Storing vegetables, tinned/frozen etc

[WellBHoise]

Due to multiple allergies, and health problems in the family, we eat quite a high fresh vegetable and salad diet (plus crap so aren’t all skinny!). So we can’t stock up on beans on toast. Don’t have a second freezer and can’t live on beans and tuna. Currently get 2 shopping deliveries a week for the fresh stuff.

Things our diets relvolve around are lettuce/rocket/watercress, cucumber, courgette, carrot, broccoli, pepper, onion and sweet potato.

What veg can we chop and freeze? I know Tins are limited to carrots, beans and peas. Limited freezer space so will use up the bulky pizzas etc and store veg that can be used to stir fry etc. What about cheese and eggs, I saw somewhere about freezing?

Can I suggest putting a spot to one side to grow perpetual spinach which you can use as lettuce leaves? Even a container in a sunny corner of your flat if you don't have a garden/balcony/yard.

Onions last a long time in a cool, dark cupboard.

I freeze meditteranean veggies mixed, either raw or already cooked. Diced onions, courgette, pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes, and whole cloves of garlic, with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar and dried herbs tossed in too. Roast for about 20 mins for 1cm dice, and leftovers go nicely in tomato sauces with pasta or reheated as a side dish.

I'd say you could do similar with just onion, pepper and courgette (from your list).

I know I've frozen sweet potato and bacon soup quite successfully.

And broccoli in smoked fish and broccoli pie (mashed potato topping). Again both cooked and uncooked.

I suspect you can freeze broccoli fine if you blanche it first (boil hard for a couple of minutes, plunge directly into cold water with ice cubes to stop cooking, dry off and freeze).

And I'm pretty sure I've seen sliced peppers in the frozen foods aisle - I have no idea how to do them at home, if they need any treating beforehand, but you could just buy a few bags?

I don't think you can freeze cucumber unless its in a soup.

Carrots will also last a reasonable length of time in a cool dark cupboard.

I "resorted" to buying a lot of frozen veg a few years ago when my DM was very ill and I wanted to be able to prepare healthy nutritious meals quickly. I was surprised at the quality, much improved to the frozen veg I remember being served as a child. I'd buy frozen rather than try and prep and freeze myself. I currently have chopped onions, shallots, carrots, spinach, butternut squash, leeks, peppers, aubergine, red cabbage, in the freezer. Great for adding to stews, curries, stir fries or making soup. I'd definitely eat up the pizza to make room for veg! Currys have a countertop freezer for £70 if anywhere you could squeeze it .

Thanks all, currently in the middle of a house move so will definitely look at the new place and having more options.
Will take a better look at the frozen veg section, seems easier than trying to do it myself.
Will have a look at the counter top freezer thanks.

I buy loads of veg frozen as it works better for us (different meals being cooked and prepped due to allergies etc). I also freeze fresh veg and fruit that I buy when they are on short date offer/Oops! offers etc (peppers, carrots, courgette, onion, green beans, chillies, blueberries, oranges, grapefruit, mango, tomatoes) I just wash and chop (if required) and put them in freezer bags. I don’t blanch anything because I’m using them in stews/pasta sauce/smoothies/crumbles etc so I don’t mind them being mushy.

Perpetual spinach is good. Also maybe look at using more fresh veg with longer shelf life (squash, sweet potato, onions etc) and tinned veg isn’t as bad as you might think: maybe try some.

Stupid question, do you freeze tomatoes whole or chop them and oranges skins on?

I’m thinking tinned veg sounds better than I think and frozen veg just reminds me of 80’s school dinners but I’m sure it’s moved in since then!

I chop normal tomatoes, but you can freeze cherry ones whole.

I leave the skin on all fruit I think.

I think it’s worth experimenting with different options. Baby carrots are lovely tinned or frozen in my opinion, but I can’t abide them sliced - I don’t know why I also prefer frozen green beans to tinned ones, and frozen broccoli is lovely. I prefer tinned marrow fat peas to frozen garden peas: but don’t feel there is much difference between frozen and tinned garden peas. Oh, and tinned potatoes and my guilty pleasure

You can also roast cherry tomatoes from frozen. I do this all the time.

@bellinisurge

Are you on another site? A prepper one? Your stories and writing style seem so familiar....

I comment elsewhere now and then but I'm not on any prepper sites. I try to avoid prepper discussion groups apart from here.

Maybe we all sound the same

Ah, wrong spy. Apologies. You do give great advice here though, you'd be loved there!

I've never been a spy or have I.
I'm glad I can help anyone on here. I am so frustrated and despairing about this mess our country is in , it just seems like the only constructive thing I can do is share a bit of my prepper knowledge for people to take away and work into their own situation.
And yes I regularly vent my spleen on Brexit threads.

I genuinely have taken a lot of your advice on board from these threads.

It can be hard to find a balance with prepping. Some sites are way OTT but there can be hidden gems in there at times. Someone gave me travelling advice a few months back and I was certain it was you. But you're right, we probably all sound the same to some.

I do what I can to make sure me and my toddler have what we need in the most likely SHTF scenarios. I've tried approaching my sister and mum (gently) but they're not interested. Apparently suggesting a few extra tins a week before Brexit is madness. I also despair.

I look for hidden gems too.

Iceland is surprisingly good for things like frozen veg and frozen fish (typically 12 fillets for £10). Certain tinned veg is a backbone of my stockpile - tinned tomatoes especially.

You might also like to consider a dehydrator - you can use it to dry and store things like mushrooms and then rehydrate them at a later date. They're not identical, but are good in a sauce or stew. Many of these things are sold at a premium in the supermarket (dried mushrooms, dried fruit, sundried tomatoes etc.)

I luvs me dehydrator @AvocadosBeforeMortgages . Good call.

I've just done a seed order for the kitchen garden. We can't grow everything because of our location and light levels but certain things do really well. Perpetual spinach, potatoes, broccoli, leeks, spring onions, garlic, strawberries, rhubarb, most salad leaves and courgettes all love it here. The herb garden is successful too. So I've stocked up on all of those.

You can buy a lot more canned veg than you mention: mushrooms, green beans, sweet corn, toms, ratatouille, spinach, mixed veg plus all the harred antipasti type stuff

@Huggybear16 @bellinisurge I would love any recommendations you might have of good prepper sites. It's such a jungle, especially for a low-level prepper such as myself focusing on practical, reasonable preps rather than, say, full on bushcraft.

On YouTube I'm a big fan of Prepper Pot Pourri. She's based in Michigan and all the shit kicking male Preppers are in awe of her.
Praxis prepper is good too. Also prepper Princess. Again, American but interesting to watch.
In the uk, I tend to look at gardening channels or the fabulous Liz Zorab who is a smallholder /homesteader. She has some great connections with homesteaders around the world and her channel is just a nice place to be.

@AnotherShirtRuined

I'd also consider myself a low-level prepper.

I'm on a UK based site which is less extreme than a few of the others I've come across. I'll PM you the name as don't think we're allowed to post websites here? It's got loads of different boards so you can pick and choose what interests you and forget the rest.

I've found the posters on there to be really helpful whenever I've asked questions.

Thanks @Huggybear16, it would be much appreciated .

Thank you @bellinisurge.

Oh, and I'm going to invest in a dehydrator within the next couple of weeks as an alternative to frozen and tinned fruit and veg. I'm ridiculously excited at the prospect of making fruit leathers and all sorts of other goodies as well as various types of veg.

I was also looking at dehydrators but unsure which one to go for.

Would the £30-£50 ones do the job or would I be better saving for one of the boys?