For many individuals, the crisper serves as their good intentions drawer. Initially of the week, it’s crammed to the brim with produce. You will make so many nutritious meals with the rainbow of veggies it holds! However then, life will get in the way in which. And slowly, that contemporary produce begins to die, together with these good intentions.
Wish to make 2025 the yr you truly burn up the produce you purchase earlier than it goes unhealthy? Registered dietitian (RD) Steph Grasso posted a cooking hack on TikTok that may assist make it a actuality. It solely takes a couple of minutes and helps remove a number of the stress of placing wholesome meals collectively all through the week.
Within the video, Grasso shares that taking a few minutes to blanch greens (achieved by placing them in a bowl of ice-cold water) makes them final months longer than they’d in any other case, permitting for a for much longer probability to make use of them.
How blanching veggies will prevent cash and lower down on meals waste
Grasso shared with HuffPost that the rationale why she, as a dietitian, is such a fan of blanching produce is that it serves as a technique to protect nutrient density.
“Blanching helps keep veggies nutrient-rich by stopping enzymes that cause nutrient loss and breakdown over time,” she stated. “It works by quickly boiling the veggies and then cooling them in ice water. This process puts a pause on those enzymes, ‘locking in’ the nutrients while keeping the veggies’ color, texture and quality intact,” she defined.
Katherine Metzelaar, RD and Bravespace Diet CEO, is a fan of blanching greens too, and says it’s a technique to get extra vitamins out of your produce than if you happen to simply stick them immediately within the freezer. She defined that if you happen to skip blanching earlier than placing them within the freezer, the enzymes within the produce can maintain working, which may result in nutrient loss.
Based on each dietitians, blanching greens at house is an identical course of utilized by frozen meals corporations — and identical to frozen greens you should buy within the freezer aisle, blanching your greens at residence and placing them within the freezer will maintain them ready-to-use for months.
“Frozen vegetables can last in the freezer for about eight months unless you notice freezer burn, then toss them out,” RD Shana Spence advised HuffPost. That is precisely why, all three dietitians shared, blanching greens saves cash and cuts down on meals waste.
“It helps your produce last longer and lets you use up veggies that would otherwise go bad,” Grasso stated. “Instead of wilting in your fridge after a few days, they can stay fresh for months in the freezer. Plus, you can freeze them in portions so you only use what you need, which helps prevent cooking too much and wasting leftovers.”
How you can do it
Now that why blanching greens is a technique to set your self up for making wholesome meals a actuality all through the week, it’s vital to know the best way to do it. Based on Metzelaar, blanching occasions rely on the kind of vegetable. “Delicate greens, like spinach, might only need one to two minutes while denser ones, like carrots or broccoli, take three to four minutes,” she stated. She shared that you simply don’t wish to go away your produce in longer than this. “Over-blanching can make veggies mushy, while under-blanching won’t stop the enzymes from doing their thing,” she stated.
Metzelaar recommends blanching in small batches. “If you add too many veggies at once, the water temperature can drop, which makes blanching less effective,” she stated. And don’t skimp on the ice, both. “Make sure your ice bath is really cold so the cooking stops completely — lukewarm water won’t cut it,” Metzelaar stated.
Margarita Komine through Getty Pictures
Listed here are the steps to blanching produce, in keeping with Grasso:
- Prep your veggies by washing and reducing them.
- Put them in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Fill a bowl with ice water.
- Put your veggies into the bowl of ice water for between one and 4 minutes, relying on the kind of vegetable.
- Take them out of their ice tub and put them in a freezer bag to retailer within the freezer.
In contrast to meat, Metzelaar advised HuffPost that there isn’t a must thaw your frozen greens while you’re prepared to make use of them in your meals. “They can go straight into a pan, pot or oven. Just remember that they’ve already been partially cooked during blanching, so you’ll want to avoid overcooking them. Also, frozen veggies release a little water as they heat up, so you may need to adjust your recipe if too much moisture would mess with the dish,” she stated.
By incorporating this straightforward cooking hack into your meal prepping, including greens brimming with nutrient density into your meals is simpler than ever and also you gained’t discover your produce decaying in your crisper anymore. And if you happen to change your thoughts about what you’re within the temper to eat, it’s not an enormous deal. Your veggies will probably be hanging out within the freezer able to eat for everytime you’re prepared for them.
