Failures in meal planning/food prep

[JessicaS]

Was there anything in meal planning/foodprep that just did NOT work for you??

I was watching TV and someone recommended one make bacon ahead of time and then just place it in a bag in the fridge. Pull out a piece of bacon whenever you want some! That's easy!

WRONG! I ate ALL THE BACON!!

DO NOT try to prepare bacon ahead of time.

[LaughingHyena]

Making extra to freeze doesn't work for me. The textures change as things defrost and we don't really enjoy them. It just results in me having a tupperware of soup in the freezer for months before we finally force ourselves to eat it. I do better keeping a couple of things to make quick meals.

I have similar issues with keeping ready prepped veg in the fridge for snacking. To me it's never as appealing as the fresh cut so we still don't eat it.

[mommathea]

Originally Posted by abimommy

Was there anything in meal planning/foodprep that just did NOT work for you??

I was watching TV and someone recommended one make bacon ahead of time and then just place it in a bag in the fridge. Pull out a piece of bacon whenever you want some! That's easy!

WRONG! I ate ALL THE BACON!!

DO NOT try to prepare bacon ahead of time.

HAHAHAHAHA! I have the problem of doing that too. It usually last a little longer now, but if I have it in the fridge already cooked up, I find that I need it in the recipe for every meal and snacks in between

[Caneel]

Cooked bacon in the fridge? Are you kidding!?!?! I would be grabbing a slice each time I walked by.

Originally Posted by LaughingHyena

Making extra to freeze doesn't work for me. The textures change as things defrost and we don't really enjoy them. It just results in me having a tupperware of soup in the freezer for months before we finally force ourselves to eat it. I do better keeping a couple of things to make quick meals.

I have tried cooking ahead but feel the same way, the re-heats just aren't as good. DH was the one that really pushed to do freezer meals but quickly admitted he really didn't want to eat them, he prefered fresh. Stuff like meatballs and chili worked but everything else, we truly did force ourselves to eat. I rather do an easy meal in real time.

Other failures at our house:

Buying in bulk/stockpiling. Our house doesn't have usable storage and the kitchen wasn't designed for it. When I did try to keep staples like rice and pasta on hand, it would be lost behind something else so I would go home and spend 20 minutes pulling the cupboards apart when I could have zipped into the grocery store in half the time.

[BetsyS]

Precooked bacon wouldn't work for me, either! What works for me with bacon is to freeze it, one slice at a time. I roll each slice into a little ball, then I can pull out however many slices I want when I need it.

Planning more than a week at a time doesn't really work for me. Too many variables (I was too tired to cook one night--something didn't sound good--produce was going bad faster than expected--etc), and I end up abandoning the whole plan.

[Arduinna]

I don't see the point of make ahead and freeze either.
I don't precook bacon ( besides it loses texture when it sits around)

Pantry stockpiling, however I love and find very useful.

[cristeen]

Making ahead and freezing was great for pp meals, but for day-to-day, not so much. I mean, my guy's 6 mos old and we just finished the freezer meals - and I hadn't made that much. And certain things freeze better than others. I froze meatloaves raw in foil pans, and that was great for the nights that I could NOT deal with cooking. I also did 2 different types of casseroles, and that also worked well. Soup, not so much and chili came out of the freezer bland.

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by LaughingHyena

Making extra to freeze doesn't work for me. The textures change as things defrost and we don't really enjoy them. It just results in me having a tupperware of soup in the freezer for months before we finally force ourselves to eat it. I do better keeping a couple of things to make quick meals.

I agree completely, and it sounds like it's a common issue! We do freeze homemade pasta sauce and stuff like that, but not whole meals.

[JessicaS]

Originally Posted by Arduinna

I don't see the point of make ahead and freeze either.
I don't precook bacon ( besides it loses texture when it sits around)

I like chewy bacon

[Magelet]

our freezer is so stuffed (atm, we're having trouble keeping the door from opening of it's own volition, needs to be rearranged but it's packed to the gills, very haphazardly. last night, 15 things fell out on DP when he opened the door) that freezing really anything atm doesn't work for me, except stock. Plus, so many different foods don't freeze well. (though at work we have had some frozen fruit crisps... nectarine crisps in january are amazing, and thaw wonderfully.)

