No More Wilting Veggies (Cheatsheet)
By far, one of the largest changes that has significantly helped us to cook more often at home is by stocking up on frozen veggies! & you’ve found the right guide if you:
Want to enjoy home cooked meals because you believe its the healthiest way to eat
Don’t have time to grocery shop
Are open to finding shortcuts so cooking at home can be done as often as possible
Why we are frozen veggie converts:
No need to wash or cut - saves sooo much time
Always have a variety of vegetables to choose from to pair with our protein/dishes
“Infinite” shelf life, so meal planning & grocery shopping is less stressful
We used to hate frozen veggies because the ones we’ve previously tried are nothing like the fresh versions. Soggy, mushy & tasteless. Well, even though we have found a way to make them work for us, they are still not entirely identical to their fresh counterparts, but close enough for us to accept with our cheatsheet:)
Veggies with every meal Cheatsheet
I’ll start with the variety of frozen vegetables we regularly stock up on and how we cook them at home to maintain as much crunch & texture as possible!
1) Haricote beans
Servings: 2 pax amount
FFF’s cooking guide: Microwave on high for 2 - 2.5 minutes
2) Corn kernels
Servings: 1/2 cup
FFF’s cooking guide: Microwave on high for 30 seconds / I usually pop it in the microwave before adding to stir fry dishes
3) Stir fry mix
Serving: 1 pax amount
FFF’s cooking guide: Microwave on high for 50 - 60s / Stir fry in pan with oil & garlic, or use it in any stir fry dish
4) Soup mix
FFF’s cooking guide: Add as last step when making soups, serve once vegetables are fully defrosted & well heated up
5) Broccoli
Servings: 2 pax amount
FFF’s cooking guide: Microwave on high for 3 - 3.5 minutes / Garnish or season however you wish after
6) Mediterranean mix
Servings: 2 - 3 pax amount
FFF’s cooking guide: Bake in the oven at 185ºC for 10 - 15 minutes (this one gets a bit soggy tbh, but it’s a great mix for our pizzas sometimes! For pizzas, we blast them at 350ºC so we don’t experience the sogginess!
7) Frozen herbs
FFF’s serving suggestion: Sprinkle over hot food - Frozen herbs can be a life saver sometimes because they wilt so quickly but we have to buy them in a bunch to only use a few leaves/sprigs! No wastage here, but only good for garnish! Definitely not suitable to make pesto haha! There are other varieties too, and we have used the frozen ginger for quick ginger soups before:)
Vegetables we buy fresh:
Root veggies like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc
Cabbage varieties
Others will be bought and consumed within 1 - 2 days to prevent wilting, so some meal planning is needed in order to prevent wastage!
I really love this vegetable medley - it’s already cut & washed!
Tips to help fresh vegetables to last longer in the fridge
Line airtight container with paper towels before storing veggies
Make sure veggies are dry, you can pre-wash them but they have to be as dry as possible. Won’t recommend washing leafy greens before storing, but from our experience, carrots & cabbages do fine
For better results than airtight container, use vacuum containers:
