Freezer Essentials to Make Easy Healthy Meals!
Some of the simplest, tastiest and healthiest meals can be made ALL from foods you can find in the freezer section of your grocery store. With so many frozen foods to choose from, which ones do you choose? How can you build yourself a collection of frozen foods that you can use to make yourself simple lean meals?! Today I will be breaking down certain foods you should have in your freezer and what kinds of meals you can make with said foods! I will be telling you the freezer essentials you’ll need to make easy and healthy meals! When it comes to freezer essentials I like to break it down into 4 main categories. Lets start off with:
Frozen Veg!
Of COURSE one of the most important things we need to have in our freezer to make healthy meals is frozen veg! Frozen vegetables will stay fresh in your freezer for long periods of time. For the most part, there is also usually a wide variety of different veggies to choose from, pre washed pre-chopped and everything! All you need to do is throw it in a pan, season it ans you are ready to go! Some of my favourite frozen vegetables are frozen chopped vegetable mixes (whatever is available), frozen spinach, and frozen cauliflower rice. Frozen spinach is great to throw into any dish such as scrambled eggs or a warm
salad. Cauliflower rice can be a great low carb replacement that you can use as the base of many dishes such as a stir-fry!
Here are a couple of recipes you can try using frozen Veg:
Chinese Egg Fried Lean RiceHealthy Vegan RamenVegan curry and cauliflower sweet potato rice
Frozen Meat and Meat alternatives
Having a source of frozen protein is super essential in making a lean meal! Luckily for the most part, there are a ton of great options in this department! For meats, you can grab yourself some chicken breasts, ground chicken, ground turkey, or salmon - these are some of my favourite options. For meat alternatives, I like to have Yves ground or beyond meat ground. These are great to easily throw into a pan and have ready in a short period of time! As for the ground meats, you should let it thaw a bit before cooking unless is it precooked chicken breast strips or something like that. These frozen proteins are so versatile and can 
be used to make a number of lean dishes. You can make some quick healthy taco bowls,salad bowls, or stir-fry's. Pair any of these meats with some of the frozen veg mentioned above and you got yourself a great lean meal!
Here are some recipes you can make using frozen meat and meat alternatives:
Instant Pot Chicken Curry Turkey Taco BowlsVegan Nachos
Frozen Garlic and herbs
Frozen garlic is one of my essentials. Garlic is SO good for you! It is high in nutrients and low in calories - and the best part, it is LEANLICOUS! I like to throw garlic into many of my dishes to add that burst of flavour and extra nutrients. You can find garlic frozen in its full form, pre-chopped or pre-minced. This is super convenient in saving time! Garlic can take some time in peeling and chopping. Having it conveniently done already for you is great! You can also get frozen herbs, pre-chopped in the frozen isle. This is super convenient since herbs can also take a super long time to chop. Unliked dried herbs, frozen
herbs can give you that fresh herb flavour you can’t get from a dried herb. Frozen cilantro and basil and some of my go to’s. Here's some recipes you can make with frozen garlic/herbs:Italian turkey stuffed zucchini boatsHealthy turkey chilliRed Thai coconut curry
Frozen Fruits
Last but not least of our freezer essentials - frozen fruits! The convenience of frozen fruits is leansane! Coming pre-chopped and peeled, there is almost no work involved in enjoying these frozen fruits. Frozen fruits (and veggies) are also SO fresh as they are usually frozen when perfectly ripe and freshly picked. The main benefit of having frozen fruits available is to make protein smoothies! Smoothies are a great fast meal. They can be made in no time and can be enjoyed in the go easily. You can even toss a bunch of frozen spinach in with your fruits tomake an extra nutritious smoothie! Some of my favourite fruits to have available frozen are
bananas and strawberries.
Here are some healthy smoothies you can make with frozen veg:
Berry lean smoothieVegan coffee protein smoothie
Having these freezer essentials can make your life easier and allow you to make easy healthy meals in no time! With some recipe inspiration and the right frozen foods you can be eating healthy right out of your freezer in no time!