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The Freezing Vegetables Thread

Ira

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I’m fortunate in that my YNA eats almost everything good for him. I, however, don’t...so it’s a real balancing act having different food stuffs on hand every day, without it going bad.

In other words, just because Archie had parsnips for dinner, that doesn’t mean I’M having it. And I’m talking about individual items, not chops.

So, I’m trying to learn how to freeze certain things properly so it doesn’t go bad. Your additions and suggestions appreciated. I gleaned most of this info from the internet, from those nuts raising vegetables instead of birds:

1) Zucchini (green or yellow squash)

Peeled or unpeeled, sliced, blanche 3 minutes, leave to cool and dry, freeze. (No salt in any of these techniques.)

I then feed raw or steamed.

2) Fresh Beets

Whole beets, leave an inch or so of stem on, must be FULLY cooked/boiled, around 25 minutes, before freezing. You can peel when cooled down and chop, or freeze whole.

Since they’re already cooked, no further cooking needed.

3) Parsnips and Turnips

Same as squash above, but Blanche about 10 minutes.

I feed them raw or further steamed.

4) Green beans, corn on the cob, bok choy, hot peppers, mixed bag of small broccoli and cauliflower floretes.

No prep needed before freezing, unless you plan to freeze your hot peppers for months and months. Never really necessary, since you can buy such small quantities anyway. I chop my corn into very thin cobs and feed sparingly, since it’s not very nutritious in the first place.

I can feed this all raw, but I often steam the corn and broccoli/cauliflower floretes.

5) Large Red and Green pepper

There’s a certain freezing prep technique for this, which I don’t remember and don’t need, because like hot peppers, you can buy individually...and Archie eats them like crazy.

6) Leafy herbs like basil, dandelion leaves, parsley

I have no idea, and stopped feeding this stuff because I’m going broke since it goes bad so quickly.

7) Shredded kale and other similar lettuce salad mixtures

As far as I know, you can’t freeze it.

———-

What else can you think of regarding freezable vegetables? I’m hesitant to buy packaged frozen stuff because I assume it’s been processed.
 
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Mizzely

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Packaged frozen stuff is usually just fine - and often more nutritional than "fresh!" Frozen goes from field to freezer in less than 24 hours, so it can be picked at it's peak, whereas fresh has to be picked, then shipped across the country over several days, and often is picked before it peaks so it can survive the trip better. As long as it doesn't have added salt, oils, etc, frozen is an excellent choice :)
 

Mybluebird

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You might want to invest in a vacuum sealer. "Food Saver" is the brand I have. You don't need to blanche with it. I buy meats for myself in the family pack so it saves me money. I also buy things like strawberries at their peak in season and vacuum seal those. There are other foods that I eat and vacuum seal and put in the freezer. I also buy bird seed and egg food in bulk and vacuum seal that. I'm trying to get my guys (budgies) to eat pellets and once they tell me :roflmao: which one they like, I'll buy larger bags and portion it out to vacuum seal. I can't help you on the leafy stuff like the herbs except to suggest you get large pots and grow some outside. A galvanized horse trough works great - just drill a few holes in the bottom and sit it on bricks at the four corners to allow for drainage. Leafy stuff can be dried if you have an air fryer oven. I see you live in South Florida so you should be able to grow stuff year round.
 

Ira

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You might want to invest in a vacuum sealer. "Food Saver" is the brand I have. You don't need to blanche with it. I buy meats for myself in the family pack so it saves me money. I also buy things like strawberries at their peak in season and vacuum seal those. There are other foods that I eat and vacuum seal and put in the freezer. I also buy bird seed and egg food in bulk and vacuum seal that. I'm trying to get my guys (budgies) to eat pellets and once they tell me :roflmao: which one they like, I'll buy larger bags and portion it out to vacuum seal. I can't help you on the leafy stuff like the herbs except to suggest you get large pots and grow some outside. A galvanized horse trough works great - just drill a few holes in the bottom and sit it on bricks at the four corners to allow for drainage. Leafy stuff can be dried if you have an air fryer oven. I see you live in South Florida so you should be able to grow stuff year round.
I’m not starting a farm to feed him.
 

Shezbug

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You can freeze parsley (and other herbs) or dry them. Kale can also be frozen after some prep- you should even be able to buy it frozen.
 

Ira

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You can freeze parsley (and other herbs) or dry them. Kale can also be frozen after some prep- you should even be able to buy it frozen.
I buy a great kale mix at the supermarket that has like 6 other leafy vegetables in it, all shredded.
 

Mybluebird

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Feeding a budgie fresh food that you don't eat will involve some waste. My two never get peppers because I don't eat peppers and I refuse to buy them and throw away most of it. @Destiny provided good directions in another thread about how to make and freeze chop without it turning to mush. I have a pot outdoors with grasses, basil and oregano. My guys love the grass and basil. You don't need to plant a lot of stuff, just the favorite so you always have some fresh on hand. If you don't mind devoting a day to chopping and preparing the chop, that's great. Freeze it in ice cube trays and then seal it in freezer bags. I like the vacuum sealer because things will be good for a year under vacuum. I also buy freeze dried chop and sprouts which my guys love. I'm just now experimenting with making sprouts. It all just depends on what you want/are willing to do and then if Archie will eat it.
 

Ira

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Feeding a budgie fresh food that you don't eat will involve some waste. My two never get peppers because I don't eat peppers and I refuse to buy them and throw away most of it. @Destiny provided good directions in another thread about how to make and freeze chop without it turning to mush. I have a pot outdoors with grasses, basil and oregano. My guys love the grass and basil. You don't need to plant a lot of stuff, just the favorite so you always have some fresh on hand. If you don't mind devoting a day to chopping and preparing the chop, that's great. Freeze it in ice cube trays and then seal it in freezer bags. I like the vacuum sealer because things will be good for a year under vacuum. I also buy freeze dried chop and sprouts which my guys love. I'm just now experimenting with making sprouts. It all just depends on what you want/are willing to do and then if Archie will eat it.
I said no chop.

And I have an amazon, not a budgie.
 

Shezbug

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I’m not certain exactly what you’re looking for with the original post but if you wish to buy frozen veg from the supermarket then just check that there’s been nothing added- it is usually salt if anything is added.
A lot of the frozen stuff is slightly blanched so it looks, keeps and cooks best- it’s not a bad thing.
You can do the same at home, if doing it yourself you want to remove as much excess moisture from food before freezing and try to freeze quickly on a tray in a single layer before bagging in bulk.
Some things like canned chickpeas can also be used for convenience, but again check for additives- I can buy canned beans and lentils that have nothing added but water so I always have some of those in the cupboard to save me from having to cook them when I don’t feel up to it.
Things that don’t freeze well may dry better- we grow more chilli than Burt eats so I dry them and add them chopped up to any veg that may have defrosted a bit wetter than I like.
Roast veg mashed up often freeze really well too. Try to freeze anything thin layers or single layers for the chopped veg so that it’s easy to break some off when you want some.
 

finchly

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You can buy dried hot peppers. Most foods freeze just fine, I think you’re going to have to experiment. I can’t help you —- I feed tons of fresh foods but we eat endless salads ourselves and they get their own “salad “, plus I make chop. Sometimes daily.
 
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