LONDON - Sometimes, there is nothing more annoying than planning to use your leftover pesto, sage or vegetables for dinner and arriving home to find they've browned or gone off.
But if you use your freezer effectively, it can save you time and money.
Dietitian, Lyndi Cohen, recently shared the things she always keeps in her freezer, as well as some of her top freezer tips and tricks.
'I live in a very small apartment with a tiny freezer so I have to make the most of my freezer space. It really helps me eat healthier,' she explained on her blog.
According to Lyndi, the first thing she'll freeze that you might not think to do is milk, which you can then pop out of an ice cube tray into your tea or coffee.
The Sydney-based dietitian also said she's a fan of buying cheap fruit in bulk and getting 'freezer happy':
'I recently bought 18 punnets of strawberries (a tray) for $7,' Lyndi admitted - and then puts the rest in her freezer to use in smoothies, desserts and sorbets.
Lyndi does the same with lemons and limes, which can be expensive when they're not in season:
'Freeze the juice in ice-cube trays or freezer bags,' she said. 'Perfect for salad dressings, marinades and drinks like mojitos'.
Countless foodies and dietitians will recommend freezing grapes to enjoy as a snack, and Lyndi is no different.
She also said the Medjool dates work well frozen, as a good snack to combat sugar cravings.
'Don't let fresh herbs get sad at the bottom of the fridge,' Lyndi added.
'Freeze fresh herbs in stock or extra virgin olive oil in ice-cube trays. Then you can easily use them when you're next cooking.'
The same goes for stock, coconut milk, coconut cream and cream.
Lyndi will also store leftover bay leaves, lemongrass and ginger in her freezer - for those times when you don't get through everything you've bought.
On the more creative side of things, Lyndi wrote that it's easy to turn leftover bread into breadcrumbs, by whizzing it around in your food processor and then sprinkling over roasted vegetables for extra crunch.
Tomato paste, tinned tomatoes and passata also freeze well.
Finally, while you mightn't expect it, avocado freezes really well according to the expert, thanks to its high fat content.
Also, put your overripe bananas in the freezer to whip up banana ice cream or sorbet.
'Most of your condiments will freeze wonderfully,' Lyndi said - this includes pesto, alongside the usual options.
'Got leftover spaghetti bolognese? Freeze it. Made lots of meatballs? Freeze it too. I try to "cook once, eat twice" so I always make lots,' she said.
You can also whisk up your eggs, put in ice cube trays and crack out - perfectly prepared for an omelette.
