Vegetable prep - seeking suggestions

[Haveyoutriedyoga]

I would like to pre-prepare vegetable side dishes that can be frozen and microwaved from frozen, like these and these.

I am craving greens because my diet is mostly microwave meals but I am also too fussy and sensitive to textures so struggle with most go-to quick and easy vegetable options. I am being a little over optimistic because I rarely have the energy to do meal prep but I'm going to give it another go.

I have googled it but google gives me recipes that use frozen veg which requires assembling the recipe and cooking it whereas I want to pop the pre-prepared dish in the microwave and be done and have something tasty.

I get a bit foggy planning and cooking recipes so need to break it down into very specific steps and I thought I would try you lot for tips! I also want to avoid 'giving it a go' multiple times because I will definitely run out of energy and to be frank, out of patience.

How would I make sure I pre-cook the veg for the right amount of time (if at all?)

What shall I freeze the portions in that will allow me to microwave them effectively?

Where can I get those things?

What else could or should I consider?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Kitty]

I don't like dressings, but if it were me, I might try making a small quantity up and seeing if it freezes okay—or look up recipes for dressings that definitely do. You could then buy frozen veg and cook them in the microwave, reheat the dressing separately, and then pour it over to serve? It'd be almost as quick as reheating a single dish, as you could put them in the microwave together once you've worked out the timings. It might work if you froze them together, but the result might also be unappetising mush once reheated.

Harder veg always freeze better than leafy ones—beans are good, broccoli and cauli are okay if you buy them pre-frozen (I can't seem to get as good a result by blanching and freezing my own), and peas are absolutely lovely from frozen. Slightly surprisingly, I've also found that frozen sliced sweet peppers/capsicums are nice sprinkled on top of a meal I'm heating in the microwave. I didn't think they'd keep any of their taste, but they do. Not as nice as crunchy fresh ones, but better than none!

 

[NelliePledge]

What country are you in?

in the uk I can buy a frozen mix of peas broad beans and French beans which is quite good - sainsburys

I also buy frozen leaf (not chopped) spinach and French beans, broccoli to avoid waste. Frozen peas are good, I prefer petits pois rather than garden peas.

I can’t seem to find frozen leeks but can get fresh ones that are trimmed so don’t take much work I cut them up and freeze them myself. I also freeze spring green cabbage because like broccoli that gets wasted otherwise. It’s not as good as fresh but still perfectly edible.

there are also green veg medleys in the fresh veg available at M&S, sainsburys probably other places as well

 

[Peter T]

It is expensive but most supermarkets have a range of ready prepared vegetable side dishes for microwaving. A lot of these can be frozen.

I do have problems re portion sizes as they are often intended as an accompaniment for a main dish for several people. Also they tend to be seasonal so I find keeping track of what is available so I can order online is difficult. Ideally you need to visit a supermarket relatively regularly to know what is currently available. Because of these issue I often find myself reverting to just eating the microwave main dishes and having a restricted number of vegetables in my diet.

 

[Hutan]

I've mentioned these glass storage containers before I think:

These are ClickClack, I think that's a New Zealand brand, currently this 0.4 litre one is NZD6.50 on sale. They are glass, with a silicone vented lid. They are fine in the freezer, in the microwave, in the dish washer, even the oven (I'd leave the lid off there), so you aren't having to worry about different dishes for different places. You can even eat out of it if you don't want to wash a plate. This size is good for a small meal's worth of food, or maybe a vegetable side serve.

With just an individual portion of food, I don't think you need to worry about the effect of reheating on the food. So, when preparing the vegetables in a big batch, cook them to your liking and then freeze them in the meal-sized containers. You could prepare a batch of carrots and a batch of green beans or kale, and when they are each tender, bung some of them together in the container, let the mixture cool down a bit with the lids on, and then freeze them. Edit - butter and salt makes nearly every vegetable taste good.

I agree about the wonders of frozen peas, especially the small ones. They are cheap greens with some protein, free flow so easy to manage, quick to cook and delicious. If worst comes to worst, put them in a cup without any cooking at all and eat as a snack.

 

[Wonko]

For veg, especially leafy green veg, I'd think you'd be hard pressed to beat what can already be obtained pre frozen. And it's a lot of work to prep veg for freezing. Possibly just pick one or two types that you don't like the pre-frozen versions of and try and do it better - chances are you won't be able to but, at least you'd then know.

