Cooking with Frozen Fruit
Food Waste Prevention for the Whole Family
Spring is here, and with it comes the promise of fresh, local fruit. But before you indulge in the bounty of the season, why not enroll the family to first use up the frozen fruit tucked away in your freezer? Cooking with frozen fruit is not only a great way to prevent food waste, but it’s also an opportunity to get your kids involved in the kitchen and practice their food skills. Let’s explore three tasty ideas for using frozen fruit that are perfect for young kids, pre-teens, and teens. Roll up your sleeves, gather your little chefs, and let’s dive in to make the most of those frozen fruits!
Freezer Jam - For Young Kids
If you have young kids who love to help in the kitchen but may not be ready for use the stove, freezer jam is a great option. Freezer jam is easy to make by mixing fruit, sugar, and pectin together and then freezing it. To make it no-cook, look for packaged pectin that specifically says NO-COOK freezer jam. Your kids will have fun mashing the fruit with a potato masher, stirring the sugar and pectin, and pouring it into containers. After just thirty minutes, the jam is ready to eat! Keep it in the fridge for 3-4 weeks or in the freezer for months.
Try this Berry Freezer Jam that requires some cooking.
Chia Seed Fruit Spread - For Preteens
Have teens or tweens that are starting to experiment in the kitchen? Making chia seed fruit spread is a fun and nutritious option for this group. Chia seeds are rich in nutrients and can be turned into a delicious fruit spread by briefly cooking them with fruit, water, and sweetener. Your kids can practice measuring, stirring, squishing fruit, and pouring the spread into jars. The best part – this versatile spread can be used on toast, pancakes, oatmeal, or ice cream and can be made with a combination of frozen or fresh fruit. This spread will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge or in the freezer for several months. Use one fruit or a combination of frozen or fresh fruit.
If you don’t have chia seeds, but have a little more time Bob Blumer’s Fridge Jam is another tasty, low sugar spread worth trying.
Mother's Day Feast - For Teens
Are your kids ready to cook on their own? This Mother’s day handover the kitchen keys to them for Mother’s Day brunch (be sure to include clean-up as part of the gift). French toast with fruit sauce is a great recipe for beginning cooks and is perfect for using up stale bread and frozen fruit. Learning to make fruit sauce is a valuable skill that can be used for any fresh or frozen fruit. It makes a great topping for french toast, pancakes, crepes, waffles, ice cream, yogurt, oatmeal, cake and so on. If you’re kids have experience reading a recipe and handling a fry pan, they’re ready to make mom brunch!
Here’s a great french toast recipe to try: French toast with honey
If you prefer pancakes to french toast or don’t have any bread to use up try one of our pancake recipes:
Cooking with kids can be a fun and educational experience that creates cherished memories, imparts lifelong food skills, and teaches valuable lessons about preventing food waste. So, roll up your sleeves, get in the kitchen with your little chefs, and enjoy the delicious rewards of cooking with frozen fruit while making a positive impact on the environment.
What are your favourite recipes to make with your kids? Share your ideas with us on Instagram @lovefoodhatewasteca.
