Monday Q&A | Freezing Food, Screen time for Kids, and Google Reader Alternatives
Every Monday, I answer a few of the questions that my readers send me. If you have a question you'd like me to answer in a future Q&A post, just leave me a comment here or email me (thefrugalgirl [at] gmail [dot] com) and put Q&A in the subject line. I look forward to hearing from you!
I have a question that I thought you might know about given your focus on reducing food waste. Which fruit and veggies can be frozen and which can't? I only go food shopping either weekly or fortnightly and some of the fruit/veggies have gone off by the last few meals. It would be easier when we do the shop to divide up what will be used this week and next week but I've always been scared to freeze produce as I don't want it to come out all soggy!
-Nicole
I think it's awesome that you're wanting to prevent food waste! The freezer is definitely a helpful tool when you're working to fight food waste, but it's got limitations.
As I'm sure you know, water, unlike most substances, expands when it's frozen. That means when you freeze produce, the liquid in it expands and bursts the cell walls, so when the produce is thawed, it tends to be soft. Because of this, most produce isn't very palatable after freezing unless it's going to be cooked or blended in a smoothie.
My main suggestion for you would be to plan your meals based on the shelf-life (or fridge-life!) of your produce. Things like potatoes, celery, carrots, cabbage, apples, and citrus fruit can usually keep for at least two weeks, whereas things like berries or leafy lettuce will go bad before then. So, serve your berries and other highly perishable foods in the first week after you shop, and depend on the more hardy fruits and vegetables during the second week.
If you do still end up with produce that's about to go bad, freezing can be a good option. Just keep in mind that you'll want to use the frozen food in either a smoothie or in a cooked application.
I have an 11 year old son who loves computer games. Sadly for him, he doesn't get to do them much - I limit it to 30 minutes per day. A friend of ours gave us a Play Station 2 (gee, thanks), and he's allowed to play on that instead, again for just half an hour - Lego or Star Wars. When he goes to friend's houses however, they'll play the Wii or XBox or PS 3 for the whole visit if allowed (they usually are) and it's games that I don't like - shooting games etc. He gets very cross and frustrated about our family's limitations and bemoans the fact that we do not have any iPods, iPhones, iPads, XBox, Wii, PS3, Nintendo etc. Does this issue ever arise with your children and if so, how do you handle it please?
-Jessica
I think it's great that you're limiting the amount of time your son can spend playing games. We do something very similar at our house. The rule on weekdays is that once you've finished your school work and your list of chores (clean room, practice piano, do daily housekeeping chore, etc.), you get 30 minutes of screen time, which can be used on the Wii, computer, or TV.
Of course, there are certainly times when my children are unhappy with this limitation, and when that happens, I remind them that lots of screen time isn't good for them, and that we've placed this limitation on them because we love them. And I suggest alternate ways to use their time.
Also, although I'm not perfectly consistent with it, I do make an effort to not allow complaining about the rules of the house. For instance, if a kid isn't happy about what's served for dinner, they can exercise their freedom and choose to not eat it, but they're not allowed to sit at the dinner table and whine and cry. So, if my children were carrying on about their screen time limitations, I probably would let them know that if they complained about the rule, the screen time they do have would be taken away for a day.
On the positive end of things, perhaps you could consider allowing your son to earn screen time by doing things like chores, playing outside, or reading books.
One last thought is that once kids get a bit older, I think it's a really good idea to explain the thinking behind the rules of the house. That's not very helpful for a toddler, but as our kids get older, we ideally don't want them just to do things because we said so...we want to help them embrace these ideas for themselves. To that end, we talk to our kids, especially the older ones, about the problems with being addicted to smartphones and video games, and the reasons getting away from the screen is healthy and helpful.
I feel like that was kind of rambly. Here it is in bullet points. 😉
- Keep on with the limitations!
- Remind him of the practical reason you give him limitations.
- Remind him the limitations are there because you love him and want what's best for him.
- Institute consequences for complaining about limitations.
- Offer alternate activities.
- Consider a screen-time earning program.
I use Google Reader to organize all my blogs, including yours! This reader will no longer be available in July. Do you use an RSS Reader different from Google? If so, what is it and would you recommend it? I'm in the market for a new one and quickly got overwhelmed in my search.
Thank you,
Alyssa
I feel your pain, not because I use Google Reader, but because I use iGoogle to organize the blogs I read, and that's going away too, come November.
Boo.
I haven't researched any alternatives as of yet, but I'm guessing some of my readers will have some good suggestions for you and me.
