Freezing foods

[TrudyTwilite]

Hi all,

Part of my ability to stay on program is to aliquot foods into servings and then store them. I weigh out snacks into baggies and write the points on them. I freeze away my own "TV dinners". I make a whole loaf of sandwiches at a time.I also freeze away 1 cup servings of various 0-1 point soups. It's the only way I get my vegetables. (Salads feel like a punishment for me.) It sounds like a lot of work, but it isn't. It's actually easier because I have food I can grab and run with. You do it once and you're all set for a week or two.

My question is - has anyone frozen cottage cheese or bananas? Does they taste any good when you thaw them? These are two things I run out of between shopping excursions ..... and I don't have a convenient grocery store.

[ellbogen]

Frozen bananas add great texture to a smoothie. I would suggest taking the peels off before freezing them, though, or they are really hard to peel when frozen.

I had a big freeze-fest last week and made a huge pot of lentil-vegetable curry plus some wild rice mixture and put them in those little divided Ziplock containers that are about 4 for $2 (can be reused many times and go in the dishwasher). Those divided containers are great b/c I can put a whole meal in a TV dinner-like configuration, and I know the points and (better yet) can control the points.

[imported_Kelly_S]

Certain cheeses freeze well but are likely to change in texture. Neither cottage cheese nor cream cheese should ever be frozen. Both may lose flavor as well as texture. Cottage cheese can be kept cold and covered in the refigerator for up to a week. Its container should have a tight-fitting lid since cottage cheese easily absorbs odors from other foods. Semi-soft cheeses may be cubed and frozen individually for use in cooking. They will still maintain their flavor although texture may be altered but are excellent for dishes where melted cheese is an ingredient. Unless frozen, all cheese should be kept in the fresh food part of the refrigerator. To discourage drying-out and odor absorption, cheese should be wrapped in plastic wrap or foil. Mold that may form on cheese is not harmful. The mold may be cut from the cheese and the cheese used as usual.