Freezer meal planning and tips

SweetnSassy23 · July 2015

Some of us have already filled the freezer and others are just getting ready. Let's share some tips and favorite recipes. No one wants to worry about tackling dinner with a newborn!

SweetnSassy23 · July 2015

I've already made a few meals, I'll gather the recipes soon and post. For now, here's my tip: Don't wait too long. I know I'm one of the early EDDs, but I know we'll all be feeling too big to do much toward the end. And your back will start hurting, and you will be tired, etc.... Make the meals when you can and start now! (It's easy to make your favorite recipe as a double batch and freeze half.)

saintpaulJess · July 2015

I've done meal-sized freezer bags of red chili, white chili, marinara with meatballs, beef stroganoff, and some slow cooker recipes that can be frozen. I mostly do Paleo, so I used recipes I already have that are freezer friendly and also googled Paleo freezer meals. This weekend I'm putting together six lasagnas for the freezer.

Knottie16288692 · July 2015

https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/the_best_lasagn/

I'm a huge fan of hers because she breaks everything down step by step and even has pictures lol! Not to mention has a tab on her website dedicated to freezer meals and tips. This was a hit at my house this weekend. Its easy, cheap, and really yummy! I made two pans and put one in the freezer. Its a lot easier doing it that way then cooking a bunch of food all in one day! I'm making another freezer friendly meal of hers tonight https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/03/sour-cream-noodle-bake/) and making a second pan for the freezer.

crbpjb · July 2015

@saintpaulJess I also eat Paleo. There's a cookbook called Make Ahead Paleo that has a whole chapter for freezer meals. My mom and I are meeting in a few weeks to make many meals. I am the latest EDD in the group, so I'm just trying to get it done before school starts in the fall (teacher) since the days will become so long.

meghan82 · July 2015

apologies for the weird font and the stream of consciousness style. i copied and pasted from a word doc: recipes i am planning to make (getting started this weekend, plan to do a bit each weekend from now til september):

· large recipe of salsa chicken - no recipe. hubs just made a large amount of homemade salsa. will put this in the crockpot with boneless chicken (mix of breasts and thighs). will be good for tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, etc. - we eat a lot of mexican. should get 6 meals for 2 people out of this. will buy and freeze tortillas and mexican cheese blend too.

· crockpot spaghetti sauce - i make my own, nothing too complex.

· teriyaki pork x 2 - recipe here: https://www.hellobee.com/2013/08/02/slow-cooker-freezer-meals-part-2/ -doubled the recipe should give us at least 4 meals for 2 people.

· crockpot chicken cacciatore: https://www.stockpilingmoms.com/2013/08/crockpot-chicken-cacciatore/ i add canned sliced mushrooms to this.

· beef fajitas and pepper steak - adapt https://www.auntbeesrecipes.com/2015/01/easy-slow-cooker-pepper-steak.html: we have a ton of peppers from our garden and can get more through our farm share. basically will separately cut and freeze peppers and onions and buy and freeze a couple of packages of beef stew meat seasoned appropriately. (8 nights of dinner for 2)

· 1 recipe baked ziti (makes 2 trays ~ approximately 6-8 meals for 2 people??) - somewhat similar to this recipe: https://www.hopesewell.com/main-dish-monday-once-a-month-cooking-baked-ziti/

· chicken spaghetti - recipe: https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/02/easy-chicken-spaghetti-recipe.html (3 meals for 2 people)

· chili (4 meals for 2 people) - no recipe, we sort of make it up as we go along.

koriemo · July 2015

I highly recommend Once a Month Meals!!!

Check out www.onceamonthmeals.com. It costs $10 for a basic membership and $16 for a pro membership. It is WORTH IT (and I am cheap when it comes to money!)

I did a trial run in July and LOVE the meals so far. You get to select up to 15 recipes that can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Each recipe is doubled, so you get 30 meals. I'm cooking again in September. They have all sorts of specialty diets too. I cooked all vegan, soy free, yeast free main dishes. I doubled the amount of servings (4 instead of 2) so that my husband would have leftovers to take for lunch the next day.

We've saved $150 this month on groceries. We are eating healthier. Cooking dinner takes about 30 seconds to pop something in the oven that I know is organic, homemade, with no weird ingredients.

It takes a bit of time to navigate the website, figure out how the menu builder works, and to find how to search for the recipes you want, but it's easy after you get it down.

