Freeze Veggies for Easy, Healthy Meals Even with Packed Routines; Dietitian Recommends Spicy Miso, Harusame Soup Recipes – The Japan News

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By Miwa Uehara / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
12:30 JST, May 11, 2025
As spring is the season of new beginnings and hectic schedules, a nutrition specialist offers a simple solution to maintaining healthy eating habits: frozen vegetable packs, designed to help prepare nutritious and quick meals.
Kasumi Moai, a registered dietitian, recommends preparing and freezing a mix of seasonal vegetables like spring cabbage, burdock root and broccoli. These vegetables, she says, retain their texture well after freezing and cooking, and offer a convenient way to incorporate essential nutrients into daily meals.
“With vegetable prices remaining consistently high, ‘frozen savings’ — buying in bulk when prices are low and freezing the food to eat later — is a budget-friendly strategy,” Moai explained.
The basic frozen mixed vegetable pack, which can be stored for about a month, requires cutting the vegetables into bite-sized pieces and freezing them.
Moai suggests two easy recipes using these packs: spicy miso chicken and vegetables steamed in the microwave, and a clear vegetable and glass noodle soup. Both recipes utilize the frozen vegetables without thawing, saving time and effort.
The microwave steamed spicy miso chicken and vegetables serves as the main dish.
The vegetables all have a pleasant tenderness with a slight bite. It’s a healthy dish that provides protein and vitamins in one. The spicy sauce stimulates the appetite, and the abundance of vegetables makes it guilt-free.
The other recipe, clear vegetable and glass noodle soup, is low in calories and perfect for a late-night meal.
Adding glass noodles creates a satisfying texture and makes it more filling. With only salt and pepper as the seasoning, it has a mild and comforting flavor.
“Feel free to mix and match vegetables. Preparing and stocking seasonal vegetables helps reduce waste,” Moai said.
Ingredients (Makes 4 packs):
Directions:
1. Roughly chop the cabbage. Peel the burdock root, cut into thin strips and soak in water to remove bitterness.
2. Divide the broccoli into florets, microwave at 600W for 30 seconds and let cool. Note that the broccoli should be heated before freezing to prevent it from becoming too hard.
3. Pat the burdock root and broccoli thoroughly to dry.
4. Divide each vegetable into four portions, mix and wrap tightly in plastic wrap to create individual packages. Pack flat in freezer food storage bags, squeeze out any air and store in the freezer.
Ingredients (serves 2):
Directions:
1. Remove any tendon from the chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Place in a heat-resistant dish with the frozen mixed vegetables, cover loosely with plastic wrap and microwave at 600W for 7 minutes. Remove from the microwave.
3. Mix the sauce ingredients, microwave for 50 seconds and pour over the chicken and vegetables.
Ingredients (serves 2):
Directions:
1. Combine the sake and chicken soup stock base with ¼ teaspoon of salt, 550 milliliters water and frozen mixed vegetables in a pot and heat over medium heat. If using salty sake, reduce the amount of chicken soup stock base and salt.
2. Once boiling, add the glass noodles, reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Serve in bowls and finish with a dash of black pepper and sesame oil.
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