If you have a full time job and people to feed, I strongly recommend you consider freezing meals. Heck, even if you are a stay-at-home mom (which to me it’s like two full time jobs!), you should give it a try.
A lot of people think freezing meals will take too much time. This may be true in the beginning, while you try and figure out a good plan. It is also true that you will need a couple of hours for the food shopping and a couple of hours for the meal prepping. But the time you save during the week and not having to make decisions at the last second is priceless.
The more you freeze meals, the more you will love it. You will also get super comfortable and eventually, it will take less time. I decided to share some of my time saving hacks to help speed up your process even more!
- Make Lists
You need two lists! One is for the recipes you will use and the one other one is for the ingredients. If you have read my blog posts about meal planning before, you know you always need a list when food shopping. If you need ideas, go through my older blog posts for some healthy recipes that are tried and true. Think about what you (and your family) like and there is often a way to make a freezer meal or a freezer crockpot meal out of it. I use apps on my phone to save my shopping lists. I have a Costco one, a Target one, and a weekly shopping list at my local grocery store.
2. Schedule your time
Having a specific time set for your food shopping and meal prepping ahead of time is very helpful. I like to do it over a weekend, so it is not overwhelming. I food shop on a Saturday morning (as soon as Costco opens!) and do about an hour of meal prepping after. I do 2 more hours on Sunday after going to the regular grocery store for the rest of the items I need. I do this about 3 times a year. Think about how much time you can save!
3. Prep all your ingredients and materials in the beginning
I set everything I need at the start of the prepping session. Ziplock bags, markers, spices, cutting boards, knives, measuring cups, etc. I also put all the ingredients out. The more streamlined the process, the fastest it will go. I haven’t used the standers for the frozen bags but I am thinking about it.
4. Label meals
I don’t only label the meal but also write any instructions on the bag or aluminum foil if freezing meals in containers. For example, add a cup of broth and cook on low for 8 hours or bake at 350 F for 45 minutes. It makes it easier to cook your meals without having to pull up the recipe every time you want to make something. It is also a great way to know what you are eating without having to guess!
5. Use boxes and wax paper to avoid sticking
I use a deep freezer and keeping things organized can be a pain! The worst is when things get stuck together and sometimes the bags rip. I started putting wax paper in between each bag and also using empty boxes to stack things next and on top of each other. It has been great! No more things stuck together and it has been much easier to move things around when I want something from the bottom.
I hope these tips are useful and inspire you to freeze meals if you are not doing it already. They really save so much time and if you pick the right recipes, it makes it easy to eat healthy as well!
Let me know what your favorite freezer meal hack is if you have one. If not, tell me your favorite freezer meal!
