Frozen Assets
No, I am not talking about a court ordered freeze on anything that I own, nor am I talking about the collection services and semen sales of assisted animal reproduction (which is what came up when I googled it). I am talking about this. A simple yet revolutionary idea that I feel will transform the way I feed my family.
When I first heard the term "Once a Month Cooking", I didn't think I had a big enough freezer and I didn't know what kinds of meals could be frozen. I mean, I avoid the frozen dinners in the store with all their additives and preservatives and junk like that. But after checking into many a website on just such an issue, it turns out I can prepare any of my family's favorite dishes in advance, possibly making some changes like adding shredded cheese after thawing and just before heating up to serve.
As for the freezer room, the advice I'm finding states that freezing most things in freezer bags and standing them upright works with most refrigerator/freezer combo's. So I am totally going to give this a try. I've said before that I just hate the dinner time dilema. What are we going to have? Is it thawed? What can we eat with that? How can I prepare it?
Yesterday I took an inventory of what was already in my freezer. I won't be able to fit one weeks' worth of meals in there until I clean it out. After making my list I got out a calendar and put a meal on each day, and guess what...turns out we have enough food already in there to eat a meal almost every day until August 15th!!! Why do I always feel like we have nothing to eat?
Lack of pre-planning is what my friend Michele told me and she is right. Already in a few hours on one afternoon I have planned my meals for the next 3 weeks. It's such a load off!!! Now I just look at my calendar to see what I need to thaw for that day and I can make a simple grocery list for fresh fruits and veggies to accompany my meals. I believe there will be much less waste this way too.
And another thing that kept popping up on these website was how much money the women were saving. One woman boasted about spending less than $175 for a months worth of food for her family of 5 (not including the weekly trips for milk, bread, fruits, etc). I am really excited about that since I am too embarrassed to even mention how much I spend on food for one month. It's ridiculous.
And it all boils down to, once again, PRE-PLANNING! So let me find my membership card to Sam's, take out the stack of coupons I always forget to take to the store with me, and sit down for an hour with a pen and paper to write out a list. Then all I will need is a whole day in my kitchen to see how great the possiblity of cooking once a month (TWELVE TIMES A YEAR!!!) can be. Wish me luck!
When I first heard the term "Once a Month Cooking", I didn't think I had a big enough freezer and I didn't know what kinds of meals could be frozen. I mean, I avoid the frozen dinners in the store with all their additives and preservatives and junk like that. But after checking into many a website on just such an issue, it turns out I can prepare any of my family's favorite dishes in advance, possibly making some changes like adding shredded cheese after thawing and just before heating up to serve.
As for the freezer room, the advice I'm finding states that freezing most things in freezer bags and standing them upright works with most refrigerator/freezer combo's. So I am totally going to give this a try. I've said before that I just hate the dinner time dilema. What are we going to have? Is it thawed? What can we eat with that? How can I prepare it?
Yesterday I took an inventory of what was already in my freezer. I won't be able to fit one weeks' worth of meals in there until I clean it out. After making my list I got out a calendar and put a meal on each day, and guess what...turns out we have enough food already in there to eat a meal almost every day until August 15th!!! Why do I always feel like we have nothing to eat?
Lack of pre-planning is what my friend Michele told me and she is right. Already in a few hours on one afternoon I have planned my meals for the next 3 weeks. It's such a load off!!! Now I just look at my calendar to see what I need to thaw for that day and I can make a simple grocery list for fresh fruits and veggies to accompany my meals. I believe there will be much less waste this way too.
And another thing that kept popping up on these website was how much money the women were saving. One woman boasted about spending less than $175 for a months worth of food for her family of 5 (not including the weekly trips for milk, bread, fruits, etc). I am really excited about that since I am too embarrassed to even mention how much I spend on food for one month. It's ridiculous.
And it all boils down to, once again, PRE-PLANNING! So let me find my membership card to Sam's, take out the stack of coupons I always forget to take to the store with me, and sit down for an hour with a pen and paper to write out a list. Then all I will need is a whole day in my kitchen to see how great the possiblity of cooking once a month (TWELVE TIMES A YEAR!!!) can be. Wish me luck!
posted by jodi at 2:12 PM
2 Comments:
for over 35 years this is how mr b and i run our kitchen! it really works. and in january, we "eat the freezer down" eating up the leftovers from christmas and the odds and ends that didn't get used. i wish you the best of luck with this. yes we over eat, yes we still eat too much, but at least there is something planned each day and the stress is off. and don't worry if you fix the same things often..we all have our favorite foods and menus. miz b
we live completely opposite - going to the store every few days to stock up on fresh food to eat over the next two to three days. We spend far less doing it this way than by shopping every week.
I'll be interested to see how your adventure goes.. Totally not an option in the Uk - my freezer is TINY. Fridge is slightly larger, but soooo no way for us.
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