To Freeze or Not To Freeze
(A.K.A. 4 Tips on How to Save Money by Buying and Freezing)

1. Stock Up On Sale Items

If it can be frozen, freeze it and save. Just beware that no food lasts forever in the freezer and some have shorter lives than others. For example, frozen peas seem to last eternally (really throw them out after a year if you haven't use it), but bacon only lasts about six weeks. Ground meat will keep three or four months if sealed correctly.

Check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation at for helpful information about freezing, canning, drying and other types of food preservation.

2. Discover Foods You Never Knew You Could Freeze

Think outside the Lean Cuisine box. Obviously, vegetables and meats (many of them) can be frozen; after all we buy them all the time. But there are plenty of more ideas:

Eggs - Crack'em, stir, and put'em in ice-cube trays. After they freeze, pack them in freezer bags.
Bread - This includes loaves, as well as items such as bagels.
Cookie Dough - This often goes on sale after a holiday
Butter - Another great freezer item, and often very expensive.
Fresh Herbs - Chop up basil, cilantro, parsley, mint, etc. You can freeze it in mini ice cube trays and cover with freezer wrap or freezer bags. This is a great way to save extras from your garden.
Cheese - Hard and some semi-hard varieties will freeze if kept air tight. They tend to lose some of their texture, but still taste good when melted in items such as casseroles or quesadillas or pizza.
Sauces - Some sauces, such as spaghetti sauce and pesto will freeze well
Bacon - If unopened, bacon, sausage and ham can be frozen for a month or more, but tend to lose their flavor and can be come rancid if stored more than 3 months
Nuts - These actually keep well, if not better, when stored in the freezer

3. Store Foods Properly

Freezer burn is, well, icky, and can certainly be avoided if you package foods properly. Wrapping foods in aluminum foil and then covering them with a plastic freezer bag will help fend off most spoilage. Be sure to label items when you put them in, and remember, nothing lasts forever, and if you haven't eaten in a year, it's just taking up space.

4. Double Your Recipe, Freeze the Leftovers

There are hundreds of recipes that can be prepared and then frozen to be enjoyed at a later time. This can save you money because you can buy food in bulk on sale. This also saves time, because it really takes no extra time to double (or even triple) a recipe and freeze the extra portions. So one night, when you are really tired, you have a homemade dinner waiting for you in the freezer. It's healthier and cheaper than prepared frozen dinners.

Check out RecipeZaar.com for some Once-A-Month Cooking ideas. This site includes nearly 500 OAMC recipes and most have helpful ratings. This is my favorite recipe site, but there are tons of excellent cooking sites to enjoy on the web. Some RecipeZaar OAMC recipes include French Toast Fingers (a quick and easy breakfast for the kids), Rice (just plain rice that can be reheated in just a couple of minutes; a huge timesaver), casseroles, chili and much more.

5. Invest in an extra freezer (or not)

This can be a good idea for larger families or families that plan ahead and prepare a month's worth of food ahead of time. Small, energy efficient freezers can be stored in the laundry room or garage. But this can be an unnecessary expense. So if you don't need it, don't buy. Sometimes, just reorganizing the freezer you have will create a lot of space you didn't have before.

--The Staff at StoreCouponsNow