Time, there is never enough of it, especially when comes to home cooking healthy meals. There are a few tricks however, you can incorporate in your week to make a healthy meal available within a few minutes. Soups are so versatile and can be easily frozen but there a few things to keep in mind so make the soup taste better once it is reheated.
Note: Making large quantities on the weekend prior to your work week is the easiest way to do this. You could even ask a few colleagues to form a soup club and each makes a soup at home and brings their soup on a certain day of the week. They just need to use the same technique described below.
1. Pick your liquids carefully. Vegetable broth or tomato based soups freeze the best. This could include chili full of beans, stews with starchy vegetables, lentils and vegetables, and so much more. Avoid any soup that has a cream base, that had flour or cornstarch to thicken it. Freezing makes it chunky.
2. Cool the soup immediately so the ingredients do not over cook. You can place the pot you cooked the soup in into a ice bath. Do not place the soup in glass jars then place in an ice bath as the rapid temperature change could cause the glass to shatter. (Don’t ask but I know this from personal experience!)
3. Ladle, pack, and label. Ladle your portions into glass or plastic containers and label so you will know exactly what you are grabbing instead trying to figure it out in a frozen state. You can freeze individual portions or family size. It depends on your circumstances. You can store frozen soups up to three months so make sure you date the containers as well.
4. Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours prior to reheating. You can reheat on the stove or in a microwave. These are easy to take to work, just set them out the night before in the fridge and my lunch time they should be ready to reheat.
Hope this helps you eat healthier during a busy week! Have a blessed day and remember… Go Veggie!
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