Thrifty Pantry: Frozen Blueberries

A big way we save on groceries is by purchasing items when they're on sale and building a meal plan around what we have.  Much of this would not be possible without our freezer.  Though it costs us electricity to run it and space in our basement, it really helps us to stock up when we find a deal on something we love.

Today I took a very quick trip to a surplus store I like to visit and I saw cartons of organic blueberries for $1.

These were 4.4oz cartons for $1.00.  I did a quick price check against my local grocery store and their organic blueberries are $4.99 for 6oz.  We are nearly out of the blueberries I froze last summer so I grabbed 3 cartons.  We will eat one fresh this week and freeze the other two for baking and smoothies.

To freeze blueberries I first rinse them well and dry them.  Then I spread them out on a baking sheet and stick them in the freezer overnight.

The next day I transfer them to a ziplock bag.  Freezing them this way keeps then from freezing in a big clump.  They're easier to measure out for a recipe or pour  a few into a smoothie.

Only a few more months till the fresh local blueberries are back in season!  I'll be filling up my freezer!