Do you have a FoodSaver? I got one for Christmas and I have to say I am in love with it! I am going to have to rank it on my top 10 favorite gifts! If you are a stockpiler I highly recommend the foodsaver. My only regret is that I didn’t get one sooner. We used it for the first time this past weekend and it was so easy to use!
There are a few tips that I want to share with you. When you are freezing an item it is best to “pre-freeze” it. Meaning that you want to lay it flat and freeze it until it is firm (2-3 hours). We simply weighed our hamburger into 1/2 lb portions and patted them and put them on a cookie sheet to “pre-freeze”. After 3 hours we then simply placed them into the food saver bags and sealed them. Another tip is that if you want the food to be moist then you want to use the moist setting so for all meat you would use that setting.
Here you can see that we placed the meat into the package and sealed it. The thing I love is that you can thaw the meat directly from the freezer in the sealed package! It is simple to mark directly onto the package with a permanent marker the date you sealed it and according the manufacturer it adds 2 years to the life of the meat.
Here is the final product! As you can see hubby helped me use the food saver and is showing off our handy work! You can use the food saver to expand the life of so many foods that you stockpile. The foodsaver says that it extends the life of frozen items for up to 2 years! I use it for fruits and berries, meat, poultry, fish, vegetables and marinara! By using the foodsaver you can really extend the shelf life of foods. It is an awesome way to build you stockpile and think outside of the box.
Items you can freeze include but are not limited to fruits, vegetables, raw meats, poultry fish, bread, buns, butter and much more!
Always be on the lookout for clearance and sales on the foodsaver and bags! I would love to hear what you think about the foodsaver. Do you love it as much as I do?
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I have a Foodsaver & like you, I LOVE IT!!!
I recently mentioned to a friend that I wanted a FoodSaver and she said she had one she would GIVE me! I’ve been using that thing like crazy and I absolutely love it. I am learning to freeze many different things and so far I have not been disappointed.
Have you ever tried any non-foodsaver brand bags? I’m wondering how they would work. The bags can be expensive but I’ve heard that they sell them at Kohl’s and I’m tempted to see how much they are when they are on sale there.
I have not tried the non-food saver brand bags. I too would like to know how they work. If you go for it let me know!
I have the FoodSaver GameSaver Deluxe Plus. I tried the ZipVac rolls, 8″ & 10″ – www zipvac com – and they work great. They can also be used for freezerbag cooking and you can boil food in them according to the mfg. I use mine primarily for vacuum sealing wheat, oats and other whole grains, beans, and other dry items. I just ordered 12 8″ rolls from them, shipping was $3. They also have a survey and 20% off if you answer the non intrusive question(s).
If you are sealing dry items, use a paper coffee filter over the stuff to act like a filter & avoid getting tiny bits of dust or chaff in the actual seal. If in doubt, I make a second seal after blowing anything that could be between the first seal and end of the bag.
Thanks Dusty!
I love my Foodsaver. I used to be able to get good deals on rolls, but as they get more popular that gets tougher. (I still occasionally find them on craigslist). Last batch I bought was on eBay. I bought gallon & quart baggies from this seller: http://myworld.ebay.com/filmtechcorp03/. The really great thing was that they didn’t have a set of bags that suited my needs. I emailed them and they kindly created an auction for my needs . Super great seller, And I got a great deal on bags. They take up a lot less room than the rolls in my tight kitchen too.
I love mine also. I have had mine for about 2 years and have used it over an over. It’s also a great way to preserve that frugal garden produce that we love. I have used it on bell peppers, lima beans, cabbage for soups, and corn. A great food and time saver!!!
Thanks! I agree Vicki!
I absolutely love our foodsaver! It is the perfect addition to any stockpiling family!
I always use the non-brand bags and they work just as well as the brand bags! In fact, after we used the brand bags that came with ours, we have never used them again. I can never cough up the money to pay for the brand bags, lol!
Thank you for your tips, I never thought about pre-freezing. This makes a lot of sense, especially with the fruits. I wouldn’t even try to do this with fruit because it would squish them…but pre-freezing would solve that issue! Wonderful!!!
Thanks Tonia!
I hope it helps
I had never tried a Foodsaver. I just ordered a foodsaver hand vac, I got 2 bags with it. I was wondering if we could have an alternative to these expensive bags.
Can we use ziploc bags in any way?
thx
No you can not use ziploc but you can use any off brand ones!
which ones are the off brand ones?.. i hv no clue abt the vac food system…
You can google offbrand vacuum sealed bags.
I have a food saver and I really love it as well! We spent an entire day cooking meals,9 total, placing them in containers in single servings and freezing them. After they were froze, we took them out of the freezer and put them in food saver bags and sealed them. We made many different items with my stockpile of items. A lot of noodle dishes and even soup. It worked really well for my husband to take to work instead of the pricey frozen meals that go in the microwave! He just took the zip sealed bag and a dish, it was very easy for him!
That is an awesome frugal tip Julie! Thanks for sharing!
I purchased a Food Saver last month and LOVE it. I have only fr0zen meat so far, but after reading these comments I will have to broaden my use. Freezing prepared meals into individual servings for lunch boxes is genius.
I love my foodsaver. I have had one since the first year it came out. As my children moved out I would give them the older models and get the newer one for myself. Nothing was wrong with it I just wanted the newest one. They are all working still. My one dd is a costume designer and she package her patterns togather so that don’t get all mixed up. And she will food saver a project all togather so everything for that project is one place when she is ready to sew. The other dd is a actress and she does that same idea with costume pieces. She can mark them and put them in a box so they are not all over the house. I am the cook so I foodsaver the leftovers for later. We also use it for our hurricane supplies.