__________________________
Have at it, people! Share your advice about one or all of these three topics (freezing food, screen time, and RSS alternatives).
__________________________
Joshua's 365 post: I love Luray!
I used google reader for a long time as well but then switched to feedly. I love it! And since you use google reader, feedly can import all of your subscriptions quite seamlessly.
I like an application called "Pulse" to organize the blogs that I read. It can be accessed by computer but also through other personal devices (tablet, phone, ereader).
Hi, I feel so sad that I now need to part with Google Reader. I recently signed up for Feedly and have imported all my links to it. I am still getting a hang of it, but a lot of bloggers have recommended it. It is visually appealing but very slow on Android !
Let's see what others are reccomending.
Amruta
I use Sage, an add on for Firefox. It lists the blogs you read and when you ask it to check, it puts a red star next to those with new posts. Then you have to click on that blog's feed to see the posts.
I freeze quite a lot of fruit and veg, which really helps me out because I'm only cooking for one. Frozen mangoes and stone fruit makes a great snack, and can also be blended up to make "ice cream" (bananas are good for this too!). I've even frozen watermelon to use in slushies.
I agree that it is best to eat veggies in the order in which they go bad, but I have had success in freezing greens (to use in cooking), celery (to use in soup) and pumpkin (to roast). I've found that any salad greens can be frozen to use in soups, which helps to avoid food waste.
I too, go grocery shopping every 2 weeks. I have used my food dehydrator to keep some things like peppers that are about to go bad. They are best used in soups or things where texture isn't an issue.
I'm trying Feedly as a Google Reader alternative. Super easy so far, and it loaded all of my subs from GR automatically. WIN.
Netvibes! Very easy to move all your blogs with google takeout, and it looks almost the same as google reader. I love it! 🙂
I was disappointed by the Google Reader announcement too, but have switched to Feedly (at the recommendation of Mandi from Life...Your Way). It's incredibly easy to import all your feeds. I'm still getting used to the new program but since Reader won't always be an option, I'll adjust.
To the mom of the 11 year old who wants more time to play video games, I would definitely do something where he could earn more time to play. 30 minutes is really not enough time sometimes to finish a level in some of the games (even the lego games) that kids like to play. I would agree with Kristen to discuss with him your reasoning behind this rule of yours. Honestly, I don't see how rules like these help older kids learn self-discipline. They need to formulate a plan with you (like maybe instead of 30 minutes everyday, he could play an hour every other day). And I'm not surprised that he plays so much at his friends' houses - he obviously doesn't understand or care about the whole point behind your 30 minute rule. Ultimately, it's a heart issue, and I understand the need to place boundaries on kids, but the older they get, discipline necessarily becomes more about teaching, and less about arbitrary rules.
And basically, boys like playing video games, and I'm just telling you that 30 minutes is a frustratingly short amount of time to play one. Think about this... would you limit a young girl who loves to sew to 30 minutes of sewing a day? I know that people like to limit "screentime," and I get that, but you have to remember that kids are going to be exposed to screentime whether you like it or not. The key is to explain the whole concept of self-discipline and moderation in EVERYTHING. Not just one aspect of life.
I agree with LizAnne. I liked the recommendation of less frequent, larger chunks of time.
I agree with LizAnne that kids need to learn self-disipline. I have to admit that I finally got tired of "fighting" with my 10-year-old son and my husband about my limiting our son's screen time. So, I finally said that the hubster could have it. lol (I probably should have just done this before and samed myself quite a few headaches... but that's another topic. lol)
What my husband came up with allow our son more screentime and helps to teach him to disipline himself. He will have 10 hours per week that he can use for computer & video games. He may divide that up as he wishes but can play no longer than 3 hours per day on M-Th and 5 hours per day on the weekends. (Friday have always been unlimited time and stay-up-late night.) He also has "bank" of 10 hours per month to use as he sees fit in case he needs extra time if he's playing with friends and is in the middle of a good game. He has been given a timer that has 3 different timer functions, and two of them have been set to the respective 10 hours -- weekly and monthly. It is his responsibility to start and stop the timer when he plays. (We can check this via xBox.)
However, during each week he also has to do his daily chores and fulfill the reading and "moving" requirements. He must read 7 hours per week outside of school and the before bed reading I require of him. This is an hour a day. He may "get ahead" but he may not get behind. He must also do Kinect or some type of physical activity for an hour every day except Saturday. If he does not do these things at the end of each week (Mon-Sun), he loses his unlimited Friday the next week.
