If you’re like me, staying at home to help protect yourself and others from the coronavirus pandemic means working at being both more creative and more efficient with grocery purchasing and meal planning.
Luckily for all of us, frozen vegetables help with both.
The freezer section of your grocery store is home to affordable bags of peas, carrots, corn, green beans and all sorts of vegetable mixes. These vegetables are flash-frozen, often within hours after harvest, which means frozen peas, for example, contain more vitamin C and beta carotene than canned or even fresh peas.
How can you put frozen vegetables to good use in your meal planning this week? Here are a few ideas:
1. Veggie Egg Scramble
Thaw any vegetables you like, or heat them up in the microwave or a small pan. Drain off any excess liquid before stirring into beaten eggs along with a handful of shredded cheese for a tasty veggie scramble.
2. Vegetable Chili
Your chili pot is a blank canvas when you have a freezer full of vegetables to add to canned or cooked beans—or to the browned meat of your choice. Some tomatoes, chili spices and a bit of simmering time, and you’ve got a delicious dinner!
3. Vegetable Stir Fry
Stir fries are best when they’re cooked in a super-hot pan. Your frozen vegetables will hit that heat and quickly thaw and cook within minutes, ready to be combined with seared chicken or beef, toasted nuts like cashews or peanuts, and a savory soy or teriyaki sauce. Serve over rice.
4. Vegetable Soup
A package of prepared vegetable, chicken or beef stock is the base for a frozen-vegetable-rich soup that can be a satisfying lunch or—crowned with a tasty topping—a soothing, nutritious dinner.
5. Veggie Grain Bowl
It takes just minutes to heat up frozen vegetables on the stovetop or in the microwave, which leave them warm and ready to stir into a steaming bowl of cooked rice, lentils, farro or other grain. Chunks of cheese and a squeeze of lemon make for a tasty and easy meal.
How do you make the most of frozen vegetables?
