FoodSaver! and vacuum sealing meals

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DeeMoray
DeeMoray Posts: 16 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello!

So I just got a really good deal on a FoodSaver at Costco, and I'm really hoping it can make healthy eating a little easier/more convenient for me.

So far I've just used it for Costco's organic boneless/skinless chicken breast. I live alone so everything will be bagged as a single serving. I mostly vacuum sealed raw, unseasoned chicken breasts in 3-4 oz. servings. I also tried pre-seasoning a few. On a couple of the chicken breasts I even put a couple lemon slices on top of the seasoned chicken before sealing. :)

I recently noticed that any time I ordered Omaha Steaks meat, none of it ever got wasted because it was vacuum sealed and never got freezer burn, and I just thawed it out as needed in single servings! I thought if I could have all my meat vacuum sealed, it would really cut down on waste, and therefore save me $$$.

Since I live alone I have considered making meals ahead and freezing them, and have even tried it a handful of times. But without a vacuum sealer everything got freezer burn so quickly. It was annoying putting all that effort into a meal and having it come out of the freezer looking all nasty. Now that I have a vacuum sealer I would really like to cook a nice healthy meal 1-2 times a week, and then vacuum seal & freeze the leftovers. I would also like to experiment with "mix and match" type meals- similar to the "Personal Trainer Food" meals that are sold online for hundreds of dollars.

I'm trying to decide the best way to do this. I do think I should pre-cook some items, and leave other items raw. Sometimes I really enjoy the whole cooking process, and then other times I'm tired and just want something simple and healthy.

So really I'm just posting because I'm curious how other people use their FoodSavers to help them live healthier. And I want to know good freezer recipes! Do you guys usually vacuum seal cooked or raw foods, or both? Does anyone have a system set up where they do their meals similar to the "personal trainer food" meals?

I'm especially interested in learning how people vacuum seal & freeze their veggies. What would happen if I cooked lemon broccoli (steamed broccoli + lemon + small amount of butter) and then froze it? Do you think it would get mushy when I tried to reheat it? Would I be better off just vacuum sealing together a single serving of broccoli with the lemon + slice of butter right in there, and then thawing & cooking it the day I want to eat it?

It would be nice to have little "veggie packs" just ready to heat up when I want a healthy snack or side dish for a meal. Any ideas on how I could do that?

Replies

  • Rags2Righteous
    Rags2Righteous Posts: 200 Member
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    Bump
  • singer201
    singer201 Posts: 560 Member
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    I use my Food Saver all the time, mainly for bulk meat portioned for a meal or a recipe. For raw hamburger and fish, I prefreeze portions (I have a large covered cookie sheet that works well) before bagging and sealing. For soups, broth, and other liquid or soft foods, I freeze portions in plastic sandwich containers that allow me to pop out the frozen portion. The resulting standard-sized frozen squares are easy to vacuum seal and store.

    Usually, it's recommended to blanch vegetables before freezing. <http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze/blanching.html&gt;

    I use a marker to date my sealed packages with month and year. Since I've been using the Food Saver, I have had no frozen foods lost to freezer burn.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    I have a jam-packed kitchen. It's a good size, but still...it's full. If I add one more thing, something has to get stored in a bedroom. So I'm trying not to buy new stuff.

    These food saver thingies are one of the things I'd like to get, but I'm not sure that they work and they'd take up more space.

    Is like to hear from people - regular posters - who have tried them, too.
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    edited September 2015
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    In my family we use it for a variety of foods. This includes raw meats, cheese (we get our cheese in 5 to 10 lb blocks, so once we open a pack we cut it up into smaller blocks), homemade snack foods, tomato sauce (if we don't use a jar quickly). I believe there are a few other foods that we use a food saver for.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
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    Flash freeze some things first before vacuum sealing. Basically just take your blanched vegetables, cooked meat, cooked rice or pasta, fruit, burritos, egg muffins, portions of casseroles, etc and freeze them directly on a metal cooking sheet. Once they're frozen, you can seal them individually without them sticking together and without them getting crushed.
  • KellieTru
    KellieTru Posts: 285 Member
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    I ❤️ my FoodSaver vacumn sealer! No freezer burn on my frozen foods!
    I buy meats in quantity @Costco and package them up.
    Make spaghetti sauce and portion it up.
    I'd like to get some chicken breasts and package them with the marinade--I think that would be a real timesaver.
    The best thing about vacumn sealing is that in general the foods are relatively flat and you can stack them neatly in the freezer...easier to visualize what you have at a glance and it saves room.
  • sdraper2014
    sdraper2014 Posts: 81 Member
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    I also love my foodsaver.

    I like to cube pork tenderloin or chicken and freeze it in a marinade of soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and oregano. I like to make stew in the winter and freeze that, i just defrost it and instant dinner. I have made pouches of rice and frozen them for when I want brown rice and I don't have 40 minutes to cook it, or maybe I just want a half cup of rice. I often buy very ripe fruit on discount and freeze it for smoothies or other baking. I make all kinds of freezer meals for my husbands grandparents. I will freeze anything,burrito beef is a good one, I will make a huge batch of home made burrito filling and freeze portions for an easy taco salads after we have had our fill of burritos.

    We have a smoker and smoke cheese and freeze that, yum!

    I really only freeze cooked meat if I have made a stew, meat pie or meat sauce, usually something that took hours to make and would not be practical to make mid week. I don't see myself freezing cooked grilled chicken breast, but maybe if you want to prep it to be ready for salad whenever, but usually I would just likely bake or grill that fresh.

