This £9 Lakeland food prep buy saves me hours every week in cooking time – here's why I never have to fuss with portioning out frozen leftovers again
Making this small change has made a big impact
Developing new habits, even when it comes to something like saving money by eating more leftovers, is all about incremental changes. That's a lesson I've learned in the last few weeks with my adoption of Lakeland's inexpensive Freeze Pods (which will set you back £8 via Lakeland).
My problem with freezing leftovers has historically been with portion sizes. If I have a batchload of chilli, for example, I rarely have enough food containers to break it down into lunch and dinner sized portions and sometimes have to put the whole amount into one container. That makes it a real struggle to properly siphon off a share for a single person.
Enter: these nifty Freeze Pods, which not only provide the perfect lunch or dinner sized portion (depending if you use the 2 or 3 sectioned version) but are also ready to be used in your oven or even the best air fryer for reheating. Here are three reasons I'm telling everyone I know to buy a set.
1. They're easy to use
The thing that makes the use of these Freeze Pods so seamless is the silicone material. As with using a silicone ice cube tray over a plastic one, it so much easier to pop the contents of a singular pod out without disturbing the other two than it would be with a harder material.
The 3-segmented version contains space for 250 gram portions, which I've found ideal for lunches. I've been pairing leftover pasta with a side salad for a summertime lunch.
Popping out one section of the 3-part Freeze Pod.
I've found the Freeze Pod with two sections is better suited to dinners, with the square size owing itself to full meals like a lasagne. Though the base is made of silicone, the pod has a hard plastic top, which means you can stack the two together neatly within your freezer.
2. They're cooking safe
These pods are microwave, oven and air fryer safe – music to my ears! While I love my microwaveable stainless steel food containers for food prep and storing leftovers in the fridge they can only be used in the microwave for 2 minutes at a time. So if you want to defrost something heavier, the Freeze Pod is a much better choice.
If you're serving lunch for two or three people, you could put the entire Freeze Pod into the microwave too. That means you only need to portion food out once in the entire cooking process and any time you can save on the washing up is a big win for me.
I'm not the only one who loves the versatility of these handy pods. On Lakeland's website you can find that both of these products currently have a 4.5 out of 5 star rating with customers praising the quality and value of each.
One reviewer nicely summed up why they work for them, saying 'Great sizing and even better for popping out blocks to wrap and stack in the freezer. The larger ones are perfect for individual lasagnes, cottage pies etc. The smaller ones are perfect for portions of rice, mash, beans and any other side you want to freeze. I absolutely love them.'
3. They're affordable
I've written before about my enthusiasm for Lego lunches, which rely on these modular-style freeze pods in order to create leftovers that are varied rather than boring.
Up until Lakeland released these Freeze Pods, the other alternatives on the market for this kind of food container were very pricey indeed. In the US the brand Souper Cubes (which you can buy in the UK via Amazon) is very popular, with its huge range of materials, sizes and colours and John Lewis has a range made in collaboration with chef Deliciously Ella too.
In my mind Lakeland's pods are your best bet if you prioritise affordability and quality, but I've listed some alternative shapes below in case they suit you better.
The six small segments here allow for freezing of leftover stock or sauces with ease. John Lewis also has its own 2-segment pod for £15.00.
Having dessert ready for you in the freezer will make an end-of-the-day sweet treat even better. This tray is tailor-made for cookies and other puddings.
These OXO bags come highly recommended from our News Writer Kezia, who says they helped her cut down on food waste. For things that won't fit into a flat-lying container, they're so handy.
It might seem counterintuitive at first to splash out money on containers to help you meal prep, especially if your aim is to limit your spending on lunches and dinners, but I've found it's the right products that can make all the difference. Could you see the benefit of Freeze Pods for your kitchen?