I understand this too, that often a half hour is not much time to get through anything much on a video game. And I like the idea of bigger chunks, less often, though there are some games my boys play that have levels they can complete in 15 minutes (so they can complete 2 each per day or 2 together if they're choosing to use their time simultaneously).
About the comment that boys like to play video games. Yes, that certainly seems to be a huge trend. But I like to look a little deeper and think about why that is. Something that helped me do that was Dr. Leonard Sax's book Boys Adrift. It was rather enlightening when it said that boys tend to enjoy video games so much because it registers in their brains' reward centers as accomplishing something really awesome and meaningful, which reinforces their desire to play. I try to remind my boys of this--that they're not really accomplishing anything. All they are doing is moving their thumbs around. Yes, they're strategizing and adapting to scenerios in their brains, but it's all virtual, not real, not tangible. I'd almost rather have them involved in something slightly dangerous but real like some kind of contact sport or supervised track driving, or the like. I think the fact that they are aware the lack of "realness" helps them moderate themselves on the occasions that I've forgotten to time them.
I think parents should have respect for one another, so if my children go over to other children's homes, I talk to the parents and let them know what I allow and don't. I've had other parents do this when their children come over to my house too. Yes, sometimes I get an earful about what other kids have and are allowed to do, etc, but we have a chat about the grass always being greener on the other side of the fence, and about contentment. I try to remind them of what they do have, because we are certainly not overly restrictive parents that don't give them nice things that they want to have, ever. Yes, we put limits, but we try to be balanced with it. They need to learn to be happy with what they have and know that "things" can't make them happy (maybe for a really short time) anyway.
It's really all about balance and moderation, and like many people said, helping your kids understand (and embrace) what is good and healthy for them. Maybe, like some said, for some kids, all it takes is a couple of days of unlimited video gaming to help them realize how awful it makes them feel to be glued to the screen an immobile for several hours.
That's really cool Jessica, I like that concept. 30 minutes would make sense for younger kids to me, but for older kids that actually play games to get something out of it, be it playing with friends or just actually following the story, 30 minutes is very limiting. As a gamer, I can attest to what LizAnne says, 30 minutes is very much not enough time to get into a game or even finish a level in some cases. Some newer games have complex puzzles that can take a hour or so to figure out and many have the save points much more spread out.
You could look at it like a good book, 30 minutes isn't really enough time to sink into the story, I always want at least an hour to slip off into the world of the book 🙂 But again, I think Jessica's idea is totally awesome, when we are blessed with kids, I believe I will have to swipe it 😉
Thanks, Michael. 🙂 (Interestingly, that's my hubby's name, too! lol) I agree with your comparison to a good book. And I'm guilty of that -- it's really HARD to read for only 30 minutes!
Joshua here! I will admit I like to play some video games, and have a half hour to an hour to do things like that every day, but that helps me to do more important things. I also prefer playing my guitar/keyboard to playing video games. 😀
I'll add here (a day late and a dollar short), that I think that so called "screen" time gets a bad rap and that not all screen time is the same. I certainly would not compare playing the sims, lego games, or wii with sitting in front of the TV for a half hour sitcom. Is reading a mindless drivel teen romance superior to screen time? I'm not sure. In fact I have used the Wii for exercise. IF said kid is getting all of his work done, and getting fresh air and exercise and homework done, I figure after that an hour of screen time doesn't hurt.
My son is twenty four. When growing up he was in scouts, did a sport a season, went to school, did church and a church activitiy and helped around the house. If after that, he wanted to play an hour of video games, I personally had no problem with that. It's when it's the only free time activity that it becomes a problem.
I am also struggling with screen time with my 3 kids (8, 5, nearly 4). There are certain (appropriate) programs they enjoy on TV. They like to play (appropriate and educational) games on the computer. We got an old Wii for Christmas and they like to play (age-appropriate) games on that. Part of my struggle comes when one child asks to play or do a certain screen-thing and another child just tags along. For instance, one child will play a game on the computer and others will watch him play. Does watching count as the other children's screen time? Similar thing for watching something on TV. One child chooses & the others may end up watching also. Do I say "even though this isn't the program/game you picked, you are choosing to watch it now, so this is your screen time - if you don't want it to be your screen time, find something else to do" ?
My two cents is "yes." The child is watching, and thus incurring the benefits and detriments of screen time.
I definitely count it when the screen time is TV, because there's positively no difference between the kid who chose that and the kid who is tagging along.
