Freezing Collards

[mom22wins]

I picked up some fresh collards yesterday and they are so big, I know some of it will go to waste. How would I go about freezing collards? Should I chop them up in individual portions and put them in freezer bags? Or should I put the entire thing in a big freezer bag?

[Shellyjean]

You really shouldn't freeze their greens or veggies. Freezing causes the thiamine to leach out and could later on cause a deficiency in your skinks. I'm not sure, but I think it's also mentioned in the caresheet here. I always feed fresh just to be safe.

[Leigh]

Fresh is best, my question is, is a few days old bag of kale still fresh, when's the cut off point? apart from when it goes yellow and stinky

mom, if you've got to freeze all you need to do is add a little calci dust once thawed and ready to offer, I would leave it as large leaves, a few together to allow easy seperation,unless you make up the whole meal {meat/fruit/veg/greens} and freeze as individual portions. With frozen stuff like fruit there's no need for a blender, it all goes mushy when defrosted anyway.

[Arkangel]

I would wash and dry them, chop them into manageable sizes and freeze. Better yet, use a food processor and add in green beans, sweet potato, squash, etc. and have a nice frozen mix on hand to defrost as needed. Sprinkle a little vitamin B1 or Brewer's Yeast and mix in when you serve.

This is not a substitution for fresh foods, just a way to keep greens and veggies on hand for when you need them. Variety is the key!

[russman]

I find that Bok Choy stays fresh a good while. I know.. this really has nothing to do with freezing Kale.. haha.

[mom22wins]

Well, I chopped up the collards and right now I have them in my fridge in ziplock baggies. I'm trying to decide if I want to mix them with spots stew and store them in the freezer or not. The thought of "thiamine leaching out and could later on cause a deficiency in your skinks" scares me though.

[Leigh]

I find that Bok Choy stays fresh a good while. I know.. this really has nothing to do with freezing Kale.. haha.

I can get 5 days once opened from a bag of Kale, just wondered when the "fresh" greens bit didnt apply, that way I could keep some in the fridge as "fresh" and then freeze the rest when its opened and still "fresh", I had two refusals with bok choy{make that three}, Blue and my Beardie and my daughter, so I dont bother with that any more.

[mangodude777]

I picked up some fresh collards yesterday and they are so big, I know some of it will go to waste. How would I go about freezing collards? Should I chop them up in individual portions and put them in freezer bags? Or should I put the entire thing in a big freezer bag?

for second i thought you where talking about collard lizards

[mom22wins]

for second i thought you where talking about collard lizards

Yeah, I just didn't have enough room in my freezer. What with all the bearded dragons and geckos in my freezer.....

[NomadOfTheHills]

You could just feed some foods rich in vitamin B to compensate.