Show of hands: who uses fresh spinach in their smoothies?
~me!~
Who also finds it difficult to use the entire amount of fresh spinach you have in your fridge?
Good intentions or not, I found I was wasting one of the most valuable additions to my smoothies because I couldn’t use it fast enough.
You may remember I wrote a post about freezing fresh herbs: CLICK HERE!
The bottomline for freezing fresh herbs:
Since I couldn’t use all the herbs before they’d spoil, I put out a call to my gardeny friends for advice. The consensus was to wash, dry, then freeze the herbs for later use. Some advised chopping, others to lay flat. My Google research had one caveat: once thawed, the herbs might be a bit limpish, so it’s best to use them in a dish that will be cooked.
So easy and nary a wasted stem.
The same goes for fresh spinach.
To make it even easier, here’s my routine (that hasn’t failed me yet):
#1: I buy the triple-washed spinach in a GIANT Costco bag (love us some Costco!).
#2: I don’t wash it again. (some say this is courting tummy upset, as there may be something lingering, even with a triple-wash, but I have been fine. If you feel the need to wash at home – DO IT!)
#3: Transfer a week’s worth of spinach to a gallon-sized ziplock bag, for easy access.
#4: Seal the larger bag (pushing air outta bag so it lays flat) and store in freezer until I need more.
~OR~
Place bag flat in freezer and use contents as needed.
~OR~
Stuff bag into freezer and use contents as needed. (as you can surmise from pic, this is now my go-to method. stuff and grab!)
All the methods above work. Not to worry if you use the stuffing method. The leaves are easily retrieved. Somehow the spinach knows you only need a handful and not a giant ball of leaves frozen together.
Never waste one more leaf.
So stinkin’ easy!
THE DOWNSIDE:
While I LOVE that spinach will freeze flat and there’s no waste, don’t expect to use the spinach as “fresh, then thawed” once frozen.
Nope.
It thaws to a icky green mess.
Throw it in your smoothie frozen, then blend like no one’s business.
Healthy and frugal!
You’re amazing like that!