For the game-watching kid, I tend to take it on a case-by-case basis. If all of my kids used screen time for games and they all watched each other, then I'd nix it. But as it stands, Joshua and Lisey use their time for a TV episode, often together, Sonia often watches a TV episode by herself, and that leaves just Zoe playing a game. So, I don't really mind if Sonia chooses to watch Zoe play for a half hour.
The only leafy greens I tend to freeze is spinach, kale and Swiss chard. I blanch them, dry them and then freeze them. I only cook them after that, but I love to add them to soups, lazanias, pastas and smoothies!
My husband just sent me this link to an article about Feedly, http://mashable.com/2013/03/18/500000-google-reader-users-migrate-feedly/
I have not used it, I am resisiting change until I have no choice...
I've used Google Reader for ages, and I'm heartbroken to see it go. I've been researching alternatives, and while I haven't found one I absolutely love yet, I did find a great resource for alternatives: Lifehacker.com. They have a whole list of alternatives at http://lifehacker.com/5990881/five-best-google-reader-alternatives - I haven't tried them all yet, but there are even more in the comments, so I'm hopeful that I'll find something.
Good luck to all use Google Orphans!
You should definitely try FeedReader. http://www.feedreader.com/
Hi,
I just wanted to comment in regards to the video game question. I myself don't play, but my husband grew up playing and to this day he still does. He does so in moderation and he plays strategy and Mario games (as opposed to shooting ones). He actually believes that games are not bad for kids, so long parents know which games their kids are playing. Also, 30mins does not really allow one to accomplish much in a game. We do believe in limiting the time, especially during week days, but I think that when it comes to games a little bit more time is needed to accomplish something worthwhile in the game. Think about watching a movie, it take about 1-1.5h to get through one. I like Kristen's suggestion of having them earn time through shores, etc. Anyways, that's my thought.
That's true, depending on what type of game they play. Zoe's game of choice is Mario Kart, and you can do a lot of races in a half hour!
My older kids, who could play more time-consuming games, tend to use their screen time to watch an episode of a TV show, like, MythBusters (which is a little more than a half hour when you watch it commercial-free on Netflix). So, we haven't really run into the problem of needing more time to accomplish things in a game yet.
My son gets an hour of video game time on weekdays and Sundays, which can be lost if he misbehaves. One issue I've had is with him not keeping track of the time himself. I'm usually busy doing other things when he has his screen time, and it's easy for me to lose track of how long he's been on. So now he is also responsible for making sure he's off in an hour, and if he isn't, he loses time the next day. Otherwise he never kept track and it was way too easy for him to be on twice as long as he was supposed to because he was being quiet and I was busy.
He doesn't have any game time limits on Saturdays, as long as he doesn't hog the TV and computer. For us, that makes him less likely to bristle about his limits during the rest of the week and, I hope, will help him to make his own choices about game time. I know the first few Saturdays we let him play as long as he wanted, he played video games pretty much all day and then, at night, told us he felt like he'd wasted his day. I don't think he's had another day where he'd played all day since then: some Saturdays he'll play 3-4 hours, some he won't play at all. That also gives him a day where, if he's doing something really complicated or time-consuming in a video game, he can do it. We feel like that day where he gets to make his own choices about screen time helps to minimize conflicts about it the rest of the week.
That is a fair schedule.
We have the same rule here about keeping track of the time. If Zoe doesn't get me to set a kitchen timer (they're too high for her to reach), then she loses her game time for the next day.
It seems like the valuable lesson here is helping kids become more aware of themselves and the effects choices have on them, rather than being a strict disciplinarian. (Individual circumstances allowing, of course.) In your case, your child noticed that playing video games all day made him feel horrible. Knowledge and self-awareness are powerful things!
With the 30 minutes screen time, does this also include learning related activities? I know my daughter likes to watch the khan academy videos and other learning videos online and also play educational games and quizzes. I'm thinking to limit her screen time but I'm not sure how I would count it.
Also, if the children choose something that you disagree with (like reality shows such as "Bad Girls Club") do you reserve the right to veto their choice?
I meant to mention that but forgot. Yes, learning-related games are a freebie. For example, we do some online geography games to coordinate with our study of the countries of the world, and they can play that as much as they want for all I care! (though of course, they don't ever want to play that one for hours!) I also don't count things like folding origami while watching an origami instructional video, or using the computer to stream music from Pandora or Grooveshark.
And yes, we would veto any show choices that we don't think are appropriate for our kids. Thus far, they've not been interested in watching anything we'd deem inappropriate, so this is a theoretical rule at this point!
