Hello Sweet Friends! This weekend I took on a new adventure. I decided to plan and create one month of freezer meals in ONE DAY. I had read about this on pinterest and other blogs, but I had been wary to take on the challenge myself.
School has started back for me (I teach art at an elementary school here in OKC). As any other teachers out there can relate, I was sadly thinking it was time to say goodbye to my summer of yummy, homecooked meals. I decided to try this out instead, and oh my, I don't think I can ever go back to regular meal planning.
I love cooking, but I have always hated the stress of making the list, going to the store, and coming home (climbing three flights of stairs WITH groceries) only to have to repeat the same process a few days later. YUCK. This is eliminating almost all of that yuck to just one day, which is really quite an adventure, especially if you rope in a friend or loved one!
Now, on to HOW I did this.
(Coffee is a Monday morning's best friend, can I get an AMEN!)
1. To start, I chose my recipes and made my list. I personally chose nine full dinner meals, for two a week. You may choose more or less depending on how much you and your family eats, leftovers, going out to dinner, etc. Being super single myself I chose 9 (2 per week plus an extra in case one runs short or I share it).
I chose to only make meals for the crockpot to eliminate all that cooking time. If you want to throw in some regularly cooked meals, it works just the same (combine and freeze).
I divided my list into different categories with the grocery store in mind. That way I can go to each department only ONCE. This will save you so much time!! (Note: This list is totally a mock up to give you an idea of how it works. Mine was much longer and was scribbled all over by the time I left the store! :-))
If you are trying to avoid going back to the store throughout the month (like me), try to remember other things you will want for your meals like snacks, breakfast food, and personal items. I made an "other" category for things like catfood, toothpaste, etc.
(the most food I have ever had in my apartment at once. AHH!)
2. The shopping trip was definitely the most daunting part. I recommend going early or late in the morning to avoid crowds. This is not a good 5 o clock in the afternoon project unless you are very brave! I recommend getting a yummy coffee or treat before going to keep you motivated and happy! Also grab a friend, spouse, or loved one if they are willing to cut down the gathering.
I went to two different stores. The first store I went to (Aldi) is a super discount store here in OKC. I got as much as I could there for a great price.
I went to Wal*Mart (insert screams of terror here) for the rest of it. The prices were ok but not as great as Aldi. I went there because I can get my personal items there too and not have to make a third trip.
I live on the third floor, so I carred all this up and down the stairs, in a dress (naturally). No cardio workout for that day!
3. I chose to do ONLY freezer meals for the crockpot to eliminate cooking time. However this same idea works with regular meals too, because you can freeze just about anything! I did some research and most food can be frozen and stored for a good length of time. Be wary of combining sauce with noodles, bread, and veggies, as it could make them limp or not cook as well. Freeze it separately though will work fine.
I went through all of those groceries one recipe at a time, labeling each bag with the recipe name before I started to put the indgredients in. Some of my recipes needed two bags for veggies and some just one. This part only took me an hour and a half for 9 meals. I saved the recipes on my phone for easy access and so I didn't have to write them out.
When you are ready to eat your meal, take it out of the freezer 12-24 hours and put it in the fridge to thaw.
4. Cooking them has been a dream so far. In the morning I put a crockpot liner (these are found next to the baggies at the grocery store) in my crockpot and put the dinner in! These liners are a lifesaver, no more scrubbing the crockpot yayyyyy! Since I teach my days are long I convert any recipes on High to Low with this chart.
5. When you arrive home, you have a delicious meal prepared. I picked up some simple sides at the store, such as rice, frozen veggie packs, instant mashed potatoes, pastas, etc. Heat those up and you have a delicious meal and possibly leftovers!
I will post more recipes as I try them. Here are a couple great websites that I used:
Thank you all! I hope you enjoy your meal planning as much as I have. I am super relaxed now and have a lot more time when I get home as well as healthier meals.
I have also started prepping smoothies for the morning, so look forward to that blog post soon!
Xoxoxo,
Amanda