MommyPhoenix · July 2015

Just curious...what are you all using to store and freeze these meals and how long do you anticipate the freezer meals to keep? I just bought a deep freeze to start freezing meals/snacks and store frozen fruit for smoothies, but I'm wondering what containers are the best to use for freezing..freezer safe plastic or glass?

Still building my list but my stash will be:

- Frozen pineapple, mango, strawberries..etc. fruit for smoothies (I lived off of green, fruit, protein smoothies for the first few months with my first kid!)

- Protein Cookie Balls (No Bake)

- Muffins, Loaves, Cookies (healthy versions with flax, oats and brewer's yeast for a lactation and health boost)

- Veggie Lasagna

- Soups: Tortellini veg, Pho broth...

- Mains to go with fresh made rice or noodles...Stewed Indonesian meat with peanut satay, Schezuan beef and peppers, sweet and sour chicken and veg, meatballs for spaghetti, coconut curry, beef stew, lemongrass coconut cashew stir fry...

texasmomma84 · July 2015

Knottie16288692 said:

https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/the_best_lasagn/
I'm a huge fan of hers because she breaks everything down step by step and even has pictures lol! Not to mention has a tab on her website dedicated to freezer meals and tips. This was a hit at my house this weekend. Its easy, cheap, and really yummy! I made two pans and put one in the freezer. Its a lot easier doing it that way then cooking a bunch of food all in one day! I'm making another freezer friendly meal of hers tonight https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/03/sour-cream-noodle-bake/) and making a second pan for the freezer.

LOVE The Pioneer Woman!! That noodle bake recipe is amazing!

texasmomma84 · July 2015

I have found a lot of recipes for crockpot meals on Pinterest. Haven't started prepping anything, but there are some good looking recipes I want to put together!

shantyrae · July 2015

I'm glad someone started this, I need some ideas! Breastfeeding mamas: is anyone avoiding certain ingredients in their freezer meals? I've read to avoid beef and dairy when BF.... is that overly cautious or legit?

leighann1 · July 2015

How do you keep your freezers organized?? I want to get a freezer - right now we only have standard, smallish space with our fridge/freezer combo. But I am worried I'll lose food in the depths of a chest freezer and by the time I unearth it, it will be no good.

JaqiDec04 · July 2015

shantyrae said:

I'm glad someone started this, I need some ideas! Breastfeeding mamas: is anyone avoiding certain ingredients in their freezer meals? I've read to avoid beef and dairy when BF.... is that overly cautious or legit?

It will greatly depend on the baby. Nothing I ate bothered DD, except spicy things. She was about 3 weeks old, and we had a bbq. I ate about a half dozen jalapeño poppers (jalapeños, halved, seeded, stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, bbqed). I couldn't eat them when I was pregnant, because of heart burn, so I went over board.

I didn't have any heartburn, but DD threw up all night long. I felt so AWFUL (and a little stupid too)

valerierose15 · July 2015

Some mama's have already stocked their freezers?! I barely added this to my list of things to do. Lol.

mommamikos · July 2015

I always have a few pounds of taco meat and sloppy joe meat (both preseasoned, just defrost and go) in the freezer.

double2rouble · July 2015

I've been making larger recipes for dinner and freezing the extra. That way its not really going out of my way.

morganabyrd · July 2015

MommyPhoenix said:
Just curious...what are you all using to store and freeze these meals and how long do you anticipate the freezer meals to keep? I .

This! Any suggestions? I'd love to start making and freezing, but DH can be a little picky at times and won't be thrilled if it tastes "off".

Also, I'm storing ours in my parent's deep freeze, as we don't have one. Just a suggestion for those of us without the freezer space - find someone else and stop by once a week to grab some. I guess it wouldn't hurt to offer them a few meals, too

shantyrae · July 2015

@JaqiDec04 Oh no!!! That's totally something I would do. Thanks for the insight!

wchicagomom · July 2015

We have a vacuum sealer that we store all our meals in. We got it at Target for about $50 on sale. It's amazing and we've never had anything go bad. We usually make a larger batch of dinner and freeze the rest for another night.

saintpaulJess · July 2015

crbpjb! I'll have to check that one out.

MamaOwl15 · July 2015

So how long can you leave meals in a standard freezer without them spoiling?

I haven't started any freezer meals yet because I don't want anything to go to waste,

bucher1s · July 2015

Aren't there ingredients , if breastfeeding, that we should leave out? I've heard spices and dairy?

SweetnSassy23 · July 2015

Bumping to the top.