I use bloglovin.com but I think that´s a swedish site.
When my son get to have free screen time he´s a different, angrier person than he normally is. We explain to him that if he behave himself he get to play more, but as long as he can´t behave, he´ll continue to have limited time to play games. I think children should be outside and play, they need to move their bodies!
"he´s a different, angrier person than he normally is."
This is our experience too! Hence my limiting of the playing time. However, as people above suggest, I will talk about the "why" with him and see if we can figure something out together.
Thank you.
If I have apples that have been around more than two weeks, I make applesauce. Applesauce freezes well and can be used later as a starter (with fresh apples mixed in) for making apple pie filing or apple crisp. Other fruits can be added. Blueberries and peaches pair up well with apples in apple sauce. But, while we like the flavors, raspberries and blackberries generate too many seeds in an applesauce preparation (for us).
Overripe bananas can be frozen then thawed and used for muffins or banana bread.
Citrus fruits can be juiced. The juice can be frozen in marked tupperware. The juice can later be added to beverages or pie fillings, etc.
I save the rind from my citrus fruits. I use a small paring knife to clean off some of the white, then I peel the skin and dry it. To dry, I put the chopped peel on a plate in the oven after I have used the oven for something else. I turn the oven off and leave the plate of peel inside overnight. By next morning the chopped peel is dry and cool enough to put in a spice jar. IMO, it tastes worlds better than store bought peels. I like a little dried orange peel with stir fried green veggies, for instance, and stir frying will soften the dried peel. I like dried lime peel in Mexican pork dishes. I like dried lemon peel in pie crusts, blueberry tarts, and with stir fried chicken.
This is also off the topic of freezing... But.... If you have a recipe that just calls for egg whites...you can save the egg yolks in a tupperware with some oil poured over to prevent them from drying out. Then you can incorporate some extra egg yolks into scrambled eggs for breakfast or into fried rice over the next couple days.
Best,
Nadine
I agree that 30 minutes is too short a time for most interactive video games. One could have nights with no video games and them do an hour or two at a time to make up for that.
I am still, however, waiting to hear how others handle what their kids are allowed to do at friends' houses? How you control this at all?
I am careful to research and choose what I want my kid to do and watch. But at someone else's house, she is exposed to all kinds of shows (and commercials) and games that I have not even heard of, let alone might approve of. She comes back all wound up and pester, pester, pester that she wants X,Y,Z. I do say, "Sorry. Not going to happen. Mommy doesn't approve of that. Too bad." etc. I do stand my ground. But she is still coming home all pumped up about shooting things, etc...
Ack! I just lost my comment to you, Nadine! I'll try again and will be more succinct!
Last year when my son was 8, he went to a friend's house (we didn't know the child or the parents well) and ended up playing a game (don't remember the name, sorry) in which the player was supposed to kill as many people as possible to survive a post-apocalyptic scenario. My son had nightmares for a week. We used that as a learning experience to explain why we limit content in media as well as in books. Because of this experience he "got it", which turned a negative into a positive.
We are living in a tricky age for raising our kids, no doubt! Here's what works for us:
*They may go to houses where we know the parents reasonably well and are on a "similar page" with them.
*If this isn't the case, we either invite them to our home or we meet them in a neutral place (this is actually my favorite option)
*Humor works well. For instance, I'll put my hand on their heads if they've had a lot of screen time to "feel their shrinking brain mass". Or I'll tell them they have the misfortune of being raised by the World's Meanest Mother. Their friends will like it if you use humor on them, as well.
*I try to emphasize fun things we CAN do rather than dwell on limits ("Let's go to the beach" is way more positive than "You've been playing xyz for too long! Get off it now!").
*Someone listed an idea above about allowing them to do "slightly dangerous" activities--I think this is brilliant and I plan on trying it with our family!
*I agree that we should be talking with our children about choices we make as a family--I think we also need to ask our kids leading questions so they can start to formulate their own thoughts and values. Most people rebel from a dictator (kids are no different from adults in this!) but will consider what someone with a more moderate approach has to say.
*Sometimes I find that I need to distinguish in my own mind between "not my favorite option" for kids playing together versus "no way are they doing this!"--for instance, movies with potty humor aren't something I care for but I can live with it, but movies with realistic violence I cannot live with and will give a "no!" to (if they are watching a movie at a friend's house, for instance).
