Have you ever bought a bag of gorgeous, fresh greens just to discover a bag of mush in the back of your fridge three weeks later? I cannot be the only person guilty of this (I hope). Leafy greens are so important for brain health, but we don’t want them to go to waste. I can’t wait to share one of my favorite food-saving, brain-healthy hacks with you: Grab-and-Go Frozen Kale.

I haven’t been able to find frozen kale at my regular grocery stores, so I make my own. I freeze it in a way that allows you to quickly grab as much or as little as you need. It’s great for adding to things like eggs, soups, pastas, etc. Grab-and-Go Frozen Kale is a convenient way to add leafy green nutrition to your daily dishes.

How to make Grab-and-Go Frozen Kale

To save time, I buy a big ol’ bag of chopped kale from the refrigerated section, like this one:

I like to blanch my kale before freezing it. Blanching inactivates the enzymes that cause the kale to continue to ripen, even in the freezer. We want to lock in that powerful nutrition.

To blanch, bring a large pot of water to boil. While waiting for the water to boil, set out a large stainless steel bowl, fill it about 1/3 of the way full with ice, then add water until the bowl is 2/3 full. (You can use your sink for this step if desired, just make sure it has been properly disinfected and then rinsed prior to using).

Once the water is boiling, carefully stir in the kale bits. Allow to cook for 2 1/2 minutes, then drain into a colander. Place the colander into the ice water. Allow to set for about 5 minutes, or until the kale feels cold to the touch. This stops the cooking process.

Remove the colander from the ice water and allow the kale to thoroughly drain (you can place the kale in a clean kitchen towel and wring out the excess water if desired). Place kale on a small baking sheet or large plate and place in the freezer. Freeze overnight or for about 6 hours.

Remove kale from sheet and place into a zip-top freezer bag, breaking it up into small chunks or individual leaves as needed. Grab-and-Go Frozen Kale will last 8-12 months in the freezer. The kale will be pretty mushy from this process so I would not recommend eating it straight out of the freezer. Otherwise, use as desired or substitute in recipes that cook fresh kale or other greens (MIND Diet Minestrone or Mediterranean Lentil Soup with Kale and Za’atar would be perfect for this). Happy MIND Diet eating!