    I am a little obsessed with freezing food to make weekday dinners easy.

    wxmgh7warjda.jpg
    bya2v8c2ww4s.jpg
  • ModernRock
    ModernRock Posts: 372 Member
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    Queenmunchy wrote: »
    Flash freeze some things first before vacuum sealing. Basically just take your blanched vegetables, cooked meat, cooked rice or pasta, fruit, burritos, egg muffins, portions of casseroles, etc and freeze them directly on a metal cooking sheet. Once they're frozen, you can seal them individually without them sticking together and without them getting crushed.

    Yep. Anything you are worried about sticking together you first spread on a cookie sheet and partially freeze. Then, pour into a bag and vacuum seal. Pre-freezing also makes it possible to vacuum seal moist foods without sucking liquid out of the food/bag and into the Foodsaver.
  • DeeMoray
    DeeMoray Posts: 16 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the tips! I haven't gotten too super creative with my foodsaver yet, but I'm making chili soon and I'm going to attempt to freeze the leftovers so we'll see how that goes.
  • DeeMoray
    DeeMoray Posts: 16 Member
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    sdraper2014 wrote: »
    I also love my foodsaver.

    I like to cube pork tenderloin or chicken and freeze it in a marinade of soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and oregano. I like to make stew in the winter and freeze that, i just defrost it and instant dinner. I have made pouches of rice and frozen them for when I want brown rice and I don't have 40 minutes to cook it, or maybe I just want a half cup of rice. I often buy very ripe fruit on discount and freeze it for smoothies or other baking. I make all kinds of freezer meals for my husbands grandparents. I will freeze anything,burrito beef is a good one, I will make a huge batch of home made burrito filling and freeze portions for an easy taco salads after we have had our fill of burritos.

    We have a smoker and smoke cheese and freeze that, yum!

    I really only freeze cooked meat if I have made a stew, meat pie or meat sauce, usually something that took hours to make and would not be practical to make mid week. I don't see myself freezing cooked grilled chicken breast, but maybe if you want to prep it to be ready for salad whenever, but usually I would just likely bake or grill that fresh.

    I am a little obsessed with freezing food to make weekday dinners easy.

    wxmgh7warjda.jpg
    bya2v8c2ww4s.jpg

    I bet I would love your whole freezer. lol
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    I think you need a pretty good one. I bought an inexpensive model once and it didn't seem to much better than a ziplock Baggie.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,484 Member
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    Kalikel wrote: »
    I have a jam-packed kitchen. It's a good size, but still...it's full. If I add one more thing, something has to get stored in a bedroom. So I'm trying not to buy new stuff.

    These food saver thingies are one of the things I'd like to get, but I'm not sure that they work and they'd take up more space.

    Is like to hear from people - regular posters - who have tried them, too.

    I use mine all the time. I won't list various things that I use it for as everything has been covered.

    If you are considering one, I would highly recommend it.

    I don't find I like freezing home grown, or shop bought, veg, but I only eat frozen peas and corn. You may like them, personal taste on that one.

    We are just a family of two and it is nice being able to bulk cook and freeze.

    Cheers, h.
  • DeeMoray
    DeeMoray Posts: 16 Member
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    I'm making up some chili today and after work I'm gonna vacuum seal it all up and freeze. Now I just gotta start doing this once a week so I always have a quick meal to heat up!
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    ModernRock wrote: »
    Queenmunchy wrote: »
    Flash freeze some things first before vacuum sealing. Basically just take your blanched vegetables, cooked meat, cooked rice or pasta, fruit, burritos, egg muffins, portions of casseroles, etc and freeze them directly on a metal cooking sheet. Once they're frozen, you can seal them individually without them sticking together and without them getting crushed.

    Yep. Anything you are worried about sticking together you first spread on a cookie sheet and partially freeze. Then, pour into a bag and vacuum seal. Pre-freezing also makes it possible to vacuum seal moist foods without sucking liquid out of the food/bag and into the Foodsaver.

    Question about the moist foods.. if I want to vacuum seal let's say, chili or chicken in sauce.. I find if I do it right away the liquid sucks out and makes a huge mess. I find using larger bags helps, but sometimes some liquid gets sucked out. I'd like to keep it in the bag for space-saving purposes, so how would I go about pre-freezing that? Would I put it into the bag first then temporarily seal it and pre-freeze it, then when it's ready vacuum pack it? I don't even know if that made any sense so I hope you know what I mean!
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,484 Member
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    For 'wet' foods I like to freeze them in the container they are going to be reheated in, then vacume seal them.

    Makes the food a more consistent shape for stacking in the freezer too.

    When my DIL was pregnant I bought 2 sets of matching containers, batch cooked every couple of weeks, then hauled the frozen meals 4 hours to their house.
    All she had to do was turn it our into the container and pop it into the microwave or oven. Works great for structures dishes like shepherds pie, lasagne, moussaka, etc.

    Cheers, h.
  • sdraper2014
    sdraper2014 Posts: 81 Member
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    I do freeze wet things in containers first. I will line the container with wax paper to make getting them out a bit easier.
  • singer201
    singer201 Posts: 560 Member
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    For liquid or moist like broth, soups, casseroles, pureed vegetables (pumpkin), I have a number of square plastic sandwich containers with lids. The frozen food is easy to pop out of the container and is a uniform shape that fits nicely in FoodSaver bags. I have frozen items sorted in boxes in the freezer so I don't have an avalanche of slippery bagged items when I open the door.

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