These freezer essentials will help you with your weekly meal prep as well as last minute meals that you need to get on the table fast.
Bagged frozen vegetables, like mixed peppers, broccoli, and spinach.
Bagged frozen fruit, like blueberries, mangos, bananas, and strawberries.
Bagged frozen pastas, like tortellini and ravioli.
Frozen waffles and pancakes.
Frozen potatoes, like tots, fries, and breakfast potatoes.
Rice and prepared side dishes.
Pre-made dough, pie crusts, and breads.
Frozen foods are not limited to frozen dinners. You can stock your freezer with healthier ingredients to make putting dinner together easy. There are endless possibilities with what you can make with frozen ingredients. As always, be creative and “work with what you got!”
“Work With What You Got!”
©Tiny New York Kitchen © 2020 All Rights Reserved
Eating well just got easier. Use one or more ingredients from each of the five categories. Stick with one international flavor profile. Find a sauce in your market’s global-foods section: ssamjang, chutney, hot sauce, salsa, pesto, chimichurri, romesco, aioli, tahini, or peanut sauce. Save money by using leftovers. Save time by using prechopped fresh vegetables.
CHOOSE A BASE INGREDIENT
1/2 Cup
Cooked Brown Rice, Quinoa, Millet, Bulgur, Farro, Barley, Whole Grain Pasta
CHOOSE A LEAN PROTEIN
3 To 4 Ounces
Cooked Meat, Poultry, Seafood, Legumes, Eggs, Tofu
CHOOSE VEGETABLES
1 To 2 Cups
Vary Colors And Textures
CHOOSE A SAUCE
1 To 3 Tablespoons
Sriracha, Harissa, Soy, Sweet Chili, Ssamjang, Chutney, Hot Sauce, Salsa, Pesto, Chimichurri, Romesco, Aioli, Tahini, Peanut Sauce
Bowl Ideas
Korean: Cooked noodles or rice, shredded carrot, sliced cucumber, sliced daikon radish, bean sprouts, sliced grilled beef, runny fried egg, ssamjang, kimchi
Middle Eastern: Cooked bulgur, roasted eggplant, roasted cauliflower, sautéed spinach, cooked chickpeas, grilled chicken, minted yogurt sauce, roasted pumpkin seeds, za’atar spice blend
Italian: Cooked faro, sautéed zucchini, sautéed kale, roasted red peppers, roasted cherry tomatoes, tuna, pesto, olives, marinated artichoke hearts, pine nuts
“Work With What You Got!”
©Tiny New York Kitchen © 2019 All Rights Reserved
In a bowl mix baby greens or baby spinach with 1 peeled, quartered and thinly sliced apple or pear. 1 apple or pear for every 2 people. Pour over enough Maple Mustard Dressing to moisten. Transfer to salad bowls and garnish with toasted chopped pecans and crumbled gorgonzola cheese. Enjoy!
“Work With What You Got!”
©Tiny New York Kitchen © 2018 All Rights Reserved
Fresh Spinach
Spinach is available year round, but is especially sweet and tender in the late spring, when growing conditions are perfect.
Spinach is so versatile; you can eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert! In Tuscany, the leaves are baked into a pie with almonds, sugar, and candied lemon peel called torta co’bischeri agli spinaci. Leave it to the Italians to create a spinach dessert.
http://www.npr.org/2013/03/28/175478107/tuscan-pie-a-sweet-springtime-take-on-spinach
When shopping for spinach the leaves should be crisp and free of moisture. Avoid spinach with broken or bruised leaves.
If you purchase bagged greens (yes, I know there is a big controversy on bagged greens) they will most likely last twice as long as the leafy bundles. Bagged spinach is handled less and exposed to less moisture. Make sure to check the “best by” date to use the leaves when they are at their peek. If they are dark or clump together, just pass them by.
Spinach grows in sandy soil, so if you by bundled spinach it most definitely won’t be prewashed. Just give the leaves a generous soak in cold water, changing it out once or twice, until there is no more grit in the bottom of the bowl.
To Prepare Spinach (1 Pound): Wash and drain. Remove stems and tear into pieces (12 cups torn).
Conventional Cooking Directions: Cook, covered, in a small amount of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Begin timing when steam foams. OR steam for 3 to 5 minutes. Microwave cooking is not recommended.
How To Store: Rinse leaves in cold water and thoroughly dry. Place leaves in a storage container with a paper towel and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Baby Spinach isn’t actually immature flat-leaf spinach, but a different variety entirely.
Flat-Leaf Spinach has large leaves that turn silky once slow cooked. They have an earthy flavor that tastes great in dishes like lasagna or soup.
It takes 8 cups of raw spinach to make just 1 cup of cooked. Make sure that you have enough spinach for your recipe.
Raw spinach has 33 percent more folate and 187 percent more vitamin C than cooked, since those nutrients are vulnerable to heat. On the flip side, cooking spinach deactivates oxalic acid, a compound that prevents the absorption of certain nutrients, so you get 32 percent more iron and nearly 40 percent more calcium than raw. Have a salad today and sauté tomorrow.
“Work With What You Got!”
© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen All Rights Reserved
“Food, one assumes, provides nourishment; but Americans eat it fully aware that small amounts of poison have been added to improve its appearance and delay its putrefaction.” – John Cage
There has been quite a bit of controversy these days about eating organic. Recent studies state that it really doesn’t matter if you eat organic foods or not. When something is labeled organic, it usually means that a farm has not used pesticides and has taken considerable care to avoid any cross-contamination. Producing organic food undoubtedly costs more money which is passed on to the consumer. Buying organic tends to be quite a bit more expensive than buying non-organic.
Honestly, I don’t care what the studies are saying about eating organic versus eating non-organic. I would rather not put pesticides into my body as well as wanting to support farmers and food companies that are not using pesticides. I love going to farmers’ markets during the spring, summer and fall and when I am shopping in the grocery store I am willing to pay a bit more for organic food.
If you have decided not to buy organic here is a list of foods that have found to be the most and least contaminated.
Most Contaminated
Apples
Bell Peppers
Celery
Cherries
Grapes
Lettuce
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Potatoes
Spinach
Strawberries
Least Contaminated
Asparagus
Avocados
Bananas
Broccoli
Cabbage
Corn
Kiwis
Mangos
Onions
Papayas
Peas
Pineapples
I hate to throw food away. I really do. Here are some ideas that will transform one night’s extras into a fresh meal.
Toss up a salad. Add leftover roasted meat or fish to fresh lettuces and vegetables. Sprinkle an assortment of cheeses and add your favorite dressing.
Stir up a soup. Cook leftover meats and vegetables in a chicken or vegetable broth. Add fresh or frozen vegetables and cook through. Season as you like. If you have leftover cooked pasta you may want to add as well. Let's not forget tofu.
If you cooked too much pasta don’t worry about it. You can add sausage and spinach to the next night’s leftover pasta. Add a little olive oil and grated cheese and you’re set.
Make some French bread sandwiches. Slice the French bread lengthwise. The long loaves are great for piling with leftover meat and topped with cheeses. Place under the broiler for tasty open-faced sandwiches.
Be creative. I have come up with some good recipes out of a fridge full of leftovers.