Helping set yourself up for success in your quest for a healthy lifestyle is one of our top goals. Today we’re sharing some of our favorite freezer staples for Mediterranean diet inspired meals. All designed to be budget friendly and help create quick and delicious meals and snacks.
Berries
Frozen fruit in general is our #1 choice when it comes to freezer staples. They can be used in so many dishes, extremely budget friendly, easily accessible, no peeling/chopping required and a great way to get a variety of fruit even when it’s not in season.
Frozen berries are great to stock in the freezer because they are a great source of fiber. We typically always have blueberries, strawberries and raspberries in our freezer. Often times we buy them already frozen. However, in the summer, we’ll buy a huge amount of berries from the farmer’s and freeze them if we can’t finish them fast enough.
In addition to smoothies, we use frozen berries on top of oatmeal, greek yogurt and on top of pancakes.
Frozen fruit in general is also great for quick meal additions. We typically have pineapple, mango, and peaches in the freezer.
Mediterranean Diet Inspired Recipes Using Frozen Fruit
- Tropical Smoothie with Frozen Fruit
- Quick and Delicious Brain Boosting Smoothie
- Frozen Fruit Salad
- Ahi Tuna Rice Bowl with Mango
- Greek Yogurt Breakfast Bowl
Mushrooms
I love keeping mushrooms in the freezer to quickly sauté as a side dish, add to pasta sauces or soups. They are a hearty ingredient that have a lot of vitamins and minerals.
To add some extra nutrients to spaghetti, I add frozen mushrooms to spaghetti sauce and my kids never know the difference.
One of our very favorite mushroom recipes:
Edamame
When I discovered a sushi restaurant that my kids liked edamame I was so excited! As a parent, it can be hard finding a variety of vegetables that the kids like.
We always have a bag of frozen edamame in our freezer because you can quickly pull it out for a fiber and protein filled meal addition.
Our very favorite way to enjoy them:
I’ll also just add them to salads or put them in their school lunch.
Spinach
Whenever I buy a bag of frozen spinach, the majority of the time it just sits there wilting. I recently switched to frozen spinach and it’s been so much better as far as food waste is concerned.
My husband and I love just taking frozen spinach and heating in the microwave with some olive oil, lemon and garlic powder.
Other uses we love for frozen spinach:
- adding to spaghetti sauce
- sautéing with other veggies for a side dish
- using in soups and stews
- defrosting and using in chopped salads
Similar to frozen fruit, frozen veggies are another staple to stock for quick and easy meal additions. Perfect for adding to soups, stews, sautéing or roasting in the oven.
Mediterranean Diet Inspired Recipes Using Frozen Vegetables
There are so many great vegetables blends available in addition to the typical standards.
Wild Alaskan Salmon
We aim to have fish twice a week in our house. We have salmon about once a week. It’s so quick to cook and flavorful. It makes the perfect weeknight dinner.
We typically purchase our salmon from either Sitka Salmon or Trader Joe’s. I always purchase Wild Alaskan Salmon over farm raised.
Favorite Ways to Prepare Salmon:
Shrimp
Frozen shrimp are one of those things that you can quickly defrost and add to meals. They are great grilled, sautéed, or even baked. If you purchase pre-cooked shrimp, you can simply enjoy them cold in salads.
We love using sautéed shrimp in tacos for an easy weeknight dinner.
Yogurt
Might not seem like an obvious choice for the freezer, but we keep frozen yogurt on hand for easy grab and go snacks for the kids.
We typically buy the yogurt tubes from trader joe’s and just throw them right in the freezer after coming home from the store.
However, we also like to mix yogurt and fruit together and freeze in a silicone mold, like these Frozen Yogurt Hearts.
Kevin’s Natural Foods
We are HUGE fan’s of Kevin’s Natural Foods pre-packaged entrees. Awhile back, I competed in a recipe contest and won first place for these Thai Style Coconut Chicken Tacos, featuring Kevin’s frozen chicken.
We’ve tried the following products and loved them all!
- Korean BBQ-Style Chicken
- Thai-Style Coconut Chicken
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Mongolian Style Beef
- Korean BBQ Style Beef
Kevin’s products are paleo, gluten free, soy free, dairy free and try to use the cleanest ingredients possible.
One of the best parts – you simply defrost quickly and reheat over the stove within minutes. Everything is pre-cooked so you’re simply reheating it.
Chicken Sausage
Once a week, I like to cook a package of chicken sausage to keep it on hand for quick meals. After cooking and cooling it, I place it in a container and store it in the freezer. During the week, I simply heat up one at a time and then add it to salads or add as a protein source during lunch.
Leftover Chili
Whenever I have some time, I like making a double batch of this Ridiculously Easy Meatless Chili to store in the the freezer.
It’s so nutrient dense and contains lots of fiber thanks to all the beans.
I store it in 2 cup containers in the freezer. Then I can easily add to a pot and heat it up for a simple and delicious meal.
