I am sick of wasting food around my house and a month or so ago went through a bag of potatoes chopping them up for stew, to cook in eggs, etc. I froze them in serving sizes and now they are brown. I just cooked them up with some garlic and they seem fine, maybe a bit chewier, and a little browned on the outside. Has anyone else tried freezing potatoes for stews, etc., and if so, does it seem like a good way to keep the bag from growing a potato field in the basement?
I am interested in any other ideas or tips for making meal prep easier. I like separating chicken breasts into meal portions and freezing them with the marinade or mustards on them, ready to toss in the oven. Any other convenience ideas that allow for healthy meals your kids will eat? Grocery shopping "tactics" that mean you come home with real food and some change left over? We're sitting down for a family budgeting and meal prep "meeting" to anticipate the summer (I hope), and would love a few new ideas!
P.S. For our meals, we're usually feeding two adults, me and my husband, and two boys, 3 1/2 years and 21 months old, so food has to be kid-friendly bearing in mind that my younger son has fewer teeth. I am hoping to avoid a summer full of pasta dinners. Thanks!
Thanks for the veggie tips. We have a crock pot and do use it (I used the frozen potatoes in a stew today and it turned out quite lovely). I'll check out some of the links, too. :)
We don't buy soda, juice, etc. (just OJ for my husband in the mornings), kids drink water with snacks, milk with meals. We rarely buy sweet or salty snacks or treats for them, but do buy dried fruit. We will buy one meat and plan several meals for it.
My daughter and I enjoy watching the food network and on there is this 1 show I think it is called quick fix meals. They make meals on there for the week. It can be found on the foodnetwork.com I hope this is helpful.
did you pack the potatoes in water when you froze them? Cut potatoes tend to brown even if they're refrigerated and used the same day unless you store them in water. Maybe if you put them in Ziplock freezer boxes and added water, they wouldn't brown?
I also will freeze chicken in marinade - I'll also slice the chicken and freeze it with a little soy sauce, cornstarch, powdered ginger and garlic so they're ready for stir-frying.
I use dried beans instead of canned, and after they've been soaked and cooked, I freeze portions of them in water in ziplock boxes (some in 2-cup portions for things like chili, and others in smaller 1-cup portions for things like burrito/soft taco fillings or soups).
After I bake a whole chicken and cut most of the meat off (or do the same with a grocery store rotisserie chicken), I boil the carcass down to make chicken stock. Freeze in 2-c portions for soups, freeze in ice cube trays & store in ziplock bags to have small portions to use for stir fries, cooking vegetables, etc.
And since full size casseroles are too large for our family of 2 adults and 2 8YO's, I'll freeze half the casserole in single servings for days where I just want to heat something up.
Get potted herbs so you have fresh herbs all summer just to cut - you'll use more and spend less. Potted herbs just keep growing!
Go to a store where they sell grains in bulk.
Oatmeal - give it to the kids for bfast - keeps them full and is great. Not prepackaged sugared kind - the bulk kind. Add berries and a touch of brown sugar for sweetening.
Corn meal is cheap - also known as polenta. Just boil it with chicken or vegetable stock in to a mush - super cheap. Add pasta sauce and mozzarella on top. or grilled veggies. dinner.
Quinoa, pearl barley, rice, spaghetti squash (all squashes), sweet potatoes - all great starches to eat along side a meat.
Buy meat on sale and cut in to portions and freeze. Eat smaller portions of meat - 6oz instead of 8-16.
Fresh fruit for a snack ('fruit snack's have not fruit in them - just sugar).
Nuts for the older boy: almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans. Yes, they seem expensive, but are great protein and good oil fat for them (need fat for brain dev.) And really filling.
Offer that when the boys are hungry between meals - and water. They'll eat if they are hungry. Otherwise they'll just want to eat salty/sweet junk/prepackaged snacks which are unhealthy, increase desire to eat and are expensive.