The only reason I can see it do it is if you had a supply of 'free' fresh veg - pre-frozen veg is likely to be cheaper, fresher, and easier. Assuming that the veg you want to freeze exists pre-frozen - if it doesn't there is probably a reason why not (although this may just be perceived lack of demand for a frozen version)

I've tried such things myself, along with dehydration, and several other things, and rapidly given up on them as just too much work, requiring too much time and space.

For freezing portions of stuff (from batch cooks mainly) I tend to use the flimsy plastic containers so beloved of Chinese takeaways (at least in the UK). They come in various sizes from about 350ml (too small for most things, through 500ml (too small for many things but fine for things like chilli), 650-750ml, ideal for a generous portion of many things (and big enough to cook a small single portion of bolognese sauce so it doesn't explode in a microwave (if cooked at low power in stages)), to 1000ml (never used). These can last multiple uses, my last lot were mostly about 5-6 years old*, in constant use (about 50-60 of them on rotation, mostly living in the freezer with stuff in them, staining can be removed by wiping/cleaning with olive oil, only when they start to pit, frost, or crack, do they need to be discarded) until I binned all of them 2 weeks ago - I figured with moving it was probably time to get new ones, rather than cart the old ones across the UK

* I should perhaps mention that I have never used them at full power, almost everything I reheat in them gets defrosted first and then cooked at 40% power, 2 to 4 times, until I am happy that the contents are hot hot. Not using them at 100% power may explain why they last so long.

For stuff that's going to go in the oven after defrosting I use glass plastic lidded things like @Hutan suggests - my current ones for most single portion dishes (mac&cheese, cottage pie, etc.) is a 650ml thing from Asda - I got 10 which were £2 each last item I bought some. For bigger multi portion stuff I use lidded pyrex rectangular things - the biggest I have will hold a half lasagna (a lasagna is a unit of measurement wherever I am lol).

ETA - As far as I am aware all the major supermarkets in the UK claim to sell (or did) frozen leaks. I've never bought them because the reviews are pretty unanimous that the quality is low (that they just shove farm fresh leaks into a chopper whole, so they have bits in that would normally be discarded when preparing yourself, like the tough root section), fresh leaks are generally cheaper, by a lot, and for a lot of purposes (e.g. soups) dried leak will do (and I normally have a fair amount of them as well - not as good as fresh but in a pinch..))

 

[Sean]

Frozen veggies from the supermarket are a big help to me.

Main ones I use are corn, a broccoli and cauliflower mix, and spinach. Also get some general mixed veggie packs sometimes.

 

[JemPD]

if you in th uk these are brilliant, come in frozen prepacked portions (bags) & you just put the whole thing in the microwave. All the supermarkets have them, but they dont have all the varieties. i find Iceland quite good for delivery of frozen veg, they do a really good frozen tenderstem broccoli which is almost as good as fresh tbh

otherwise i use big bags of frozen veg that i tip into a mini glass casserole dish, lidded. into the microwave, they dont need water adding. I then keep tubes of things like garlic butter/chopped herbs - you can get them frozen too, & pop a bit either in with it for the frozen ones or on top after it cooks.

 

[Haveyoutriedyoga]

Thanks for the ideas, will be trying the container and low-power microwaving advice.

I do plan to use pre-frozen veg where it is available, and frozen herbs, there are some things my local doesn't sell frozen (cabbage, posh/interesting varieties of leafy greens) - maybe this will be the final nudge to get a chopping gadget/food processor!

I have a second under-counter freezer in the shed, £10 from facebook, that has been a real gamechanger because when my mother visits two/three times a year she now cooks about 20 meals to freeze and I mix that with supermarket ready meals, no-prep/no-chop meals and sometimes a delivery from COOK if I can afford to splurge.

 

[shak8]

I dump some bottled basil pesto (from small jar) onto vegs. Makes anything taste superb.

 

[Hutan]

Another thread reminds me that a heaped tablespoon of chopped kimchi mixed through greens after the greens are cooked is nice if you like that sort of thing, which I do. Adds flavour and another vegetable. And kimchi keeps for a long time in a jar in the fridge. Sauerkraut does the job too.

 

[Haveyoutriedyoga]

I dump some bottled basil pesto (from small jar) onto vegs. Makes anything taste superb.

Another thread reminds me that a heaped tablespoon of chopped kimchi mixed through greens after the greens are cooked is nice if you like that sort of thing, which I do. Adds flavour and another vegetable. And kimchi keeps for a long time in a jar in the fridge. Sauerkraut does the job too.

Love these two, jarred preserved seasoning definitely a way to go!