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That’s Not Laziness. That’s Infrastructure.
There are nights when chopping an onion is no big deal.
And there are nights when chopping an onion feels personally offensive.
The onion hasn’t changed. The process of getting it to your meal hasn’t changed.
Your capacity has changed.
That is one of the reasons I keep Essential Veggie Blend in my freezer.
It’s nothing complicated: onions, celery, and sweet peppers chopped together and frozen in useful portions. But those bags remove one of the repetitive little jobs standing between me and dinner.
Soup needs vegetables? Grab some.
Taco meat needs onion and peppers? They’re already chopped.
Egg bake? Chili? Casserole? Slow cooker?
There’s a pretty good chance the blend can help.
This isn’t really about chopped vegetables.
It’s about kitchen infrastructure…and, I love meal prep that helps with that.
You’ll occasionally find affiliate links throughout Life in the Treehouse. If something has become a trusted part of our home, I may share it here. Purchasing through those links costs you nothing extra, but helps support our family and the work I love creating.
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Batch Prep Can Mean Starting Fewer Times
Feeding people requires far more work than the few minutes when food is actively cooking. That’s why I pay attention to repeated work.
If five meals need chopped onions this week, I can chop onions five different times. Or I can start the job once.
Batch prep doesn’t always mean doing more work. Sometimes it means starting the same work fewer times.
One cutting board. One knife.
One pile of scraps. One cleanup.
Several future meals get the benefit.
I think of that as a gift to Future Me.
I’m not trying to prepare every bite we’re going to eat for the next seven days. I’m looking for high-frequency tasks I can consolidate when I have the capacity.
Sometimes that means creating intended leftovers.
Sometimes it means keeping Faster Foods available.
Sometimes it means using appliances that can work while I don’t.
Sometimes it means chopping a pile of vegetables.
Preparation isn’t proof that I’m sufficiently organized
It’s one way I create more possibilities for the days when my capacity is different.
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Essential Veggie Blend
Fuel Flow: Neutral Foundation
Gluten FREEzer Staple & Pantry Staple
Makes: A LOT
Ingredients:
1 pound mini sweet peppers
1 bunch celery
3 pounds yellow onions
*Add Some Hot Peppers to your pound of peppers if you like spice(Optional)
Directions:
1. Seed and dice the peppers. If you are adding hot peppers, take appropriate protective cautions, like gloves.
2. Trim and dice the celery.
3. Peel and dice the onions.
4. Combine the vegetables in a large bowl and toss until evenly distributed.
5. Portion into freezer bags or freezer-safe containers. I typically use 2-cup portions because that’s a useful amount for the way I cook. If using bags, press them flat, remove as much excess air as practical, label, and freeze.
6. Use directly from frozen in cooked dishes, or thaw when needed. Keep frozen until ready to use.
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What Freezing Does to the Vegetables
This blend is intended primarily for cooked dishes.
Once frozen and thawed, onions, celery, and peppers won’t have the same crisp texture they had when they were fresh. They’ll also release additional moisture as they cook.
That’s generally no problem in soups, chili, casseroles, and many slow-cooker meals.
For skillet meals, egg dishes, or other recipes where excess moisture affects the finished texture, sauté the vegetables until the released liquid has evaporated.
Where I Use Essential Veggie Blend:
Taco Roast
Sloppy José
Pumpkin Chili
soups and stews
taco meat
casseroles
egg bakes
skillet meals
slow-cooker meals
I don’t treat a 2-cup bag as the equivalent of one onion or one pepper.
If I need a little, I use a little. If the meal can use the whole portion, in it goes.
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Rooted Budget Wisdom
One of the simplest grocery-shopping habits I’ve developed is checking the unit price.
The largest package isn’t automatically the least expensive option.
Compare the price per ounce, pound, quart, or individual unit.
Sometimes the bulk package really is the bargain. Sometimes several smaller packages cost less. Sometimes loose produce beats the bagged version, and sometimes the convenient bag wins.
Package size tells you how much you’re buying. Unit price helps tell you what you’re paying for it. But unit price is only one piece of the decision.
The lowest price per ounce doesn’t automatically make something the best purchase for your household. Because, Grocery-Store Math Is Real-World Math, and consideration for your time, capacity, and getting people fed are the factors that add personal value to your budget.
And, Preparation creates possibilities. It also creates room in a budget for what’s valuable to you.
The Treehouse Standard
Safe, not sorry. Always.
My household is gluten-free, so the ingredients and products I choose are selected with our family’s boundaries in mind. Brands, formulations, manufacturing practices, and labels can change. Always verify the specific products you purchase against the food boundaries that matter in your own household.
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Nicole Burch is a Trim Healthy Lifestyle Coach, author, and holistic family life mentor helping women and families rebuild through rooted rhythms, personal governance, and sustainable living. Blending nourishment, discernment, and restoration, she guides others toward resilience, peace, and healing—creating lives that are grounded, aligned, and nurtured at home.
Wellness That Withstands.
Rooted. Resilient. Restored.
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Trim Healthy Coach Disclaimer
Nicole Burch is a Certified Trim Healthy Mama Lifestyle Coach, independently offering services based on the THM plan. This coach is not an employee or agent of Trim Healthy Mama, LLC. Coaching services are independently managed, and THM is not responsible for results, business practices, or claims made by this coach.
Affiliate Disclosures
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