MandahGirly · July 2015

BrooklynBroussard said:
I don't know if this is helpful to anyone, but I freeze flat in freezer bags, then organize them like file folders. You can buy bright tape, labels or sticky notes and label each meal/date. I find things like tupperware just get lost in the freezer. If you have a large freezer, you can also buy inserts to organize by food type. I love a clean fridge/freezer.

Can you please come and organize my life? I am constantly in awe of your organizational skillz.

SweetnSassy23 · July 2015

@bucher1s

Moms who are breastfeeding need to avoid certain things that upset LO's tummy or allergies. So for some, yes, dairy is not an option. I would suggest making a few different meals so you don't feel limited. Label the outside of the container to keep it all straight!

heytallmama · July 2015

BrooklynBroussard said:

I don't know if this is helpful to anyone, but I freeze flat in freezer bags, then organize them like file folders. You can buy bright tape, labels or sticky notes and label each meal/date. I find things like tupperware just get lost in the freezer. If you have a large freezer, you can also buy inserts to organize by food type. I love a clean fridge/freezer.

Such a good idea! We just have a fridge/freezer combo, so things get cramped pretty quickly. I was also thinking about getting the quart size containers and stacking the hell out of them with soups and such, but I really like the "file folder" method with tape! (Maybe it's just because I want the excuse to go buy fun color tape?)

furelise93 · July 2015

I just had a slight panic attack when I read this thread and realized that I need to get started on freezer meals. :-O I better start planning!

These are all awesome ideas! I didn't think about using freezer bags instead of Tupperware. DH and I are going to buy a small chest freezer so we have a place to store all of the meals.

SweetnSassy23 · July 2015

So far we have made hamburger taco meat, chicken taco meat, pizza casserole, pancakes, scrambled eggs with potatoes, and scrambled eggs with sausage.

I also plan to make/freeze lactation cookies, beans and rice concoction, pasta sauce with Italian sausage.

Taco pizza:

Bow tie pasta

Ground beef

Pizza sauce

Shredded cheese

Pepperoni

1. Boil the noodles.

2. Cook your ground beef.

3. Put the beef and noodles in a casserole dish.

4. Put the sauce on top and then the cheese, then pepperoni.

Bake until the pepperoni is looking crispy and cheese is melted enough

Knottie16288692 · July 2015

Made this one last night!

Smothered Enchiladas

1lb of ground beef

Taco seasoning

8 oz sour cream

1 can of mild rotel

2 cans of cream of chicken

Cheddar cheese

10 tortillas

Preheat oven to 350. Brown meat. Add taco seasoning and half a can of rotel. While it simmers, mix together remaining can of rotel, sour cream, a cream of chicken in a bowl. Pour half of mixture in a baking dish. Spoon meat into tortillas and lay them seam side down in baking dish. Once you have used all of the meat or have the desired number of enchiladas, pour the remaining cream of chicken mixture on top of the tortillas, spreading evenly. Cover the top in cheese. Bake for 30-45 minutes.

SweetnSassy23 · July 2015

Another tip: Save some freezer meals (or make when on maternity leave) because you will need them if you are going back to work. It definitely takes a while to get a new routine going, so dinner is one less thing to worry about.

meghan82 · July 2015

BrooklynBroussard said:

I don't know if this is helpful to anyone, but I freeze flat in freezer bags, then organize them like file folders. You can buy bright tape, labels or sticky notes and label each meal/date. I find things like tupperware just get lost in the freezer. If you have a large freezer, you can also buy inserts to organize by food type. I love a clean fridge/freezer.

This is basically what I do too. Freeze them flat in freezer bags, then you can stack them on top of each other or in a row next to each other. I don't do the special labels but usually the freezer bags I buy have a place to write on with a marker. Regarding the question about timing: we just have a standard-sized freezer/fridge combo but depending on what you freeze I find it lasts and maintains quality on average for about three months. Some stuff I am waiting to do, like the dishes that are pasta-based, until closer to 4-6 weeks out from my due date. But generally anything you freeze in a sauce/marinade will hold up well for three months. Also, about taste, I have a couple of suggestions: First, I find that my crockpot can be very temperamental and burn the crap out of stuff if it is not full and if it is on high. So all of the crockpot meals will be cooked on low and I am making enough to fill the crockpot. Second, it is really easy to do a bad job of getting the air out of the freezer bag before you seal it. I am horrible at this and make my hubsand do it. But, I also recently learned a great trick where you mostly seal the bag, then put a straw in and suck the air out, then close all the way. This really minimizes freezer burn. Last, it will be a matter of personal taste which recipes you like. We have found that we do not like any freezer crockpot recipes that include potatoes because the texture of the potato becomes weird. But some people don't mind it or notice it.

meghan82 · July 2015

JaqiDec04 said:

shantyrae said:

I'm glad someone started this, I need some ideas! Breastfeeding mamas: is anyone avoiding certain ingredients in their freezer meals? I've read to avoid beef and dairy when BF.... is that overly cautious or legit?

