets you pop out frozen portions with little effort. No more twisting and banging plastic containers to get your soup or sauce out. Just flex the tray and push from the bottom to release one cube at a time. This design keeps portions intact and makes reheating simpler.

Versatile for Every Recipe

These trays go beyond soup. Freeze pasta sauce, curry, vegan pesto, veggie broth, baby food, or even cookie dough. They work for both liquid and solid foods. Silicone Souper Cubes are oven and dishwasher safe too, so you can use them for baking individual portions or reheating in the oven.

Long-Lasting and Stain Resistant

Silicone Souper Cubes are built to last. The food-grade silicone won’t crack, warp, or become brittle in the freezer. They resist stains and odours, so you won’t notice lingering smells or red sauce stains over time. The lids fit snugly, keeping food fresh and safe from freezer burn.

Easy to Clean

Silicone makes these trays non-stick and quick to wash. The trays and lids go straight in the dishwasher, or you can clean them by hand with some warm soapy water. You won’t find tough corners or seams where food gets stuck, so keeping them clean is simple.

Perfect for Batch Cooking

If you love making big batches of soup, stew, or broth, Souper Cubes make storage a breeze. Once you’ve cooked a large pot, just ladle it into the trays, freeze, then store the individual cubes in freezer bags or keep them stacked in the trays. Batch cooking saves time on busy nights and lets you enjoy homemade meals any day.

Great for Special Diets and Baby Food

Souper Cubes make it easy to store homemade baby food in single servings or portion out special meals for people on specific diets. You can freeze purees, blended soups, or allergy-friendly recipes in just the right amount, ready to thaw as needed.

Plastic-Free Organic Frozen Produce

PACKD is a unique food brand that sells frozen organic fruits and vegetables, in paper packaging. It offers small portions to get your 5-a-day without food waste. So if you can’t find fresh organic produce at the local market, this is the next best choice.

PACK’D only chooses farms with strict organic certification. These farms use natural seeds, avoid harmful pesticides, and work to protect soil health. This careful process keeps nasty chemicals out of your food. Every bag or punnet supports farming methods that help the environment.

Flash-Frozen for Peak Freshness

PACK’D flash-freezes its produce just after picking. This process locks in vitamins, flavour, and texture. You can taste the difference with every bite. No more wilted greens or bland fruit left in the fridge.

Flash-freezing means you get top quality every time, with no extra additives.

Busy lives make meal prepping hard. PACK’D ready-to-use frozen fruit and veg help you avoid chopping and peeling. Take what you need, seal up the rest, and put it back in the freezer. No soggy lettuce or spoiled berries to throw away. You get longer shelf life and less waste, saving money as well.

PACK’D offers a strong selection, from classic berries to tropical fruit mixes, and even super greens. This flexibility lets you enjoy your favourite recipes or try something new at home without extra trips to the shop.

Organic vegetables

• Spinach (check medication before eating)
• Petit Pois
• Broccoli
• Sweetcorn
• Sweet Potato
• Cauliflower Rice

Organic Fruits

• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Cherries
• Summer Berries
• Blackberries
• Peaches
• Bananas
• Pineapples
• Mango

The ingredient list on PACK’D products is refreshingly short. You’ll only see the fruit or vegetable inside, nothing else. No added sugar, preservatives, or colours. This transparency builds trust and supports a cleaner diet.

Eco-Friendly Packaging

PACK’D cares about more than the food. Its packaging uses recyclable materials and avoids unnecessary plastic. By making sustainable choices, the company supports less waste in landfills and a reduced carbon footprint. That means your healthy choice supports the planet too.

Plant-Based Goodness Bowls

This brand also makes plant-based goodness bowls (not in paper packaging, but you can recycle packaging at supermarket bag bins, if kerbside does not recycle). Choose from:

• Sticky Soy & Sesame (an Asian-inspired dish of brown rice, vegetables and tempeh in a soy sesame sauce, with mushrooms).
• Mexican Smokey Bean (a protein-packed blend of beans, rice and vegetables in a smoky sauce with turmeric for added nutrition).
• Thai Green Curry (tempeh and brown rice, with vegetables in a spicy sauce).