Make your own frozen dinners?

ejb245
ejb245 Posts: 195 Member
edited September 26 in Food and Nutrition
So, I saw a thread today about frozen dinners and are they bad for you. While I don't think they're necessarily horrible for me compared to the options and they do help with portion control, I know that I eat too many (a frozen breakfast sandwich in the morning and a frozen meal usually 4 times a week). Does anyone have any tips for make ahead of time meals that can be frozen and/or stuck in the fridge for up to a week? I think I can make the time to make a week's worth of meals if they're easy to make and easy to heat up and don't involve vegetables that turn mushy on heating...

Any ideas or websites would be appreciated!

Replies

  • beachy211135
    beachy211135 Posts: 4
    MY family tends to over make dinner, we are 4 people and generally make double the amount of food. All the leftovers are put into plastic containers and then are the lunch and sometimes dinner for the next night, depending on the situation. It does take A LOT of control for me to eat only one serving,

    Also i don't know the time or channel numnber but threre is a new show with Racheal Ray called Week in a Day ( i believe is what its called). its supposed to be meals that you make and then its good for the week. i haven't seen it yet unfortunetly.
  • angiesteele
    angiesteele Posts: 366 Member
    bump...I am interested too....
  • happybrooke
    happybrooke Posts: 153
    I grill chicken breast 1-2 times a week for my lunches and this works GREAT for me!! I find that if I marinate them in low-cal italian dressing, they tend to stay moist. I like to eat that with rice and green veggies - both of which can be prepared in advance.

    When I cook chili or venison stew, I always make a little extra and freeze those. They are great to reheat and not killer on the cals.

    This is a good question and I look forward to reading other replies!!
  • ejb245
    ejb245 Posts: 195 Member
    My husband works away, so I'm cooking for one every evening, which usually just means a salad or single serve, so left-overs are kind of out for me. Unfortunately. I'll look into Rachel Ray.
  • JanerZzz
    JanerZzz Posts: 276
    I made/make breakfast sandwiches for my boyfriend to wheen him off frozen/full of sodium breakfasts....

    I buy fajita wraps. Make eggs scrambled with either sausage or ham and that stuff can last for a week in the fridge. Or I'll bake biscuits for the bfast sandwich.

    As for make ahead lunches...why not buy all the salad makings and prep your salads ahead of time? Or soup? If you want a frozen meal...you could just throw together some brown rice, veggies, chicken breast and that should freeze and defrost easily.
  • audjrey
    audjrey Posts: 360 Member
    My suggestion is to take your already favorite frozen dinners and make your own healthier versions to freeze. Virtually everything is freezable. To help with the vegetable issue, maybe aim to a few create frozen dishes that aren't already pre-cooked but that don't take more than 30 minutes to cook after defrosting.
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
    Lots of Crockpot ideas many have shared in the past on here. If you use the search feature you'll come across many threads with great ideas! :flowerforyou:

    I prepare brown rice for a week, black beans, salad, you can do up a healthy lasagna over the weekend and freeze it, beef stew (Crockpot's rule!) and the list goes on.:wink::drinker:

    ETA: With one in the house when hubby is away you could put the meals you cook up in individual, single serving containers in the amount you would eat and defrost that amount each night or for lunch.
  • north35
    north35 Posts: 70 Member
    I do this all the time! I have a family of 6 so we make large dinners.

    What you need is some good containers (I like glass and tupperwares with different compartments) Make sure they will freeze well.

    So if I make soup, chili, stews etc...........freeze a single serving, label it and throw it in the freezer. When ready thaw, microwave and serve with salad and a piece of whole wheat bread. Great lunch or dinner :)

    For meals, use the tupperwares with different compartments. I find frozen vegs re-heat better then others. All I do is make an extra chicken breast (or whatever meat you are eating) plus veg and potaoes or rice (all portioned controlled) in the tupperware, freeze and label. All you have to do is thaw and re-heat.

    I work night shifts, so this helps me stick to my plan.
    I will often take a Sunday and make up two or three different meals and freeze.

    It's all about planning ahead.
    Cheers
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    My husband works away, so I'm cooking for one every evening, which usually just means a salad or single serve, so left-overs are kind of out for me. Unfortunately. I'll look into Rachel Ray.

    You are just making dinner precisely to have left overs. I don't freeze mine, but I do make, on a regular basis:

    -meatloaf (lean turkey meat, parmesan cheese instead of bread crumbs - more fat, less carbs)
    -eggplant lasagna - I used sliced, roasted eggplant instead of pasta and low or no fat ricotta and mozarella
    -baked chicken breasts - some are eaten as such, some are shredded and made into various incarnations of chicken salad, allowing me variety in the week's meals
    -asparagus reheats well, but mostly I just eat raw vegetables with my leftovers.

    Thinking like this has allowed me to cook as if I were not single, which is, frankly, a PITA, since smaller sizes of things are so expensive.
  • amcmillan730
    amcmillan730 Posts: 591 Member
    I'm usually only cooking for myself as well... and don't have a lot of patience... or know how to cook much. haha. when I cook dinner i've been cooking 2 servings, and saving one for a lunch or another dinner during the week. As for breakfast... I've recently discovered how easy it is to microwave eggs whites. Make some toast, add a slice of cheese and it melts on your way to the car :) And MUCH lower in sodium than the frozen sandwiches!
  • care28
    care28 Posts: 28
    Ooo! I hope I can catch this new Rachel Ray show spoken of. I think it is a spectacluar idea!

    1st- basically all bread products can be frozen and thawed to remain almost as tasty as when they were day-1-fresh. So anything i've tried along the lines of pizza, calzones,paninis should work for you. Just be careful on how much sauce you use(and the water content in the sauce) as it will effect how it freezes, and you don't want it to thaw soggy.

    2nd- cassaroles of just about any kind will work. Funeral potatoes, enchilada cassarole...

    I probably have more ideas for you, but these are the ones I've tried recently and can't think of anymore right off the top of my head.
  • pressica
    pressica Posts: 361
    Just do a search of once-a-month cooking and you will get TONS of ideas of what you can make ahead. I make soup in my crockpot in 1 cup servings and thaw it the night before I use it for lunch. Works perfectly!
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