I have been reading and wanting to begin meal planning and freezing for a while now. I want to not only make things easier for me and my family but also eat better. There are many times when I am simply too busy to cook a good meal. If I do things ahead of time and plan a little better than I think I can get it done.
I am going to be trying many different methods from all the places and figuring out which one works for me. So come along with me on this journey and we will see how we do. If you already meal plan and/or freeze then please let me know about how you do it. If you found great plan on a blog let me know so I can check it out. I am wanting to do this as a regular Monday series throughout this year to first see if I can actually do the whole meal planning thing and two to provide some of you with some information. we will of course just have to see how things go.
Share Your Story
Do any of you already practice meal planning? What works for you and what doesn’t?
I live in a small Georgia town that you most likely have never heard of and I LOVE it! My house is more than full as I am a single mother of four & caregiver to my aging mother and uncle. Lover of all things Outlander. Goes to the beat of her own drum woman.
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I have to eat certain foods for better health and avoid certain foods with additives. So for me, making big batches of soups and meat dishes helps me eat better. I freeze and it’s so easy to just grab a serving size for lunch. Dinner is a lot of the times built on double batches and then one dish will go into the freezer and take it out for a busy night. That way, you can shop the specials for THAT dish and get a two for one meal much of the time. Saves me on the days when I am not feeling the best.
I’ll come along on this journey! Now that it’s just mostly Hubz and me at home, I am having to completely relearn how to shop and cook. The huge problem is the tendency to just grab whatever is easiest, and that is not necessarily healthy. I have never been one to plan meals exactly—more just *have an idea* about meals for the week. I also need to learn how to do more with my freezer.
Me too Mary Beth!
I too have wanted to learn more about meal planning. I on occasion will make a big meal and divide and freeze it, but by no means do I do it regularly… I do buy my groceries in bulk/family packs then divide it before freezing. So I am sure that preparing then freezing would be just as simple….
I would love to learn more about meal planning. I do make big batches of certain foods and freeze them. If I am going to go through the hassle of making homemade lasagna, then I am making 4 pans of it. Can’t wait to learn some new tricks.
this is a great idea. i will try and follow along with you, but do not know how long i will last.
Id love to join you…im not very good at meal planning i usually just shop for staples and decide what im making before dinner time…it would save alot if i planned out what we were going to have before the week begins
meal planning sure is tough, what I’ve had to do is usually make a lot of two or 3 dishes and rotate them through the week, but I would love to learn a better way, I get kinda tired of eating the same foods
I would also like to know about meal planning and freezing of meals. I like to cook my meals for 3 days at a time because I do not like cooking every evening! I am too tired to cook a meal every day, but I cook every 4 days and leave the leftovers in the fridge in containers and eat it before it goes bad!
Crockpots make delicious meals if you have a little extra time in the morning to throw everything together. I’d be curious to know more about freezing meals and making big batches to freeze. I guess not every dish or casserole would freeze well.
My crockpot hates me! That is all I am going to say about that.
I have tried many times over the years to plan out my meals. However, something always manages to screw up my well laid plans! Whether it is me not feeling well, hubby deciding he doesn’t “feel” like a particular dish, or unexpected company – I have always ended up in meal chaos. I wish I could get things better organized and just stick with it!
I have a plan I think to work through this. I am thinking htat I will do a couple of “extra” meals for nights when we really feel like something else or someone wants something extra.
I’ll be looking for your posts on this. I currently meal plan, but somehow my calculations are always off (my husband takes too many leftovers for lunch, I suspect) and I wind up scrambling late in the week. I have thought about expanding to some limited batch cooking, but I’m intimidated by the concept. Interested to see what you come up with!
This is something I worry about but I think I may have a plan to put in place to deal with it.
This is a great idea! My wife and I try to plan our meals, but not so much to the extent that we make extra and freeze it. It may make more sense for when we have kids, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it… 🙂