Staples for Stocking a Healthy Freezer

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Below are the items that we keep in our deep freezer often, if not always. Unless otherwise stated, all of the items listed we purchase at Costco due to a cost advantage and/or added convenience of buying these products in bulk. Meat/Seafood (each come vacuum-sealed in individual portions or packages perfect for small families)

  • Organic chicken breasts, thighs, and drumsticks
  • Lean ground turkey - unavailable in organic when bought bulk
  • Organic ground beef
  • Salmon fillets
  • White fish (not from Costco; my husband catches fresh)
  • Lobster tails
  • Salmon burgers (homemade or from Costco)
  • All-natural chicken burgers (homemade or from Costco)
  • All-natural meatballs (homemade or from Costco)

Starches and Whole Grains

  • Batch-cooked brown rice, Mexican rice, and fried rice (brown rice bought uncooked at Costco), then homemade)
  • Batch-cooked quinoa (quinoa bought uncooked at Costco, then homemade)
  • Whole-grain sandwich bread and sandwich thins
  • Gluten-free bread

Vegetables

  • Frozen broccoli
  • Frozen root vegetables (carrots, potatoes)
  • Frozen corn
  • Frozen peas
  • Frozen vegetable medley (purchased at Trader Joe's)

Fruit

  • Frozen organic berries
  • Frozen pineapple
  • Frozen organic cherries
  • Frozen organic mango

Dairy

  • Shredded mozzarella

Nuts and Seeds

  • Chia, hemp, and flax seeds
  • Raw almonds, cashews, and mixed nuts

Treats

  • Fruit sorbets
  • Popsicles (homemade)

Breakfast Foods

  • Shredded potatoes (purchased at Trader Joe's)
  • Leftover breakfast hash (homemade)
  • Egg whites (if unused before expiration date)
  • All-natural bacon, breakfast sausage, and Canadian bacon-ham

Marinades and Premade Meals (all homemade and then stored in the amounts needed for single-recipes using freezer-safe containers)

  • Batch-cook marinades like those used for: broccoli & beef, Asian salmon, orange and kung poa chicken
  • Sauces: pesto, spaghetti
  • Meats: ground turkey tacos, meatballs
  • Soups: chicken tortilla, enchilada, sausage-spinach-white bean
  • Chilis: turkey pumpkin, butternut squash, quinoa chili
Ashley Smith