Double recipe and eat leftovers the next night.
Don't buy deli meats or deli cheeses - cut your own cheese. Roast something for dinner and use the meat for a sandwich the next day.
Serve the boys their veggie on their plate at the table before their main course. So they have to eat their veggie before their meat/starch. Start doing this when you are serving something you know they like (pasta). Then they'll never be able to honestly say they are full! "Vegetables don't fill you up, they just make you fast and strong."
Cut out juice (we just have oj at bfast, then water or organic milk the rest of the day).
Dessert only on Sat/Sun after dinner. (ice cream and store bought cookies are expensive!).
Can't help you with the pototoes.
Chicken breast are great. I'll also cut up the chicken breast into chunks for a stirfry before freezing.
I'll mix up several meatloafs at a time and then freeze the meatloaf mixture. I line my loaf pan with plastic wrap, shape the meatloaf, wrap, put in a ziplock bag. Then when you defrost in fits right into the pan.
At BJ's pork lion is usually $1.99 to $2.29/lb, but you have to buy a large one. We cut it into 3 small roasts. Area grocery stores will frequently have it on sale for the same price. You can also cut it into pork chops.
Veggies don't keep as fresh if you cut them up, but I'll try to cut them up in advance. Especially onions. I keep carrot sticks and celery sticks in the frige for a quick snack or easy to cut up for a meal.
You may want to consider making a small garden. I love my herb garden.
Get a crock pot!
I got one myself and its real convenient! I have a 6-quart size.
For grocery shopping tactics: EACH week, I make my grocery list based on a weekly menu that I make. So then therefore, there is no wasteful spending... and I only buy what is on the list. This has greatly, helped out our food budget.... because previously, we were spending too much.
And, we have a budget... which we stick to for groceries. Each week. We don't buy "junk" food and fillers... so its not just about meal prep... but also meal planning and grocery planning. Each week.
all the best,
Susan
I freeze vegetables and such all the time. Like, when using an onion, I chop it, use my portion to cook then freeze the rest and it's so easy to use later. Though potatoes don't usually have the same consistancy after being rethawed.
Most, veggies need to be blanched prior to freezing. You boil it for a shjort minute or two, then ice it in cold water. I have a blog post on it with lots of different links that can help.
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2010/02/soul-salsa.html
As for marinades, some freeze well, others can be too spicy or hot if frozen, just depends.
You should learn how to do the 30 meals in a days freezing, also called once a month cooking. I have a recipe book somewhere that teaches you how to do it. Here is how it works in a nutshell:
http://www.frugalmom.net/once_a_month_cooking.htm
lots of different recipe books here:
http://www.momsbudget.com/freezercooking/oamccookbooks.html
http://www.30mealsinoneday.com/
Hi M.,
I am in the same situation...two kids, my husband and I searching for easy, healthy meal ideas. Here is what we started - nothing major, but just to pass it along...
We always shop at Costco. The prices for meats, etc cannot be beat (in our area anyway). AND the food is delicious. We have enjoyed everything we have tried. We do the same thing as far as freeze meal size portions, etc. Do you use a crock pot? It is sooooo easy. You just throw your meal together in the morning. Check once or twice during the day, and take it out when it is ready. I used to think it was always for winter use, stews, etc. but it is wonderful year round.
We also stick to a regular schedule, i.e. chicken on Monday, fish on Tuesday...and just change up the way it is prepared. We make our menu on Saturday and shop for the upcoming week. Saturdays are not the best time to shop, but we make it a family outing and have fun with it.
Check out websites that you find on the food products you use, campbells, etc. They have some great, easy recipes to try.
Good luck,
L.
Potatoes should be cut into cubes or slices, boiled until barely tender, then drained, spread onto a flat baking sheet and frozen. Once they're mostly frozen, they can be put into freezer storage bags for use in recipes.
There's an interesting website: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
It's British, so the prices of food and some of the terminology are a little different, but it has a lot of good information.
