1. Freeze tomato paste or sauce
Whether you buy tomato paste or sauce in a jar or make it from scratch, don't let it develop mould and go to waste. Freeze excess tomato paste, pizza sauce or pasta sauce in an ice cube tray to use next time. In the photo above, Instagram user @realitybites.zerowastefood has used our stainless steel ice cube tray to freeze store bought tomato paste. You can find that tray here >2. Freeze minced garlic and ginger
Increase efficiency in the kitchen by preparing minced garlic and ginger in advance and freezing. Simply mince, grate or finely chop the garlic and/or ginger (you could do just garlic, just ginger, or a mixture of both), place it in ice cube trays and cover with extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil. Add to the dish you are cooking as needed.3. Freeze fresh herbs in olive oil
Whether you have an abundance of homegrown herbs or aren't going to get through all of the fresh herbs you picked up at the supermarket or farmers market, don't let them wilt beyond use. Chop them up, place them in your ice cube tray and cover them with extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil or just plain water. Add them to the dish you are cooking as needed.4. Freeze lemon juice
Lemon juice is so useful to have on hand. Use it in DIY cleaning recipes, in cooking, to flavour water, combat food odours, soothe a sore throat, and much more. If you have too many lemons to get through, freeze the juice in ice cube trays and the peels in an airtight container for later.5. Freeze fresh nut milk
Save money and waste by making your own fresh nut milk at home, and freeze excess in ice cube trays. The frozen nut milk cubes are great to use in smoothies. Be mindful that freezing and thawing nut milk will result in a change of texture, however you can blend the milk back up again.6. Freeze pureed fruit and vegetables
Don't let fruit and vegetables go off in your crisper or fruit bowl. Puree them up (you may need to cook some fruit and veggies first) and freeze them in ice cube trays. Use this puree as baby food, in smoothies, soups, to flavour sauces, in desserts, and much more.7. Freeze fruit and vegetable juice
Whether you have a bottle of juice in the fridge or lots of fresh fruit and veggies and a juicer on hand, freeze excess fruit and veggie juice and avoid wasting it. Simply defrost the cubes and drink as normal.8. Freeze homemade stock
Did you know you can create a delicious and nutritious homemade vegetable stock from vegetable peelings and end bits? Wash and save the roots, stalks, leaves, ends, and peelings from vegetables such as leeks, onions, garlic, fennel, chard, lettuce, potatoes, parsnips, beans, pumpkin, capsicum, eggplant, mushrooms, and asparagus. You can also use corn cobs, beetroot leaves, and herbs (stalks and all). Save your vegetable bits in a glass jar and keep it in the freezer until you are ready to make your stock. Cool and freeze in an ice cube tray until ready for use.9. Freeze leftover coffee or chai
Instead of pouring excess brewed coffee down the sink, freeze it in ice cube trays and use it in your next iced coffee. Not only will this save waste, it will prevent your iced coffee from being watered down from regular ice cubes. You can also do the same with homemade chai.10. Freeze leftover wine
Leftover wine - what's that? In the odd chance of this happening, it is good to know you can freeze wine too. Wine adds a wonderful depth of flavour to sauces and risotto. Simply pour into a ice cube tray, allow to freeze and use as needed. Keep in mind wine will freeze a little 'slushy' like due to the alcohol content.What ice cube tray should you use?
We recommend using stainless steel ice cube trays, as they are BPA free, very strong, durable, easy to clean and don't absorb the colours and flavours of whatever you put in them. A high quality stainless steel ice cube mould will last a lifetime too, saving you money in the long run. You can find our stainless steel ice cube trays here >
Feature image thanks to @realitybites.zerowastefood on Instagram.
