My mom has long been guilty of hiding food from her kids. Not in a child abuse kind of way—we had plenty to eat for meals. I’m talking about the yummy goodies—Halloween candy, Christmas cookies, school snack packs, you name it.
But it doesn’t take a genius to search a house on November 1st. My sister and I usually found most of the hidden junk food within a few days. From her sewing cabinet to under her bed, I knew the best places to look. But there is one hiding spot that has remained to this day: the freezer in our garage.
It only took a few times for her to realize that we had gotten into the giant ice box—we weren’t the best at cleaning up after ourselves. Eventually the freezer became a place for her to store things as a way of simply slowing us down from eating, rather than completely preventing it. I think she assumed we would go for the food in the pantry before looking in the freezer.
But she didn’t realize an important fact. Chocolate treats taste much better frozen. So do most of the other stuff she froze. Freezing snacks didn’t stop me one bit as a kid, and it doesn’t stop me now.
Here’s a list of some of the best things I’ve snacked on from the freezer. And don’t worry—not all fall under the “junk food” category!
- Grapes
It may sound weird, but frozen grapes are dee-lish-ous. Purple grapes are best. Freeze in a Ziploc bag and get ready to eat them all in one sitting.
- Blueberries
Similarly, frozen blueberries are so much better than regular blueberries. But don’t buy a bag of frozen berries from the freezer-aisle. Pick fresh blueberries and then freeze them. So good.
- Reese’s peanut butter cups
I feel like this goes without saying. Freeze them, and then nibble off the edges until you have a little circle of chocolate and peanut butter deliciousness.
- Chocolate in general
Because honestly all chocolate deserves to be frozen before it can fully melt in your mouth.
- Bananas
My all-time favorite frozen snack involves a bit of preparation. Peel the banana(s) and cut it in half. Insert popsicle stick and then dip the banana in melted chocolate. Top with nuts or coconut or leave alone. Freeze on a cookie tray. EAT.
- Pecans
I’m not sure why this is, but frozen pecans taste like air. But in a good way—cold, nut-flavored air. They’re deliciously light and yet still have an added crunch. So good.
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
Frozen cookies help curb my binge-eating because they take a lot longer to nibble on. But they also taste much better. It’s like having a popsicle that tastes like cookie dough. Except, you know, it actually is a cookie.
- Corn
Here me out on this one. I know it sounds strange, but frozen corn is so refreshing, especially on hot days. My family makes an event out of husking, de-cobbing, and freezing our own sweet corn in Ziploc bags. This is usually with the intention of preserving it, so we can have it with our winter dinners. At least one or two bags don’t make it to wintertime, though—I treat the frozen kernels like candy. (P.S. I detest actual candy corn).
- Peas
Frozen peas are good for many of the same reasons as corn. They have an extra pop when frozen, and the cold somehow changes the taste (I know that doesn’t make any sense but just trust me).
- Coffee
I cannot drink hot coffee. I just don’t like the weird warm feeling of liquid in my stomach. But iced-coffee? That I can do. And sometimes I take it one step further: frozen coffee. It’s like having an ICEE but instead of red food coloring, you get caffeine. It’s a win-win for all.
And that’s it, folks. Chill out and enjoy.
