For a household with two parents who work “outside” the home and also care a lot about eating healthy, the freezer is a secret weapon in the fight against take out, processed food, aggravation, and starvation. The only problem is that sometimes food goes in the freezer and (practically) never comes back out again. (Software joke: this is a bug, not a feature.)
I’ve found that when I label freezer bags descriptively — pictured here are “Delish Mexican style chicken soup” and “Really terrific lentil soup” — we are much more likely to defrost and eat the food (again; I usually freeze leftovers because my kids crave variety) in a timely manner. I try to use words that remind me of how the food tasted, like “rich and meaty pasta sauce” for the slow-braised short ribs sauce I made last month, or “mild and savory enchilada sauce” to remind myself it’s kids friendly (or not, in the case of that braise).
The Thing With The Stuff 