It will greatly depend on the baby. Nothing I ate bothered DD, except spicy things. She was about 3 weeks old, and we had a bbq. I ate about a half dozen jalapeño poppers (jalapeños, halved, seeded, stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, bbqed). I couldn't eat them when I was pregnant, because of heart burn, so I went over board.

I didn't have any heartburn, but DD threw up all night long. I felt so AWFUL (and a little stupid too)

Oh this made me laugh because I can see this happening to me-- I have had the WORST heartburn since the 2nd trimester but I love spicy food! I have been dreaming of buffalo wings and thai curry, haha. I will have to be careful about that!!

Nukke · July 2015

I'm reiterating the same tips I've read here already:

1) Make foods you can eat with one hand. When you get the nursing munchies (that's a euphemism of course for "I WILL EAT ANYTHING WITHIN ARMS REACH RIGHT BECAUSE I'M FUCKING RAVENOUS" you'll appreciate being able to do this with one hand and;

2) Don't wait until the last minute. When I was 11 days shy of my due date, I decided that we'd go out and buy our little freezer and start packing things up that day. Well, my water decided to break instead, and I went into labour and delivered my little girl 10 days early. And I survived on pizza pockets like a grub.

aah1013 · August 2015

Saw this on my fb newsfeed and thought it was worth a share:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/morganshanahan/make-ahead-meals-to-prep-before-you-have-that-baby?bffbfood&utm_term=4ldqphi#.xsJnvjgQQ9

shantyrae · August 2015

Several of these have been mentioned but I made & froze flat in freezer bags:
Turkey taco meat
Chili x 2
Meatballs (to add to pasta and sauce later)
Shredded chicken
Chicken breasts
Chipped chicken breasts
2 lasagnas, 1 veg and one meat (in pans)
Beans
Beef and broccoli

Most of these are things that DH can thaw out and just add to things to make full meals (throw the chicken into salads, use the shredded chicken for tacos, add the meatballs to pasta, etc)

cmjn94 · August 2015

Knottie16288692 said:

https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/the_best_lasagn/
I'm a huge fan of hers because she breaks everything down step by step and even has pictures lol! Not to mention has a tab on her website dedicated to freezer meals and tips. This was a hit at my house this weekend. Its easy, cheap, and really yummy! I made two pans and put one in the freezer. Its a lot easier doing it that way then cooking a bunch of food all in one day! I'm making another freezer friendly meal of hers tonight https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/03/sour-cream-noodle-bake/) and making a second pan for the freezer.

I LOVE THE PIONEER WOMAN.

This isn't a freezer meal but you gotta try her sesame noodle recipe. Yum!

smlowe9311 · August 2015

How many meals do you plan on having on hand? I want to be sure we have space in the freezer for everything but also that we have enough for my recovery time.

SweetnSassy23 · August 2015

I would guess we have about 10 frozen items. But some of the items (pulled pork, taco meat, breakfast scrambles) will go a long way. Not quite done yet. I still have a few things I want to make. I figure the more I do now, the easier it will be when recovering.

heytallmama · August 2015

Shout out to whomever suggested the "freeze flat in a plastic baggie like a file folder" trick -- that works like a charm! We've only done two bags like that so far, but I can tell we'll be able to stack at least 8-10 more of them in the space we have before having to start a second stack!

The meal we just froze is this one, only I also added a pound of ground turkey to the mix. Gets thick and creamy, but without any actual cream/ heavy ingredients. YUM! https://potluck.ohmyveggies.com/slow-cooker-quinoa-white-chili-roasted-poblanos/

jamielynne1533 · August 2015

Definitely glad I came across this thread!! I was just making out a lost of ideas!!! I am nervous though with how much to make. We live in an apartment so have the generic fridge freezer combo which you might know is not huge...

SweetTooth126 · August 2015

Lurker from November board, I did this the other day and ended up with 40+ meals in 4 hours of cooking! Super easy and everything looked yummy.

https://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/2013/10/freezer-meals.html

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