Reddit reviews Reditainer Extreme Freeze Deli Food Containers with Lids, 16-Ounce, 36-Pack, 36-Pack, 16 Oz

I find casseroles to be the easiest dish to reheat. I make them regularly for my wife (she has night school 2 days a week, so I make plenty of grab and microwave meals). Her favorites tend to be lasagna, macaroni and cheese, baked spaghetti/ziti and sometimes a chinese food casserole.

I also will package all sorts of foods in 2 cup deli containers which are less expensive than the ziploc screw on containers use for lunch storage.

However, just as important as selecting the meal is packaging the meal and heating the meal. For casseroles, I will leave in the refrigerator for several hours until it hardens and "sets". This makes it easier to slice. When I do slice for freezing, I first wrap each slice in wax paper and then aluminum foil. The Wax paper is microwave friendly and the aluminum foil tends to keep things together without unwrapping (similarly, you can use tape like an actual deli). When it's time to reheat, I unwrap the aluminum foil and microwave anything for a minute. This softens the outside enough to remove the wax paper. Afterward, I microwave for about 4-5 minutes (for a 5"x3"x3" food brick). I use one of those microwave splatter covers to trap the steam and help maintain some moisture in the meal.

For foods in plastic deli containers, I usually microwave for 1 minute, slide the still-frozen block of food into a regular bowl and microwave again in 1-2 minute increments, regularly stirring the food to make sure the heat and defrost is evenly distributed. I use a regular bowl so that the plastic containers can be reused and the plastic doesn't burn/melt.

Edit: For those who may have trouble with dried out dishes when microwaving, just add a splash of water to the top of the meal and cover while microwaving. The water should steam and help keep things moistened.

Reditainer Extreme Freeze Deli Food Containers with Lids, 16-Ounce, 36-Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HG8YTB0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nTCdBbVZ4NG30

These are my absolute favorite! I’ve used them for years with repeated freezing and being put through the dishwasher and I haven’t lost a single one to breaking or warping! I highly recommend them!

I store most of my produce in plastic bags, and occasionally some fruit in tupperwear.

This is a good resource on how to store just about any veggie/fruit http://www.thekitchn.com/the-kitchns-guide-to-storing-fruits-and-vegetables-tip-roundup-176308

If your looking for cheap "i don't feel bad tossing this when it gets gross" storage options, these are pretty amazing (and great for the freezer) http://www.amazon.com/Reditainer-Extreme-Containers-16-Ounce-36-Pack/dp/B00HG8YTB0

I got a bunch of reditainers/delitainers. I know they aren't exactly "buy once," and a lot of people look down on plastic, but they're more durable than you think, recycleable when they finally break (or the dog turns them into chew toys...) and I use so many fewer ziplocs. They're great for pantry storage, leftovers in the fridge, or long-term storage in the freezer (provided you get the ones advertised for the freezer. The ones that aren't advertised for the freezer become incredibly fragile when frozen.)

I always transfer food to a different container before heating it up, for anyone worried about "the chemicals." They are technically microwave-safe, but I like to think they last longer without being heated up.

Hello fellow Chuck & Don’s worker! I too worked at a Chuck & Don’s, granted it was only for 3 months this past winter but I did love the customers I got to educate and the nutrition education! I was offered a more consistent position elsewhere and it offered more money, I could have advanced more in the company as my supervisor wanted me to, but in the end the time commitment and money I could get elsewhere were better.

I still spend most of my time researching stuff, honestly it’s one of my favorite hobbies minus playing board games/DnD, and right now I’m actually calculating my dogs next step in her raw transition for the upcoming months! Because so much kibble has high vegetable percentages, I’ve been taking half a year to get her to a fully comfortable level with me increasing her protein intake and vegetables, and soon we will be making the shift for a BARF diet versus a Honest Kitchen Base Mix diet, especially now that she’s at the right weight I want her at. Using this to calculate her BARF diet needs:
Raw Diet Calculator

I bought some deli containers I actually saw people using for raw food off of Amazon! I have seen some wear and tear with them, but because they are a soft plastic I haven’t had one break yet and it’s only small marks on the plastic! (My cats containers are baby containers which are more sturdy, but I’ve broken a few of them so it kinda negates the higher strength containers, especially when frozen and they are dropped 🙃). I’d say try to go for something like this! Or square ones if possible too.
Deli Containers

So we have a second fridge in our garage, which soon I’m going to have to keep watch that it isn’t horribly effected by the cold winters here otherwise we may have to move it inside which I really do not want to do... but! With this freezer I fit all of my cats raw for 40 days totaling 18.5lbs in small containers. I also can fit my dogs monthly raw which right now comes to 20lbs and I’ll be increasing that to 40lbs. With this 20lbs of food (four 5 lb tubs of Woody’s placed in 28 containers) I still have enough room to double my dogs food. Keep in mind this freezer/fridge is used for the sole purpose of keeping raw food. And I will say it is easy to buy a quick freezer and sell it these days in Minneapolis especially if you try to sell it on Facebook Market Place. Also, I have a normal $20 kitchen scale from Target, it works great for what I use it for and is easy to clean!

