Preparing Meals for the week
Hi All.
I was wondering if anyone prepares their meals for the week? I know this is a strategy that many people use for weight maintenance whether they want to bulk up or slim down. I just bought a 24 piece (bowls & lids) rubbermaid tupperware set at home depot for 12.99 (huge bargain) and I plan to cook lunch and dinner entrees 2x a week and store them/freeze them and eat them throughout the week. Does anyone else do this? Also what meals are you preparing and storing/freezing? What recipes work best? So far, I am planning to Thanks in advance.
I was wondering if anyone prepares their meals for the week? I know this is a strategy that many people use for weight maintenance whether they want to bulk up or slim down. I just bought a 24 piece (bowls & lids) rubbermaid tupperware set at home depot for 12.99 (huge bargain) and I plan to cook lunch and dinner entrees 2x a week and store them/freeze them and eat them throughout the week. Does anyone else do this? Also what meals are you preparing and storing/freezing? What recipes work best? So far, I am planning to Thanks in advance.
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Replies
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This is something I am looking into for the next 2 months. So I am curious as well. Great post!0
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I need to do that this summer, too. During the winter months, I've had success freezing soups and (turkey) chili.0
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I don't cook and freeze all my meals. I do make batches of soup and freeze them for my meals at work. I take leftovers and freeze them up too. I have even made breakfast sandwiches and froze them. The trick with the sandwiches is make sure you let them cool before you wrap them. When I make cookies. I freeze them up so I don't feel like I need to eat them all up before they get stale.0
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I've always been worried about how meals will turn out once they have been frozen and thawed and cooked. Do you cook meals and then freeze? I have thought about doing this too.0
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So far most of everything that I have cooked has tasted great. I do like to set it out in time for it to thaw on its own. I don't care for using the defrost feature on the microwave.0
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YES! I've been doing that for years and years. My grandson use to laugh at me but when he visited me on weekends he headed straight to the freezer and pulled out the frozen baggies. I don't mind eating the same thing all week. I change up each week, and give myself a break on the weekend.0
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As a mom to 2 boys I have to do this. The always want to eat the second we walk in the door! lol I make sure all my salads,vegetables and fruit are washed and dried and ready to grab. I steam cauliflower, broccoli, beans and what ever else is fresh at the market. They are great with a little balsamic vinegar and garlic cold as a salad or quickly sautéed with garlic and a little olive oil as a hot side dish.
I also make a few large pots of soup (lentil, chicken and minestrone) and once they are cooked and still hot I bottle them in mason jars and close them. As they cool they seal themselves. They are not shelf stable but will keep for several weeks in the fridge. They are great to grab and bring to the office.
If chicken breast is on sale I will do a large batch in the crockpot and shed or chop it. it is great for sandwiches, to add to salads or thrown with some salsa, peppers and onions and cheese for tacos or salad wraps. The chicken will keep for a week or so in the fridge, even longer if you vacuum seal it.
I also prepare salads in mason jars for the week to go to work. dressing on the bottom with beans or chicken and onions, carrots peppers with the lettuce on top. The beans and chicken marinate in the dressing and the lettuce doesn't get soggy. Google mason jar salads for ideas.
Lean meat gets marinated in ziplock bags and I grab whatever I feel like on that day and throw it on the grill, done in 15 min or less. the longer it marinates the better it tastes. Flank steak with lime, chili and tequila is my favourite!
It is such a time saver and keeps me from being tempted by takeout or delivery because I have variety ready to go! feel free to message me if you want some more ideas.
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I like the idea of preparing all my meals for the week in theory, but found that in practice it doesn't work well right now for my life. I do a mini version and try to cook something that will last me a few days, or can be halved and frozen like soups.0
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Yes that's a great method! I prepare my snack too, not just my meals. It helps to know what to eat the second I get hungry with my snacks handy. With it readily available, I don't panic and look for something not on my list.0
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As a mom to 2 boys I have to do this. The always want to eat the second we walk in the door! lol I make sure all my salads,vegetables and fruit are washed and dried and ready to grab. I steam cauliflower, broccoli, beans and what ever else is fresh at the market. They are great with a little balsamic vinegar and garlic cold as a salad or quickly sautéed with garlic and a little olive oil as a hot side dish.
