Anyone freeze meals

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Mommy_Time
Mommy_Time Posts: 256 Member
in Recipes
What do you all do to help eating healthy? do u cook a big batch and freeze it or refridge it for a few days? Would love suggestions as i have 5 kids and a husband so time is not on my side for cooking me each meal everyday.

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  • clareeast
    clareeast Posts: 64
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    Yes, I do. I sometimes cook meals for the family, with extra portions to freeze and often cook meals for me with extra portions. Then I can decide whether to cook fresh for them, or for me, for both or for neither (when I'm feeling really lazy! lol). This way we all get a good variety and I'm not stressing about having to cook two separate meals from scratch every evening. I have almost always done this, as I am vegetarian and the rest of the family aren't!

    Top tip: label all your frozen containers with the name of the dish and the date, so that you eat things in a reasonable time frame and don't end up with containers of unidentified food in the bottom of your freezer next time you defrost! It's very difficult to tell a portion of meat lasagne from a veggie one, or a chicken curry from a lentil one, when it's in a frozen lump!
  • laurarpa
    laurarpa Posts: 244 Member
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    All the time. I am cooking 4lbs of turkey meatloaf muffins right now. Some will go in the freezer and some will go in the fridge. I love to make huge pots of soups/stews/chilis and I freeze those. I often cook a few meals on Sunday that will last until Wed for lunches/dinners. I rarely cook anything without planning to have at least leftovers for another meal. One exception is probably fish.
  • c8linmarie
    c8linmarie Posts: 358 Member
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    I don't make entire meals to freeze, but I do prepare certain ingredients I use alot that way. Like I would buy bulk lean ground beef, season and cook it and put it in the freezer, so I have instant taco meat, or lasagne filling, or enchilada meat, etc. Cuts down my prep time immensely when I'm in the mood for a burrito!
  • tnorth82
    tnorth82 Posts: 186
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    things like stews, casseroles, curry and pasta sauce, where there is excess left - I freeze to use again
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
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    Yes, I do sometimes; specially meatloaf, chilli, and soups
  • Mommy_Time
    Mommy_Time Posts: 256 Member
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    Yes, I do. I sometimes cook meals for the family, with extra portions to freeze and often cook meals for me with extra portions. Then I can decide whether to cook fresh for them, or for me, for both or for neither (when I'm feeling really lazy! lol). This way we all get a good variety and I'm not stressing about having to cook two separate meals from scratch every evening. I have almost always done this, as I am vegetarian and the rest of the family aren't!

    Top tip: label all your frozen containers with the name of the dish and the date, so that you eat things in a reasonable time frame and don't end up with containers of unidentified food in the bottom of your freezer next time you defrost! It's very difficult to tell a portion of meat lasagne from a veggie one, or a chicken curry from a lentil one, when it's in a frozen lump!

    do u portion them out and count the calories for yourself?
  • bcr1559
    bcr1559 Posts: 62 Member
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    I freeze everything! I have a freezer full of tomato sauce, apple sauce, different soups, homemade breads, apple sauce, vegetables and fruits, and dinners.

    Soups- Make as big of a pot as you can and let it cool. Portion out into freezer bags and lay flat to freeze. then they are nice and skinny and fit really well in a freezer.

    Apple Sauce - When apples are in season I make a ton of apple sauce. We all love it and with no sugar added it is great.

    Tomato Sauce - I make my own out of tomatoes from my garden. Freeze it in bags like the soup.

    Bread - I have a bread machine that I make dough in and then turn it out and shape and bake how I like it. You can always find bread machines at thrifts stores.

    Fruits and veggies - Wash, dry, portion out and freeze! The fruits are great for smoothies or ice cream topping.

    Dinners - My grandma can be thanked for this one! Line baking dishes with foil, make casserole, lasagna, or any other dish you can imagine into the pan. Do not cook it!!!! Put it in the freezer and once it is frozen you can take it out, wrap it in the foil and then you have your pan back! When you are ready to make it for dinner just set the oven and let it cook.

    I really only cook a full meal about once a week as long as my freezer is stocked. It helps since My husband and I both work so dinner is always wholesome and homemade. I also like making my own breads and sauces so that I know what is going into our meals. Hope this helps!
  • Mommy_Time
    Mommy_Time Posts: 256 Member
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    I freeze everything! I have a freezer full of tomato sauce, apple sauce, different soups, homemade breads, apple sauce, vegetables and fruits, and dinners.

