Are you put off by the idea of Freezer Cooking? Freezer, or batch cooking, is actually much easier and can take far less time than you might think! Having healthy freezer meals prepared can save a lot of time.
Just one productive Saturday morning could save you a whole month’s worth of hassle at dinner time.
With everything going on in the evenings, homework, extra curricular activities, you name it, the last thing you want to be doing is standing looking at your fridge thinking 'what are we going to have for dinner'!
If you have never tried batch cooking before it can be an overwhelming concept. With that in mind we have put together some important tips and tricks and freezer friendly meals that will make it an easy and even enjoyable experience! Follow our top tips and why you should start today.
Plan ahead:
A well thought out plan will make your freezer cooking day really easy and more time efficient.
- Plan a list of the freezer recipes you are going to make.
- Make a grocery list of everything you need to make them.
- Note the cooking instructions for all your recipes.
- Don’t grocery shop and cook on the same day. When you arrive home from getting the shopping, the last thing you will want to do is start cooking, trust us! We recommend doing your shopping on a Friday afternoon, getting up bright and early Saturday morning rested and ready to go.
- Make sure you have enough storage containers* to store your food.
*Our Weaning and Portion Pots come in 10 different sizes, perfect for all of your freezer cooking needs. - Finally, make sure your kitchen is clean and ready to go!
Don’t overdo it first time around:
Batch cooking multiple meals at one time can very easily become chaotic and overwhelming, especially if you have never done it before.
- Start off with 3-5 different recipes to get started.
- Let yourself get used to the process of planning, shopping, prepping, and cooking the first time and then take it from there.
- Stick to your goal by having prepared pots out and ready for when the meal is cooked.
Be smart with your time:
- Do as much of the work in bulk as possible to get the maximum gain for the minimum amount of effort.
- Work on multiple recipes at once.
- Chop all your vegetables and prep your meats first, before starting to cook.
- Don't forget about your food processor! Peel your veg and let the food processor do as much of the work as possible. Think chopping and pureeing.
Once all the prep work is done, assembling the actual recipes will be a doddle!
Label everything:
Even if you think you will remember, don’t leave it to chance.
- Place your Mummy Cooks Portion Pots into a zip-lock bag and write on the bag. This way you can take out an entire meal for the family all at once and you know exactly what it is and when it was made.
- Date the food with the date it was prepared.
- Arrange the pots by date so that you know which foods to use up first!
Our top healthy recipes for batch cooking to get you started:
Winter Warmer Stew
Chicken Cacciatore
Spaghetti Bolognese
Chicken Tikka Masala
Chili Con Carne