I also make a few large pots of soup (lentil, chicken and minestrone) and once they are cooked and still hot I bottle them in mason jars and close them. As they cool they seal themselves. They are not shelf stable but will keep for several weeks in the fridge. They are great to grab and bring to the office.
If chicken breast is on sale I will do a large batch in the crockpot and shed or chop it. it is great for sandwiches, to add to salads or thrown with some salsa, peppers and onions and cheese for tacos or salad wraps. The chicken will keep for a week or so in the fridge, even longer if you vacuum seal it.
I also prepare salads in mason jars for the week to go to work. dressing on the bottom with beans or chicken and onions, carrots peppers with the lettuce on top. The beans and chicken marinate in the dressing and the lettuce doesn't get soggy. Google mason jar salads for ideas.
Lean meat gets marinated in ziplock bags and I grab whatever I feel like on that day and throw it on the grill, done in 15 min or less. the longer it marinates the better it tastes. Flank steak with lime, chili and tequila is my favourite!
It is such a time saver and keeps me from being tempted by takeout or delivery because I have variety ready to go! feel free to message me if you want some more ideas.
These are great ideas!0 -
at first i thought this thread was called "preparing meals for the weak"
where is that thread lol?0 -
I freeze practically everything. Most foods freeze great, so I wouldn't worry about what to freeze and not to (with the exception of salads). I find freezing organic fresh produce especially helpful since there are a lot of organic foods at the health food stores around here that are hard to find, so I just go to the farmers market an buy the fresh produce to take home and freeze myself. It's a huge money and time savor, besides the fact it supports your local farmers. The only items I don't freeze are things like lettuce type vegetables, tomatoes (unless I plan to cook them in something like chili or spaghetti which I can do in advance an freeze), and raw eggs. Everything else you can cook ahead of time and freeze. I never use a microwave as it kills all the nutrients, so I thaw my frozen items a day in advance and either heat it on the stove top in a pan, steam, or bake in the oven. I personally think they taste better this way as well. If you have the time and energy I would highly recommend freezing meals in advance.0
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What I do is usually make about 3 or 4 meals at a time and that will last us for a little while, we eat dinner once off of it and then I pack a lunch for the next day and put a portioned container in the freezer for whenever I need it. This has worked very well for me so that I do not really have to come up with a lot of things for my lunch and it is already for me. Very convenient.
I was not sure what would work well for freezing so I actually went through the freezer section of the grocery store and saw what was frozen and how they had done it, I also looked on websites and saw what other people would do. I have found that most things will freeze pretty well, once in a while something might be a little different with texture and such but they the time I microwave it for reheating I don't really consider that to be the best quality anyhow.
Making your meals ahead is a great way to keep yourself on track, if you are to tired to cook it is fine you only have to reheat, if you are running short on time, still good. If you put it in the freezer already portion controlled then it makes it like a TV dinner. Good luck in your venture, hope you find what you need.0 -
Most things freeze fairly well, look at what all they have in the freezer section and how they package it. Pretty much anything they do in the factory we can do at home as far as freezing goes. Try a few thing, when you have a dish that you don't care for the texture or something then just don't do it like that again, there won't be anything wrong with the food even if the texture is a little different.
Also to find out which ones you don't mind frozen you don't have to cook a meal specifically to freeze, you could just take a portion from a meal you are having tonight and put it in your container and in the freezer, label with item and date. In about a month take it out when you are having a meal for one and see how it is.
Remember to always label, I have found some thing that I have no idea what they are in the freezer, you are sure you will remember when you put it in there but trust me you don't remember what it is or when it was put there:blushing:0 -
I cook, freeze, reheat in glass. I love do soups, chicken/turkey meatloaf, roasted chicken, rice, well many types of food. The trick is to freeze as soon as it cool and re-heat in glass only.
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As a mother of 3, full time employee and student... prepped meals save me!
I am a creature of habit (most humans are) so you will find that you mainly eat the same 3-5 meals over and over.
