If you’re looking for a way to prevent food waste, read on.
Sometimes I think I’m the last person on earth to buy a particular product.
Take for instance these silicone freezer trays I bought at Costco last week. OHAM reader Mel {Hi Mel!} has been using trays for her freezer meal batch cooking for years.
I’ve seen them advertised on Amazon and Williams-Sonoma multiple times over the years and have never felt the urge to buy them.
Probably because they were super expensive a few years ago when I first saw them.
But a 5 pack of silicone freezer trays in various sizes for $24.99 seemed like a reasonable deal to me.
Especially because I knew if I didn’t like the product, I’d be able to return it to Costco.
No questions asked!
I may not do much in the way of freezer meals or big batch cooking these days, but we do seem to have leftovers most of the time.
When we’re not having salad that is. 😉
Yada Yada Yada
I was organizing the refrigerator yesterday when I found 2 onion halves that I had tucked away to “use later”.
There were also some carrots and celery that needed to be used up as well.
And well, I’m not a fan of food waste {ie: throwing money in the trash} so I sautéed the vegetables and some spinach and loaded them into the silicone trays.
This is something I’ve done a million times before {freezing vegetables to use later} but I’m not sure I’ve ever told you about it.
So I’m doing it now!
Not only does this prevent food waste, but these little vegetable pucks as I like to call them are so stinking handy!!
Especially when you want to jazz up some leftovers or make a quick pot of soup.
In years past I’ve used muffin tins to freeze extra {sautéd} vegetables.
But I’m glad I picked these up because now I can use them for leftover soups, casseroles and other dishes this winter.
Have you used any of these types of food trays before? If so, do you think they are helping you prevent food waste in your kitchen?
Or is it just another thing in the cupboard you don’t use?
Curious minds want to know.
~Mavis
Vegetable Pucks
In a separate pan over medium heat, sauté onions, carrots, & celery in 1 tablespoon olive oil until desired softness is reached.
I like to cook mine about 80% of the way, figuring they’ll finish cooking in a pot of soup or beans, so about 5-10 minutes.
Let vegetables cool. Add to containers and freeze.
Once frozen, pop them into a large freezer zip baggie and toss them in the freezer until you need them.
Make a pot of beans. Toss in a vegetable puck or two and you have dinner. It’s like magic on the table! 🙂
Sue says
To freeze foods, I use the standard white round “takeout” style containers in 1- and 2-cup sizes, plus the 1-quart (for soups}. All the lids fit all the containers. And I don’t have to transfer the contents into a freezer bag.
I do have two lidded silicone trays for freezing things in 1/4 c or 1 tbs amounts, like leftover wines, citrus juices, or coconut milk . Tomato paste gets plopped on parchment in 1 tbs dollops, frozen, and then freezer bagged. Zests simply get bagged.
Connie says
I use mine for pesto when I get the big jar at Costco.
Anna Himes says
I love these!!! My husband calls them Lego foods as he takes them into work! I like how it is already portioned out for you
Brianna says
I used to make my kids their baby food and freeze it in silicone trays. It was some baby system I bought and I used it for years afterwards to freeze small amounts of pesto, sauces, and purées. Then we outgrew the need and I got rid of it all. I have no desire at this stage to go back to freezing portions or small amounts because I have tweens and teenagers and usually there are not any leftovers. I do frequently get a chance to wipe down my fridge shelves though and I rarely discover anything that ‘must go’ or has been forgotten. They eat everything and they have great metabolisms to match.
Wendy says
I use the 2 cup square molds for soup and refried beans. Saving beans this way has been a game changer for when you make Mexican food or just want a bean burrito and hate canned beans. So much tastier this way. I have always frozen soup veggies and put them in ziplock bags. I do this with my abundance of chilies from the garden too so I have them ready when needed. The Costco ones are a great assortment at a good price! I might have to get those.
Diana says
I use the souper cubes in multiple sizes all the time. My favorite things to make are vegetable broth, tomato sauce, and pesto. It makes it easy to use for soups and stews. I also freeze fruit juice, chopped veggies, and any leftovers we are tired of eating.
Sue R. says
My concern about silicone is that I wonder if it will the next thing that we realize isn’t good for us…like plastics and non-stick pans. We have silicone cupcake papers, ice cube trays, freezer containers, bread pans….
Margo says
I use then all the time especially for soups and when I make broth. With only two of us in the house now,it’s been great for decreasing food waste. We also keep chicken bones in the freezer and make the broth from them. Great product. There are also small cubes and I’ve used those for chopped garlic frozen with oil. Great for seasoning. Tomato paste is put into small pucks and frozen as well.
eliz says
That looks like a good set. I only have silicone ice trays. I blanch my garden greens, chop in food processor, freeze in silicone ice cube trays and then into freezer bags. Takes up way less room in freezer than blanched whole leaves. I freeze a lot of kale and some chard this way.
Randini says
I’ve had my eye on this product and my algorithm must know as they are now all over my social media feeds. I did see one blogger note that she froze leftovers and then, in a perfectly sized ceramic dish meant to re-heat frozen ‘pucks’ heated up rice, beans and chicken for lunch. It looked convenient and a good way to eliminate food waste.
Mary says
Have some I use. I make pesto and freeze it in little silicone ones (no cheese in it) and pop them out into a bag to use in noodles or soup or pizza.
SueD says
I have 1/4, 1/2, and 1c cube silicone tray I’ve bought at ALDI. I use the mainly for freezing cooked veg and meats for the puppies. The 1c is good for freezing stock either to add to their meals or make a quick soup for me. I need to check out that set when I go to Costco next.
Lindsey says
I caramelize 10 pound bags of onions all in one sitting and then divide them up into my silicone containers. Makes it easy to make everything from French onion soup to casseroles.
Mary Kerns says
I also purchased these at Costco. I notice that they are also oven safe. Has anyone tried that?
MD says
I have the 1 cup size trays. These are perfect after I make chicken broth because most recipes call for broth in cups so it’s easy to see what you need. After pulling all the meat off a $5 Costco chicken (easiest when still warm btw) into the pot it goes. Simmer with celery, onion and thyme and strain makes a great broth. Then frozen in the silicone trays. I usually get about 7.5 cups broth from each chicken.
HollyG says
We make frozen vegetable pucks for our dog, Maizey. She’s a slightly pudgy Maremma Sheepdog (had to tell with all of the fur) and we give her vegetables along with her ‘diet’ kibble. We just move one out of the freezer into the refrigerator each time we feed her. It’s worked wonderfully and she’s lost about 10 pounds this summer/autumn.