[mamadelbosque]

Another one who only freezes soups (and only ones that don't have noodles, at that). I used to freeze lasagna but we just eat it as leftovers for lunches for a couple days and it gets eaten quicker and tastes better My freezers are stocked though - but of ingredients, not meals!!

[Holiztic]

Yeah, cooking double batches of things to freeze a meal SOOOO doesn't work. We just eat more at the initial meal or put it in the fridge to eat the very next day (when I really could have just cooked). So we never have food ready to heat from the freezer.

[Smokering]

I agree about freezing meals. Once-a-month cooking is great for efficiency, but not for taste. At least, not for the stuff we like to eat. I've heard bread dough freezes well though, so that's something I should try...

[griffin2004]

Originally Posted by abimommy

I was watching TV and someone recommended one make bacon ahead of time and then just place it in a bag in the fridge. Pull out a piece of bacon whenever you want some! That's easy!

WRONG! I ate ALL THE BACON!!

DO NOT try to prepare bacon ahead of time.

yummmmmmmm, meat candy

[LaughingHyena]

I'm glad to know I'm not alone in not liking reheated meals. I so often see advice to make extra and freeze it, I've assumed I must be doing something wrong.

Precooked bacon probably wouldn't last long here either. Hmm a tasty snack though.

I haven't tried freezing bread dough, I do like leaving it to rise overnight in the fridge. Especially cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I roll it , cut in to shape and leave in the baking tray in the fridge. When we get up we pop them into the oven and 15 minutes later

[sarahope]

this is too funny, I'd eat all the bacon from the fridge too.

However, our local costco started carrying precooked bacon in a large package, and when I worked out the cost per pound compared to buying a traditional package of bacon, the costco bag was cheaper (the noncooked stuff is measured by weight, and a lot of the fat cooks out, so it's actually more expensive per slice. If I did my math right). Anyway I keep it in the freezer and pull out a few slices for meals once a week or so, and microwave for 15 seconds and voila - crispy bacon! And no fat to drain! It's worked great for me.

As far as other meal planning failures - I get overambitious and find all these amazing recipes online that are also somewhat elaborate and require lots of time, and schedule them for several nights, and then wonder why I never end up making them at the end of a harried day because it's too daunting. Note to self - save new recipes for leisurely sundays. Then add into rotation later when they're tried and true.

[ameliabedelia]

I've never really been able to get into crock-pot cooking. I just don't care for foods that have been cooked in the crock-pot (for the most part). There are a few recipies I have made (like a roast) that are good, but generally things like potatoes, carrots, rice, beans....I don't like how they taste crock-pot cooked.

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by Smokering

I've heard bread dough freezes well though, so that's something I should try...

I do freeze pizza dough and it works well. My recipe makes enough for 2 pizzas and there's just 2 of us. It's handy to have the second pizza dough ball in the freezer. I stick it in a plastic bag (usually reuse the odd produce bag we've got hanging around) and spray the inside with EVOO to prevent sticking.

[Smokering]

I've never really been able to get into crock-pot cooking. I just don't care for foods that have been cooked in the crock-pot (for the most part). There are a few recipies I have made (like a roast) that are good, but generally things like potatoes, carrots, rice, beans....I don't like how they taste crock-pot cooked.

Yeah, I under-utilise my crockpot too. Boston baked beans, the occasional shin of beef, chicken stock. That's it. Roast chicken tastes stewed and sodden to me in a crockpot, and potatoes are way yummier roasted. Nor have I ever felt the urge to make bread, jam, porridge or creme brulee in a crockpot... the normal methods work fine for me!

They also say a crockpot should be 2/3 full to make it work most efficiently. Our crockpot's big... there's no WAY DH, I and the baby would eat through enough beans to 2/3 fill it before they went mouldy or freezer-burnt. I thought of geting one of those mini-crockpots, but again...don't use it enough to justify the cost.