I hope this helps! Parenting is an art, not a science. Oh, the book Love and Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay has been tremendously helpful for me! It teaches parents how to help their children learn to think critically for themselves. Well, it teaches a lot more than that, actually ...
regarding screen time: An 11 year old is too old to be playing Star Wars and Lego video games. All the boys his age play shooter games. Eleven is the age where boys start to notice differences in other boys. I wouldn't want my son to be known as the nerd who plays Lego video games. I want my son to "fit in" at school. My son actually plays most of the shooter games with his Dad. It's great bonding time for them. That being said, my son plays less than 30 minutes a day of video games. He's too busy with sports and homework to spend any additional time on them.
I think that if an 11 year old sincerely enjoyed playing Star Wars or Lego games, then he should be allowed to play them, regardless of whether he'd be considered a nerd. I mean, if my son wanted to play a Star Wars game, I can't really imagine myself telling him that he ought to play Call of Duty so that he can fit in. 😉
As it stands, Joshua happens to be more of a Minecraft guy than a Lego or Star Wars guy (though as one of his friends says, Minecraft is kind of like Legos on a screen!).
Yay for homeschooling! I don't have to let my child play violent games in order for her to not be considered a nerd! However, if she were to be considered a nerd, I think that would be awesome. Nerds are the people that end up doing amazing things with their lives.
Amen!
I guess I'm a really strict mom!
We have an absolute rule in our house about NO screen time on school days, because I don't want kids rushing through homework or claiming it's done when it's not in order to get to screen time. On weekends we limit it, but not to a set time, necessarily.
With homeschooling, you certainly know if schoolwork has been done, so that might make it easier.
Even my 20 year old college sophomore still self-limits her school week screen time because she recognizes the wisdom of this. She remarked that her dorm mates last year (living at home this year) "watch too much t.v.".
Question, Kristen: did you ever get a dehydrator? If so, please post about how you are using it. I throw things in the dehydrator all the time if they haven't been used up and are about to go bad.
I use a hand held vacuum sealer and canning jars to store my dehydrated veggies and fruits, so that they stay dehydrated until I'm ready to use them.
I haven't yet...mostly I hesitate because my kitchen storage is a little bit lacking and I really don't know where I'd put a dehydrator!
@janknitz, do you dry cranberries or grapes? I have a hard time knowing when to stop. The book says to stop when they're chewy, but for me, the line between chewy and not dry enough is so tough to tell. If you do these, what's a target timeframe?
I haven't tried cranberries or grapes yet. I would think that cranberries would dry well since they aren't that "wet" to begin with, and grapes would be just like raisins.
My dehydrator is very old and the thermostat isn't up to snuff, it's about 10 degrees below the settings, so I just crank it up and wait a long time. I keep thinking of getting a new one, but it still works and new ones are costly.
I don't store my dehydrator--It sits out on one of those wooden TV trays where I can use it without having to haul it out from where it's stored. I find I use it much more, because it's not a chore to go dig it out. We put it away when "company's coming" but otherwise it sits out.
I've toyed with the idea of doing this too. I think as my children get older they will have less and less time available to spend on screen-time, as they should be spending more and more time on their schoolwork. Good point about rushing through schoolwork to get to screen time.
I had a dehydrator but when I stored the dehydrated fruits and veggies, they got moldy. I didn't think of dehydrating and then freezing...
Yup, Joshua doesn't have nearly as much free time as Zoe does these days!
A warning on the freezing topic - mushrooms don't work! How have I gone my whole life without knowing this? I froze some fresh sliced mushrooms. When I thawed them in the fridge they turned into a gooey, slimy mess. Yuck.
Ah, yes...before you freeze mushrooms, it's good to saute them them in a butter. Then they're not a mess after thawing.
I like to make big batches of food, such as Bolognese, based on tomates, onions, carrots and some slices of bacon, combined with lentils and some ground beef, and then freeze it into suitable portions! great way to use up groceries!
I HIGHLY recommend feedly - I loved Google Reader but have already made the switch over to feedly and I actually am finding that I like it much better. It works incredibly well, easily imports all of your subscriptions and looks really nice and flows incredibly well. I found it works really well as is but you can also tweak the layout a bit if you want.
I love using Bloglovin to follow blogs! Try that to see if it will meet your needs! It's very compatible with my computer and with my iPad, but not something I like to use on my phone.
Don't know if someone's mentioned this already, but I use FeedReader as my RSS Reader. It's super easy to use and I love it. Here's the link to the webpage: http://www.feedreader.com/
Hope that helps!
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/101011-6-google-reader-replacements
That link lists several alternatives to google reader. HTH.