Ack! It’s happened…a bag of your frozen vegetables slipped to the back of the freezer and now it’s freezer burned!

 

We know there is a rumor going around that once vegetables are freezer burned they are no good and should be thrown out. This is not true! While they may look and taste a little “different”, the USDA FSIS (food safety and inspection site) states that freezer burned vegetables are not dangerous. 

 

So, all is not lost! Here are some tricks to save your frozen vegetables and eliminate food waste in your kitchen.

 

Vegetable Soup

 

The easiest thing you can do with freezer burned vegetables is make homemade pureed vegetable soup! We know freezer burned veggies aren’t the prettiest, but if you add the frozen vegetables to your favorite type of soup stock and use your favorite flavorings; like onion, garlic, soy sauce, Italian seasoning and bouillon and then puree you won’t be able to tell! The longer you let it simmer, the better the flavor. 

 

Dehydrate

 

Healthy snacks can either be in short supply or very expensive. By tossing your freezer burned fruits and vegetables into a food dehydrator you have an easy, healthy snack for on the go. When dehydrated you cannot taste the freezer burn.

 

Cubes

 

Pureed veggie cubes are a great way to add extra nutrition to sauces. Simply thaw and puree the vegetables and freeze in an ice cube tray. Add the cubes to your sauces when you feel like it needs an extra nutrition boost. Bonus: your kids won’t know they are eating their veggies!

 

Smoothies

 

You’ve probably noticed a pulverizing trend in these tips. By blending the freezer burned veggies into smoothies you get the extra boost of nutrition from the vegetables and mask any freezer flavor in the process!

 

*Before eating ANY frozen vegetables, all vegetables should be cooked to a minimum of 165 degrees F for food safety.