Reusable Freezer Storage

dan958

I put my meal prepped food in those freezable/microwavable containers with the 3 compartments. Great for portion control.

I have a couple of larger tupperware for other items, such as like when I freeze carrots etc.

I have also just ordered a pack of 4 silicone bags that you can freeze, refrigerate, and microwave. I'll be using this to store freshly cut vegetables while in the fridge.

SeaVixen

dan958 said:

I have also just ordered a pack of 4 silicone bags that you can freeze, refrigerate, and microwave. I'll be using this to store freshly cut vegetables while in the fridge.

I've been looking at these too! Bit concerned they'll pick up stains from the food and look a bit ikky quite quickly. How have you found using them?

KxMx

I don't have freezer space for tupperware, freezer bags are a rare example of plastic waste I'm happy to use since they are important in food preservation and in eliminating food waste.

What I have done in balance is almost eliminate them (and cling film) for fresh food, all of which now goes into re-usable plastic tupperware. 

dan958

SeaVixen said:

dan958 said:

I have also just ordered a pack of 4 silicone bags that you can freeze, refrigerate, and microwave. I'll be using this to store freshly cut vegetables while in the fridge.

I've been looking at these too! Bit concerned they'll pick up stains from the food and look a bit ikky quite quickly. How have you found using them?

I put thinks like marinara sauce and chilli in mine, and havent found any staining so far (whereas any tupperware I've used in the past always gets stained with chilli). I havent used the silicone bags in the microwave though, so never tested 'baking' some food onto the silcone and seeing if that stains.

Steve_L

Another vote for plastic takeaway tubs, with the caveat that they do become fragile when cold. Don't drop them and/or have a few spares. We only have an standard upright fridge/freezer, albeit with the largest available freezer to fridge ratio. The middle shelf is earmarked for batch-cooked stuff. The optimum configuration is 8 x 650 ml tubs in 4 stacks of 2 tubs along the edges, which just clear the supports for the shelf above and 9 x 500 ml tubs in 3 stacks of 3 tubs down the middle, which just clear the shelf above, giving a total of no less than 17 tubs. OK, sometimes a few new ones have to temporarliy overflow elsewhere.

Steve_L

PS. And marked with a spirit based marker pen.The novelty of "Freezer roulette" soon wears thin. And be mindful of possible duplications, although "BS" can safely be used for Bolognese sauce (aka Bright red Stuff) and broccoli soup (aka Beige Stuff), for example.

Steve_L

-taff said:

Pollycat wrote: »

Food like bol, chilli, stews etc do pop out of these very easily if you just give them a bit of a twist.

Or turn them upside down and run under a warm tap, they'll just fall out.

Cold water works fine. It's till warmer than the frozen contents. Less energy, less cost, more MSE.

Steve_L

Correction: the 3 middle stacks can be 2 x 650 +1 x 500. This really grazes the bottom of the shelf above. The same number of tubs, but more stuff in 6 of them. Yes, I need to get out more. :-)

Pollycat

Steve_L said:

PS. And marked with a spirit based marker pen.The novelty of "Freezer roulette" soon wears thin. And be mindful of possible duplications, although "BS" can safely be used for Bolognese sauce (aka Bright red Stuff) and broccoli soup (aka Beige Stuff), for example.

I use 'bol'.

Steve_L said:

-taff said:

Pollycat wrote: »

Food like bol, chilli, stews etc do pop out of these very easily if you just give them a bit of a twist.

Or turn them upside down and run under a warm tap, they'll just fall out.

Cold water works fine. It's till warmer than the frozen contents. Less energy, less cost, more MSE.

As I posted up-thread, I find the Chinese take-away containers flexible enough that I don't have to run them under water of any temperature.

annieb64

I bought some plastic containers  from Lakeland over 10 years ago and they are still going strong. They are in three different sizes but the lids are all the same size. Every summer I use the larger size for soft fruit from the garden. Nine of them fit quite neatly in the bottom of my chest freezer. They also stack well.
They weren't cheap but have certainly been worth every penny.