For example, I prep a batch of grilled chicken at the beginning of the week, separate into 4 oz servings, microwave a sweet potato and put about 120g in with the chicken and then I prep my veggies. Veggies usually consist of brocoli, asparagus or brussel sprouts. I also prep a salad in a mason jar. It's super delicious and so easy. I make enough for the week.
I can eat the same thing for lunch and dinner, it doesn't bother me...
For snacks I almost always have Jamie Eason's pumpkin protien bars and turkey meatloaf muffins on hand. Super easy and SUPER delicious! I then have plain greek yogurt, frozen blueberries and some granola for my last snack of the day. It's sweet which makes me feel like it is a dessert
I've also separated baby carrots into snack bags and eaten them with homemade almond butter... or homemade trail mix (by itself).
There is so much you can prep! Do a search and the possibilities will overwhelm you!0 -
Thanks for all the information everyone! Wow! I would love to try this. I am going to do as some suggested, and google some more information before I jump in feet first. Oh! As of recent I have not had to buy any veggies. I have been growing my own. It has been very interesting since my dog loves veggies, and fruits to...lol0
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Yes. I put my poptarts in order.0
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I don't plan my meals for the week, but I usually do them a day or two in advance. Like tonight I will plan for tomorrow, but since my life is so hectic things change. But planning meals is an excellent way to keep your calorie intake under control, as well as sodium, fats, sugars, etc. That is one thing I like about this site, I get insight into all these factors as well as calories, so it helps to be able to 'pre-screen' meals before you plan it in for the day.
I wish you much success!!0 -
I spend a day making lots of things!
A cake of some sort, last one was skinny tastes carrot cake, cut up and frozen in slices.
A chicken chilli, vege lasagne and quinoa "mac and cheese" are the staples. All divided into 280-300 calorie servings. I just take one out each day before work, then come home microwave and make up a simple salad0 -
I always do this. For my breakfast,lunch, dinner and post workout meal.0
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I tend to do one slow cooker meal, a curry and a stir fry over the weekend and freeze in single serves, or soups, or curries I find freeze really well, if your really anal (like me) I actually use my diary to document whats on for each day that I I can pull the frozen containers out the night before and they are ready to heat and go by the next day.
I also have kids so I freeze in double serve batches then do vegies and sides as I go.
Now that the weather is cooler I also portion out oats, quinoa or whatever the night before that way I can add boiling water and its good to go for breakfast. you could also weigh up cereal the same way in the warmer months.
Good luck!0 -
I don't do that exactly. But I do try to always have a few servings of chili and soup in the freezer to use when I'm just beat coming in the door. Supplement them with veggies (adding some fresh veggies to the soup can really perk it up and add variety so it's not the same soup every time you eat it).
I find chicken and ground beef freeze well. Soups and moist things, too. But larger cuts of meat or meals that are drier don't heat up as nicely.0 -
i do it for convenience too!
In the car in the morning during the week, I eat boiled eggs that I make sunday night. With my boiled eggs I either have ham, bacon, or fruit. I set my coffeemaker the night before. Lunch at work is either leftovers or food I made and froze into individual portions in the freezer like soup, all diff kinds of beans, rice, chicken, etc0 -
ANY ideas where I can freeze would be awesome. I am a SAHM, but I have chronic pain, so by 3pm, sometimes I can not move (severe arthritis from my neck down, worse in my knees and hips due to birth defects).
Thank you!
Rachel in AZ0 -
Bump.0
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It is! Our wallets and will power are weak, so we have to plan ahead! LOL0
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Great tips here! Thanks for sharing everyone.0
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I have done this for a very long time... it initially started so that I would have quick easy dinners for the family at the end of a hectic work day.
Now I do it for my breakfast and lunch as well.
Breakfast I fix an egg cassarole Sunday evening, and divide it into rubbermaid containers.
Winter months I do a lot of soups and cassaroles in the freezer. Summer time I usually plan the dinner menu and prep it on Sundays (meat marinades are great, you put the meat in a ziplock with the marinade then put in the freezer. When you pull it out it marinades as it defrosts), then take my leftovers for lunch the following day. I do mostly grilling in the summer, so those leftovers are to die for.... plop the meat in a tortilla shell with lots of veggies for lunch the next day.0
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