I too have a foodsaver. But.. the bags are so expensive that I quit using it because they’re too pricey. Right now I’m using ziploc bags and getting as much air out as I can.
I got a good deal at Kohls on mine using a 30% off coupon and earning Kohls cash…hope that helps!
I have had a foodsaver for a couple of years, but only started using it about a year ago. It is great for stockpiling meats and saving leftovers for our family of 3! The bags are expensive even when i did a google search, but I found them much more reasonable @ Sam’s Club!
Great tip! Thanks Carol!
I have a foodsaver and I love it. My husband does too. I also have a freshsaver (handheld) that I use for sandwich meats and cheese, lettuce etc. You zip the bag and then seal it . It keeps meat and cheese fresh so much longer.I use the ziploc bags for the freshsealer. I bought them at Kroger with coupons.
I have used a foodsaver for many years. I stockpile but most of mine is thru the use of the foodsaver. I am just starting the coupon part. I buy cheese and meat at Costco and freeze it or keep it in the fridge. I ALWaYS double seal the meat and cheese. I also cook extra so that we can “tv dinner” anytime we need to and know it will taste great! I have kept cheese in the fridge for several months with no growing. So if you are a bulk food buyer the food saver is the way to go. Pre freezing is awesome, especially for sauces and fresh veggies and fruits. Haven’t had much luck with bread and other soft stuff even with prefeeezing. Anyone have any tips on that?
I was just gifted a used food saver b/c I did a favor for a friend’s mother in law.
Now I have to figure out how to use it and what I need to buy in order to use it. Looks like it will save us money in the long run.
Hi! Thank you for posting this. I am in the market to purchase a Foodsaver. I just don’t know which model would be best. Any suggestions??? Thank you!!!
Another idea on where to get the bags…I’m using my Swagbucks to get them free on Amazon.
FABULOUS!!!!
I just got one of the top models… On sale at kohls. I have been eyeing them for a long time. So far so good. I am single and my kids are trends and live with their dad … So you can imagine the food I get when they visit but are spoiled by the time they come back…. I have heard bed bath and beyond with their 20 % coupon is also good. I think the some what higher bag cost is off set by what I will save in spoiled foods. I just ordered the marinade container and bottle stoppers. Looking forward to enjoying one glass of my favorite wine then resealing for later. Yum. Back when I used to cook for five I did a lot of cook ahead meals. Trying to get back to that on a smaller scale.
I cn’t even tell you how old my food saver is. I know my grandson is 17 and I got it when he was a tiny little thing. It is actually a Tillia Food Saver, the original, long, white thing and I’ve never had a bit of problem with it. They have come out with many different styles since then but I still have my original made in Italy and paid well over $200 for it. It has been worth every penny. Hubby and my sons hunt so we freeze a lot of venison. Yes, we live a Food Saver life here. Matter of fact, need to run and get another case of bag rolls as my favorite store is having their 10# meat sale this week.
I love my food saver. I primarily use it for meats, but it works great for other food items as well. Makes it easy to stock up on sale items. Our favorite is when you can find split chicken breast for 99 cents, my husband and I go buy 100 pounds or more! Can’t imagine how much money this thing has saved me by being able to shop that way!
Try the Pillsbury Grands biscuits. I sprinkle them with a tiny bit of flour, froze them on a cookie sheet and sealed them with my food saver. I got this idea from……I think it was Granny B’s, maybe Mary B’s frozen biscuits that Wally World used to carry. Now Wally has their own brand and they are just not the same.
At least you can use the amount of biscuits that you need rather than using the entire package.
Thanks for the tips on the alternative bags. I’ve been buying the foodsaver bags from Wally, the big box that has different sizes in it and yes, it is expensive.
BTW, love Stockpiling Moms and my beloved Foodsaver, LOL
I also do burger patties this way
If you have a Menards near you… they sell their own brand that I use in my food saver and they work great at 1/2 the price of the food saver bags…if you dont have Menards maybe see if your hw store carries them or order at menards.com …HTH!
After reading all the comments, I am going to shop for a foodsaver! There are only two of us here, my husband loves for me to save money & so do I! Love your website, keep up the great work !
Believe it or not, I am actually on my second one. I cannot do without it. Shelled peas and beans freeze so well. I freeze cinnamon rolls and biscuits (out of the can), avacodos and small amounts of celery, chopped onions and chopped bell peppers. Deli chickens when on sale are deboned and put up for salad, enchaladas and spaghetti. Cannot imagine life witho9ut it!
Another handy use is to seal salads in jars. You can make them to take inyour lunch or just cut up and have ready to serve to your family, saes time and money, makes the lettuce last longer. Hint, don’t put cut up tomatoes or cucumbers in for storage they release to much liquid which speeds up wilting.
Don’t forget to clean the tray and vacuum tube regularly on your foodsaver to prolong the life of it. My mothe and I have been fortunate and have purchased several at garage sales and estate sales for less than $5, take them home clean them up and regift them to people who need them.
I love my foodsaver. At first I bought an off name brand but soon found out that it would not hold up like the brand name. I use it for everything. Neat tricks are freezing left over stew in a bread pan before placing them in a bag and sealing them. It can also be used for things like easter basket grass ….. a great way to save precious space. Lastly it is not just for women. My husband had tools that he no longer used. He greased them up and sealed them so that they can be preserved without rusting.
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