. The Nine Lives of a Lemon .

Frustrated with watching expensive lemons and limes (note for Canadians: these items are expensive in Australia) go to waste- even when stored in the fridge- I began a campaign that has resulted in our freezer quickly becoming a one-stop mojito station! I've also added other freezer-friendly items similar to lemons (i.e. items that you don't need in large quantities and don't have a long storage life but that you'd always like on hand) at the bottom of the page. These fresh-frozen items have made our cooking so much more vibrant and fresh :)

Buy lemons whenever they're on sale: no need to worry about them going bad, you’ll always have them ready to use! Here's a couple steps to have them prepped and ready, and a few things you can use them for:

1. Wash lemons well, then slice into wedges and halves (3 wedges and 1 half per lemon).

2. Remove seeds and plant to grow your own Lemon house Plant. You may not need a house plant but you definitely want to remove those seeds to avoid seeds in juices, etc.

3. Freeze portions in freezer-safe bags/containers. See my Health Goals for inexpensive storage alternatives to plastic.

4. Use in water as an ice cube, or in tea to cool boiled water.

5. Thaw portions as needed for freshly squeezed lemon juice (cooking/baking); you can put the peel/rind back in the freezer for future zesting.

6. Zest from frozen: the peel hardens when frozen so it makes zesting super simple. After zesting, put lemon back in freezer to use later (for juicing or additional zesting) another time. Lemons havc lots of water content so remain hard and frozen when zesting (so you are not thawing then refreezing).

7. Use from frozen for cooking: add when poaching or steaming fish/chicken or veggies. My favorite is in fish foil packages: simply place fish and other veggies such as zucchini and tomato on a sheet of foil, top with fresh herbs-such as dill and thyme- along with 1-2 lemon wedges, wrap up the foil to seal package and place in steamer for 5-10 minutes (serve with rice/quinoa/barley/mashed potatoes). My family classic is a white fish with onion, potato, and carrot slices topped with a little sprinkle of cheese, sealed in a foil package and placed on the barbeque :)

8. Use lemon as a natural cleaning agent: simply rub thawed lemon half on plastic cutting boards to remove stains (works wonders on that orange stain from carrots or purple stain from beetroot that never seems to come off with soap and water), or rub thawed lemon half in sink to sanitize drain and remove any discoloration for a shiny silver sink! You could also use those citrus rinds to make a chemical-free DIY citrus all-purpose cleaner!

9. Use citrus rinds (lemon, lime, grapefruit) as seed starters; no need for plastic seed trays.

Other items that work well from frozen:

limes: use same prep steps as lemons so you always have fresh lime juice and zest. Your cache of lemons and limes will have you prepped for mojitos all year round :)

oranges: no need to buy oranges simply for the zest; after you eat an orange, simply place rinds in freezer-safe bag and pull to zest from frozen. Since the peel is hard when frozen it makes zesting a sinch!

fresh ginger & turmeric: these tubers never get the most lasting shelf-life in your cupboard and most people opt for the less nutritious and flavorful option of the dried spice. To always have fresh "roots" on hand, make sure to break off a piece in the store to make sure you're getting the freshest; ginger will have fiberous bits poking out of the fresh break if fresh. Then peel and chop, place in a freezer-safe bag/container and pull to cut or grate straight from frozen. Use what you need and simply pop back in the freezer.

chili peppers: I buy great birdseye chili peppers (HOT!) from the farmers market but because they are so hot you never need more than two at a time. Pull what you need from the freezer and cut from frozen; this avoids any spicy juice being squished out of the pepper (and heaven forbid into your eye). I still wear gloves for cutting (laugh away but contact wearers beware: washing hands several times will still not remove the chili from your fingers!) but cutting from frozen means no potent odor that makes your eyes water. My example is of extremely hot peppers, but freezing works for all sorts of peppers- even mild jalapenos :p

For more items you might not realize you can freeze, check out this article!

I would love to hear what produce stores well in your freezer and helps you cut down on food prep and waste!

For some meal prep shortcuts, check out my Healthy Eating page :)

#lemons