anyone pre-make portioned meals?

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elisa123gal
elisa123gal Posts: 4,306 Member
in Recipes
I have to say i love my lean cuisines and smart ones..just because the food tastes so good and is portioned out to 300 calories. However chemicals and food additives..and the sodium content bother me.
Today, I saw another girl on the site using these low glycemic meals called fit food that include whole grains..no chemicals and exotic spices..but they were $7 each!
..it gave me the idea to pre make my own tasty meals so i can control the sodium and add healthful spices. Does anyone do it here? I thought i might buy some small pyrex containers that freeze and reheat safely.

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  • aprilwilliams2729
    aprilwilliams2729 Posts: 107 Member
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    I try to keep portions of soup in my freezer for lunches. I have several go-to recipes that are between 100-200 calories a (approx 2 cup) serving, but you could easily take more or a higher calorie soup. Curries, rice dishes, stirfries all freeze well - just be sure to get as much air as possilbe out of your container. :)
  • edrosen
    edrosen Posts: 2
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    I'm with you the Lean Cruisines are great, but I found them getting very expensive - what I do is when I make my dinners are night, I always make extra and just put in plastic containers. Also, another trick I found is I poach skinless chicken breast and you can do so much with them - when I poach them - I will use either chicken broth or white wine (or a combination of the two) and lots of seasonings (bay leaf, minced garlic, minced onion, etc) also add a little lemon juice. Poach them for about 15 min - put a meat therometer in the thickest part - it should read 160 - if not i flip them over and leave for only about 5 min. They are really juicy and you can do so much with them for the rest of the week. I hope this helps - good luck - ellen:smile:
  • bhankiii
    bhankiii Posts: 217 Member
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    I'll cook a big pot of something on the weekends, measure it out into single serving Glad boxes and then use the MFP recipe calculator to figure out the nutrition per serving. Then they go into the freezer. It's great for lunch or a quick dinner. If you make a couple of week's worth of servings each weekend in a few weeks you have a good variety of different meals to choose from.
  • jasonp_ritzert
    jasonp_ritzert Posts: 357 Member
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    I bought a set of pyrex dishes that had 5 each of multiple sizes so that I had enough for each day I work during the week so that I have each meal planned out. What I do is make all my meals on Sunday afternoons/evenings and then I am good to go. No need to overcomplicate things either. For me, lunch is 5-6 oz of chicken/turkey/lean beef, two cups of broccoli and either a sweet potato or 1 cup brown rice. Add in some avocado or EVOO and it's a good balanced lunch for around 450 calories. I do the same thign with frozen blueberries for mid-morning snacks and I always have a bag of almonds in my desk for afternoon snacks. This way when I am getting ready in the morning, I grab one of each size pyrex and head out the door. The simplier we make this on ourselves, the easier it will become.
  • Built_Strong
    Built_Strong Posts: 114 Member
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    I'll cook a big pot of something on the weekends, measure it out into single serving Glad boxes and then use the MFP recipe calculator to figure out the nutrition per serving. Then they go into the freezer. It's great for lunch or a quick dinner. If you make a couple of week's worth of servings each weekend in a few weeks you have a good variety of different meals to choose from.

    This is what I do too. I cook enough for a week or two. I dont mind eating the same thing for lunch and dinner for a week or so. It's a lot cheaper than buying food at work or those ready-meals.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,306 Member
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    Thanks guys..great ideas. I really like the idea of knowing what is in my food too..and saving money.
  • ncurtis52
    ncurtis52 Posts: 17 Member
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    I just started doing this! I make enough to freeze a couple of extra portions..it makes all the difference in the world! Also, I keep cut up broccoli, cauliflower and carrots in my fridge so when I am hungry I just grab a handful and go. Nuts are great for your nutritionally but they are very high in calories. This site makes me stop and think of how I can have things readily available..then my choices are wiser.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    I do this all of the time. Especially this time of year, I like to make lots of big, filling stews...most of these come in at between 300-400 calories per serving. Wife and I will have a serving for dinner and then freeze the rest. It's not unusual for me to make 2-3 batches of stew on a given weekend and another batch or two during the week and we're pretty much set...either lunches or quick dinners when we don't feel like cooking.

    I have a harder time with it in the summer as my menus tend to revolve around the grill and those meals aren't really designed for leftovers.
  • knitwit704
    knitwit704 Posts: 66 Member
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    Trying to get back on this, but me and my mother look up recipes together, we cook large portions of each, portion them and vacuum-seal them, and then freeze them. Then all you need to do is boil or microwave the bag! We do cook stuff like rice, veggies, and pasta, fresh the day of.
  • knitwit704
    knitwit704 Posts: 66 Member
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    And oh, we do this monthly, and freeze stuff for the whole month!
  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
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    I do it all the time because it's cheaper than pre-made stuff and like you said, you can control the ingrediants. I need to have a lot of protein and very little sodium, so that's how I cook. Lots of flavor from the food itself and spices. Btw, I buy Ziplock brand bowls at the grocery store. They have screw on lids, come a variety of sizes and shapes and are much cheaper than tupperware, rubbermaid and pyrex. They work in the fridge, freezer and microwave and if you lose one or break one, they cost so little it's no big deal. :smile:

    PS - I cook things in a large quantity and then freeze what I won't use that week. I can keep a variety that way without waste and it's cheaper to cook in quantity.
  • knitwit704
    knitwit704 Posts: 66 Member
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    I do it all the time because it's cheaper than pre-made stuff and like you said, you can control the ingrediants. I need to have a lot of protein and very little sodium, so that's how I cook. Lots of flavor from the food itself and spices. Btw, I buy Ziplock brand bowls at the grocery store. They have screw on lids, come a variety of sizes and shapes and are much cheaper than tupperware, rubbermaid and pyrex. They work in the fridge, freezer and microwave and if you lose one or break one, they cost so little it's no big deal. :smile:

    PS - I cook things in a large quantity and then freeze what I won't use that week. I can keep a variety that way without waste and it's cheaper to cook in quantity.

    Exactly! Except we use vacuum-seal bags...
  • piratesaregrand
    piratesaregrand Posts: 356 Member
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    yep.

    i spend an afternoon a month making up meals and chucking them in the freezer

    i do a quinoa fakeroni cheese (i found the recipe on here), vege pasta free lasagna, a chicken chilli, and then i get some chicken breasts brush them with olive oil and sprinkle in spices - usually cajun or garlic, wrapped individually in tin foil and freeze.

    I use the chicken in salads or I microwave a potato, hollow it out and then stuff it with the cooked chicken and a bit of cheese.

    Most work out at under 300 calories per meal :)

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