    Soups- Make as big of a pot as you can and let it cool. Portion out into freezer bags and lay flat to freeze. then they are nice and skinny and fit really well in a freezer.

    Apple Sauce - When apples are in season I make a ton of apple sauce. We all love it and with no sugar added it is great.

    Tomato Sauce - I make my own out of tomatoes from my garden. Freeze it in bags like the soup.

    Bread - I have a bread machine that I make dough in and then turn it out and shape and bake how I like it. You can always find bread machines at thrifts stores.

    Fruits and veggies - Wash, dry, portion out and freeze! The fruits are great for smoothies or ice cream topping.

    Dinners - My grandma can be thanked for this one! Line baking dishes with foil, make casserole, lasagna, or any other dish you can imagine into the pan. Do not cook it!!!! Put it in the freezer and once it is frozen you can take it out, wrap it in the foil and then you have your pan back! When you are ready to make it for dinner just set the oven and let it cook.

    I really only cook a full meal about once a week as long as my freezer is stocked. It helps since My husband and I both work so dinner is always wholesome and homemade. I also like making my own breads and sauces so that I know what is going into our meals. Hope this helps!

    Love all the tips and tricks you have!!
  • Diana35bha
    Diana35bha Posts: 292 Member
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    If I'm using a recipe I always do the full thing & freeze portions (only 2 of us here), also I use the slow cooker a lot even though I don't work as I can put it on & forget about it. I find that really helps.
    My daughter lives on her own & always batch cooks so she has a freezer full of cooked meals to reheat

    Good Luck

    Di
  • JeanetteButler
    JeanetteButler Posts: 77
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    Awesome tips! Thank you.
  • Shirvona
    Shirvona Posts: 43 Member
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    Most of my meals are coming straight out of the freezer, I only get one day off a week and I usually spend it shopping and cooking 1 to 3 meals and freeze them in either family size or in a single serving size. It is the best thing ever for dieting and you can freeze everything. (hint: with potatoes you may have to reheat them for longer that the rest of the meal because they hold more water than most and you don't then you get watery. This usually happens with mashed potatoes!)

    I also eat raw veggies for the most part of the day, especially when I am at work and I prepackage broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, snap peas, grape tomatoes, almonds and sometimes some deli meat in sandwich baggies so on any given day I have NO excuse for not just going to the fridge before work or for a long car ride, and just grabbing a bag of each to take with me. Makes it really easy to stay on track and it is actually great for the whole family.
  • Suziq1023
    Suziq1023 Posts: 46 Member
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    Not our 'thing'. Just me and The Awesome Mr. T (my biggest fan) here. His weight is good but he's diabetic so I TRY to cook for us more than we eat out. Sometimes life derails that plan... Anyway, I cook a normal size (4 serving) meal as calorically friendly as possible and we eat dinner and make our lunches for the next day out of it. He says "Lo Fat doesn't live here" but what he means is that as long as it tastes normal to him he's ok with it LOL. Stew and chili would be the exceptions.
  • rowenaaitken
    rowenaaitken Posts: 48 Member
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    I cook large pots of things like chili or soup and bag them up into portions with calorie amounts on the side. I use the phone app to calculate how many portions to break it into.

    It really saves time and means you don't have to think too much eg "i've got 400cal for a meal, grab a 350cal bag of chili"
  • MsBaby117
    MsBaby117 Posts: 201 Member
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    Go to your local dollar store or Ikea and invest in some divided plates with lids...then bulk cook and make your own frozen meals that are already portioned out...I do this a lot. It comes in handy when I'm taking my lunch to work or on those days when I just don't feel like cooking...:flowerforyou:
  • Travelfixer
    Travelfixer Posts: 139 Member
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    I cook large pots of things like chili or soup and bag them up into portions with calorie amounts on the side. I use the phone app to calculate how many portions to break it into.

    It really saves time and means you don't have to think too much eg "i've got 400cal for a meal, grab a 350cal bag of chili"

    That's a really good idea to put the calorie amount on it, I will start doing that!

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