I use Steve’s raw for my cats! They love it, and my dog loves when she gets the left overs that don’t fit into a container! They’ve been doing great on it, and I give them rabbit from Woody’s every third meal. I stay pretty consistent with them due to digestive sensitivity! Steve’s is too expensive to feed my girl with though, but the cats are small enough that the money balances out and is cheaper than canned!!!

Love all the supplements you give, I remember all those when I worked at Chuck and Dons! My dog LOVES the minnows! And so do my cats! My dog and cats loved when I got them the Steve’s raw goats milk, but it was too expensive so I have them on Honest Kitchens powdered goats milk instead, lasts a lot longer and doesn’t go bad! I also give my dog Honest Kitchens golden milk which is made from coconuts, and she freaks! Can’t give it to my cats though cause it’s a nut extract.

You should look at signing up for education courses for Steve’s Real Food and for Honest Kitchen through your store! You can get like 3 boxes of free frozen raw meat from Steve’s and a free box from Honest Kitchen! And if your store has more people sign up for Steve’s training you actually get free raw to share with co-workers that is based on how much raw you sell! Right as I left my store qualified for getting almost two boxes of free raw food a month to share!

Honestly love geeking out on nutrition, and since I graduated from the U of M I’ve been noticing more and more how interested I am in animal nutrition, even more so than my own nutrition haha!

Are you looking for something like reditainers? Those were recommended to me a while back by someone but I'm sure you can find other brands/types for similar containers on amazon or at restaurant supply stores.

i re-use them, but they don't last forever. i got both of the following from reditainer

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00SX9XFMU/ref=psdc_13880481_t2_B009W2LMRM

these are brittle when frozen. most of my failures cracked because something pressed on them or fell and hit them in my freezer. besides that, they have low sides, so it was easy for sauce/liquid to leak out


https://smile.amazon.com/Reditainer-Extreme-Containers-16-Ounce-36-Pack/dp/B00HG8YTB0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523405028&sr=8-1&keywords=reditainer

these are much more durable for freezing. and since they have taller sides by comparison, i worry less about transporting liquids in them. microwaving though, the food gets hot enough that the containers shape bends a little with the heat. and the dishwasher gets hot enough and if they slip and get wedge in an odd shape when hot, they will cool and now be an oblong shape. they are still fine to be used, but the harder, black and clear ones from the first link, they always stayed their same shape.

i do like the 2nd ones better because i've ordered a few sizes and it is nice for portion control. i fill the round containers about 2/3rds of the way full. it's small enough i can almost always microwave and eat it all at once. or i'll put a rich stew in it and then have a 2nd container full of some fresh cut vege, that i wont microwave.

8 Oz, 16 Oz, and 32 Oz versions of this container are stackable, reusable, and cheap.
Reditainer Extreme Freeze Deli Food Containers with Lids, 16-Ounce, 36-Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HG8YTB0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_jmerybR73QD9S
Edit: Wrong link.

If you do decide to do this, try it as "single serving" packages! It really helps me. I have containers like this that a great for it. Cheap, small but not tiny looking, and cheap enough that you can just throw them out if you have to. Plus, sharpie will scrub right off the lids pretty easily.

Yup! I have a bunch of these BPA-free freezable/microwaveable deli food containers with lids and I just measure the broth out into portions, label them, and freeze them. I put the frozen container without the lid in the microwave, heat for 5-6 minutes and it's ready. If I need it just for the week, I just put it in a big deli container in the fridge and with the added salt it's good for 5-6 days, just put it into a mug and microwave for 2 minutes. I make sure to keep bone & vegetable scraps in freezer bags so I can make broth every weekend in a slow cooker.

In addition to stuff already mentioned, you can freeze enchiladas (even little individual portions), homemade taquitos, cookies, rice/quinoa/your grain of choice, any kinds of beans, pot pies, and sauces like enchilada sauce, sofrito, homemade pasta sauce, vegan alfredo, etc to make fresh dishes easy and quick. You can freeze cake (but wrap it WELL), homemade veggie burger/chick'n patties, seitan/Field Roast, etc. One tip: I'd steer clear of dairy or dairy heavy recipes to freeze. If you make enchiladas, for example, throw the cheese on top when you're reheating them instead of before they're frozen. Dairy can do wonky things in the freezer. Uh, and another tip, if you make a big batch of say, biscuits, freeze them on a tray first, and then put them in a freezer bag. That way you're not struggling to pull apart biscuits that froze together, tearing off little pieces and causing all the other biscuits to thaw slightly whenever you try to grab one.

I freeze portions in these kindsa containers I got from Amazon, but freezing stuff flat in zip-loc bags is also great.

Edit: Oops! Meant to reply to the original post!