This might be surprising to some, but as a chef when I get home the last thing I want to think about is how to take raw ingredients and turn them into a delicious meal for my family. Spend 10-12 hours a day in a kitchen doing this for everyone else and you will quickly understand exactly what I mean. So funnily enough most of my weekly shopping is frozen food, now you might think “But you’re a chef! Surely you want the freshest and most delicious food!” and you’re partially right.

Just because a food is frozen doesn’t mean that it isn’t delicious, if anything certain foods can taste slightly better than their fresh counterparts, and the time saved is an absolute lifesaver.

Here you can find a portion of my shopping list, and why exactly I buy that item frozen

Seafood and Meat

My freezer is never without at least a few portions of meat and some seafood. The ease of taking whatever it is out of the freezer the night before and putting it in the fridge to thaw is unbeatable. The types of meat are entirely up to you, but when it comes to seafood I always recommend buying frozen shrimp, specifically when frozen shell-on and in a block. This kind of frozen shrimp is usually frozen almost immediately after being caught, which keeps all the flavour and nutrition inside them.

Corn and Peas

With these sweet little morsels ability to amp up any classic meal, frozen corn and frozen peas are another absolute must-have in the freezer. Frozen corn is best as once an ear of corn is picked, the sugar in the kernels which give it that iconic buttery flavour starts to convert into cornstarch, which leads to a less sweet taste and chalky texture. Frozen corn completely bypasses this process, almost always being frozen soon after being picked, ensuring that it’s consistently sweet. Peas go through a very similar process of losing sweetness when fresh, and are actually a great source of vitamin K which we often don’t get enough of in our diets.

Vegan Treats

While not being a vegan myself, I find that frozen vegan snacks are often quite healthy and delicious. As a chef I know that vegan food must be made in a certain way to have the same level of flavour that we naturally get from meat and dairy, so I’m always excited when I see a new vegan bite I haven’t tried yet. A personal favourite is currently Dr Praeger’s range of vegan bites which are super easy to cook and full of good stuff to boot.

Ben & Jerrys

What would a list of frozen food be without the most iconic ice cream known to humanity? B & J’s have consistently made the best ice cream flavours in town and are absolutely deserving of their fame. They’ve recently released a range of vegan ice creams which are also spectacular and can almost be considered healthy (when compared with their dairy counterparts).

I’m sure this has given you a great visual image of what my freezer looks like, and I hope you’ve found some inspiration too!

Disclaimer: Ben & Jerrys and Dr Praegers don’t pay me to write about their products and frankly they don’t have to, I’ll always be a fan of food if it’s healthy and/or delicious.