Q: My mother recently had surgery and is now home from the hospital recovering. I am going home this weekend to visit her and I'm looking for some vegetarian and healthy, yet tasty meals to make for her that can be frozen and eaten as single servings.
Her taste is temporarily diminished so the meals should have a lot of flavor! Any suggestions?
Sent by Rachel
Editor: Rachel, best wishes to your mom for a speedy recovery! That is great you are going to make her some meals. As far as suggestions go, what about beans? We have been freezing layered containers of beans with stew and salsa on top. You could do this vegetarian-style, with a layer of beans, then vegetarian stew, then some chopped herbs or salsa on top of that. Freeze in a microwave-safe glass container, so all she has to do is warm it up. Here are a few sources for some bean recipes:
• A Pot of Beans: 10 Tasty Ways to Cook Beans
• How To Cook Beans: A Fast, Foolproof, No-Soak Method
Readers, what else would you suggest to Rachel?
Related: Help Me Find Healthy, Balanced Meals That Freeze Well?
(Image: Faith Durand)

Comments (13)
Veggie curry made w/ squash, sweet potatoes, and other veggies (and some beans?) would be a nice choice. You can add in as much flavor as you like!
chili!
also:
-single -servings of veggie-filled, tomato sauce (we add smart ground to make it a "bolognese")
-empanadas: made up and then frozen: make them up, and instead of baking them, freeze them individually on a cookie sheet in the freezer (we put parchment paper on the sheet), then after frozen put in a zip-lock bag. just add 5-10 minutes to the cooking time.
soups! they heat up very well. brazilian black soup is so good and flavorful; we get our recipe from moosewood.
lasagne: make up a pan, then portion and freeze.
I don't know where you live, but its cold where I am, so here are some hot suggestions!
-veggie chili - freeze in single size containers
- all soups
- veggie meatballs and sauce, if you make such things
-macaroni and cheese freezes pretty well
-zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, etc.
More work required:
- stir fry - tray freeze over night the veggies and pieces of tempeh. pack those in single serve bags. If you have a packet of that instant boil in bag rice and some kind of sauce for the veggies, she can make a meal in 10 minutes.
I was in the hospital a couple of months ago and during my recovery lived off of Alice Waters' Simple Vegetable Soup from her Art of Simple Food. I love it.
Between these two links you get a general sense of the recipe, just sub out veg. broth for the chicken broth:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103056442
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/08/alice-waters-carrot-soup-recipe.html
I puree it and it is just delightful and works with lots of vegetables other than carrots.
Lentils
Beans
Soup - chili, chowder, vegetable (I'm not a fan of frozen noodles)
Individual veggie pot pies
Tomato sauce (puttanesca is my favorite)
I would also recommend stocking up on snacks, such as olives, microwave popcorn, nuts, cheese cubes, shelf-stable soup (gasp!), and bread and nut butter. She should never be without something quick and easy to eat.
Good luck to her!
Most food that freeze well are high in fat. Fat molecules do not expand like water molecules do in low temperature. So begin with vegetables that freeze well in your recipe to avoid watery problem when reheating. Use peas, carrots, corns, spinach.
Should probably avoid having too much beans after surgery. They are hard to digest, can cause bowel discomfort and gas. If you do want to cook beans, use the smaller ones(lentils).
Nothing says strong flavor like CURRY! Curry is something that only gets better after few days. You can use Indian goat cheese (paneer) with chopped spinach! Tofu with carrots and peas. Sweat a lot of onion before adding the ingredients can add a lot of flavor as well. Eat with naan or rice. Naan freeze very well and you can find whole grain version at supermarkets. Uncle Ben rice are also only 5 minutes away.
Try these. There's a lot of prepwork involved but the end result is yummy, healthy, and easy to freeze and defrost.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/morgans-veggie-patties-recipe/index.html
I second soups and chili, with lots of spices. If beans are too hard to digest, as adora suggested, you could make a chili-style vegetable stew without the beans. Individual potpies, as another commenter mentioned, are also great: freeze them unbaked; they go straight from freezer to oven. From my own experience recovering from surgery, I would suggest avoiding too many grains and fats, which can also be hard to digest.
Spinach lasagna
This is one of my favorite winter recipes. It cooks up in slow cooker and freezes really well.
http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeId=67741
I try to always have a week's worth of food in the freezer, just in case work or life gets crazy. My go-to faves:
- quiche (freeze each slice separately, or make in individual containers)
- pot pies (same serving as above)
- breakfast burritos (delicious anytime, and super nutritious)
- spinach lasagna rolls (search this site for the recipe, freeze in 2 roll portions)
- a variety of bean bases, that can easily be wrapped, mixed with rice, etc.
- baked penne/ziti, lasagna, etc. (add some veggies for nutrients)
- twice baked potatoes (again w/veggies)
These would require more from her, but might be possible: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/mix-match-bagged-meals-at-home-095048
Very simple to make and delicious:
In a food processor with the slicing attachment toss in 2 zucchini (or 1 zucchini and 1 summer squash), 3 tomatoes, 1 or 2 shallots and a clove or two of garlic.
Lightly oil the bottom of a square baking dish with olive oil and drop in the veggies. Toss with a little olive oil and add spices to taste (you can use an Italian Spice grinder, oregano, rosemary, basil, salt, pepper...). Bake at 350 for half an hour until the veggies are cooked through. Top with a little mozzarella/Parmesan mix and broil to brown the cheese. Dish into individual containers, it freezes beautifully.
Vegetarian pot pie- just like the turkey version, but with vegetarian meat instead. Make them in single-serving foil containers with lids. The same containers can be used to make stew and biscuits, and individual vegan shepherd's pie!
http://www.meettheshannons.net/2010/10/betty-crocker-project-beef-less.html
http://www.meettheshannons.net/2010/03/chicken-free-pot-pie.html