VeganMoFo: Freeze(r) Tag

Bethany - I'm finally doing the tag! See I didn't forget! :) And I combined it with my goal of taking a picture and posting ::pats self on back:: So many people have been tagged or already posted that I can't remember who hasn't, so consider yourself tagged (lame? yes, but effective!).

What's in Your (Vegan) Freezer Tag

We'll start with the door. This is the top shelf. We have a couple small ice packs, a herbal eye mask (for my migraines), and a bottle of limoncello (mmmmm).

2nd shelf on door.  Frozen concentrates of apple juice and orange juice, which I keep on hand for baking/cooking. Usually such applications don't actually require fresh juice. Also reusable "ice cubes" which we never really use... 

3rd shelf on the door. A couple ice sleeves for keeping wine bottles chilled and frozen treats: chocolate covered bananas and a couple flavors of Fruit Floe's from TJ's (they make the best lime popsicles ever).

4th door shelf. Nuts. Due to their very high oil content nuts tend to go rancid very quickly. Storing them in the freezer greatly extends their shelf life. This may not be an issue for you if you go through your nuts very quickly, but I like to keep a variety on hand, and I buy in larger quantities of those I use the most frequently from Costco, so I freeze all mine (extras are in the outside freezer).

Bottom shelf. Coffee, also for freshness since we drink it very infrequently and a bag of pine nuts (from Costco!)

And we're on to the freezer itself. Above this shelf is the ice cube maker/dispenser. This top shelf holds frozen fruit (we go through a lot in smoothies), ice cream, phyllo dough, and puff pastry (hidden). We usually do not have this much ice cream on hand, but we went to Whole Foods and they had the new Purely Decadent coconut milk ice creams, so we bought a couple. I'll post my review of the two we tried tomorrow.

Shelf 2. This shelf mostly holds my homemade, pre-made "convenience foods" (pesto, roasted garlic, the caramelized onions, fresh lime juice cubes, a loaf of banana bread) and a few whole grains. I keep most of my grains in the pantry, but when I have more than will fit in the container I throw the extras in the freezer due to the high oil content. I also keep all my whole grain cornmeal in the freezer (but it still taste's off to me. I think because I grew up with the degermed kind. Weirdly, it is only the yellow cornmeal that tastes off, the whole grain blue cornmeal smells and tastes fine. And yes, I've tried several brands).

4th shelf. Frozen veggies, steins, and Candy Cane Joe Joe's (mmmmm).

And finally the bottom shelf. More nuts, sesame seeds, homemade beans, and faux meat. I keep a few commercially made faux meats around, but mostly there is homemade seitan and sausages in there and usually a couple blocks of tofu.