What meals will be in your freezer? « Back to Group Discussions

[odinsmama]

Share your ideas!

I was thinking of doing a plain roast in the crockpot and splitting it into single meal sized containers, then we can add whatever sauce or seasoning to each one for different meals.  

[HouseofPeace]

honestly, just talked to husband about this and he was not interested in me doing a lot of precooking!  he doesn't like reheated foods, so we cook each meal fresh.  every day.  when i type that it sounds crazy, but it's true.  i bake daily, make stock weekly (will be making that ahead), and each day throw new veggies into new combos for meals.  and some grass-fed meat if we're needing some (we're not vegetarian, but don't eat meat daily except for pregnant me).

so maybe stock up on dried fruits and nuts and make trail mix, and then around the birth he'll be doing more cheese, fresh pancakes daily (he knows the recipe this time), omelets, and ground meat dishes.  he actually loved cooking and while laundry might not get done, he can keep the kitchen.  so after that conversation, i have stepped away from planning freezer meals.  he likes grocery shopping too (if you knew this man this would be hilarious, but we've been married for over 11 years and this is something we've grown in together) and would rather just do it his way for a week or so than have me prepare a bunch of things that he's not interested in eating.  i'm throwing up my hands and saying okay!

last time i froze pizza crusts, chili, chicken and veggie soup, made pizza sauce, and that was basically it.  we used them when my in-laws were in town.  they didn't mind the shortcuts.  

[odinsmama]

Yeah, my DH doesn't cook at all.  He makes great oatmeal or cream of wheat and can certainly handle toast. :)  I never eat cream of wheat but, for some odd reason, I have always wanted it after my births and it is SO good and warm.

He does do our Costco shopping by himself (it's a 4 hour round-trip drive, not so fun with the kids).  He is very willing to do grocery shopping in town as well but will strictly stick to the list.  So if I have forgotten to put apples on the list, he'll be completely unaware that we're out of apples and won't think to get them at all.  Oh well, better than nothing!

So I'll definitely have to have some stuff in the freezer since I don't want to live on oatmeal for a week.

I was also thinking of buying some frozen, precooked stuff (which we never do) for DH to take to work for his lunch when he goes back. I think he'll be home with us for a week and I will be able to handle meals after that.  But if I have an easy thing for his lunch to grab and send with him I know that will help a LOT, plus stretch our leftovers.

Love the idea of stocking up on trail mix and dried fruits, totally going to plan on that.

[eminvc]

I plan to freeze up a storm over my 2-week Xmas break!

I will be trying a couple of these:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/1GdVAOPOtK1XL-f8Uwj0nrIv0GMGZ9gnDcMW1z0XEb3JTB02zAshyex8pEgFJ/edit

Along with some beef stew, a massive batch of whole-wheat crepes (so easy to fill w/ veg & cheese and call it a meal, or eat them for breakfast), carnitas, which I make in the crock pot and can be used in burritos, tacos, rice bowls, etc.

If I get a real burst of energy, probably a couple large batches of brown rice--I find it freezes well and defrosts quickly.

I don't have a ton of freezer space so will be trying to get all this stuff into nice little blocks in plastic bags.
 

[etsdtm99]

i'm making more pieces of meals than whole meals and baked goods cause we are dairy and gluten free at home - plus my oldest also doesn't eat eggs so its hard to put stuff together ahead of time.. my plan is for me to say to DH "get out one bag stew meat, one bag each of onion/celery/carrots, stock from the pantry, and this and that seasoning and throw it in the crock pot for the day = beef stew, or get 2 packages of ground beef, a bag of onion etc and make a meat loaf -  once i'm doing it myself it is fairly easy if i have all the ingredients prepared and all i have to do is thaw them - if its a crock pot meal i throw everything in frozen and keep an eye on it so i can stir it once it all thaws a bit..

my plan is to make & freeze...

muffins (Gluten free/Vegan) - apple, blueberry, chocolate

rice milk concentrate (freezes well, 2cups thawed makes 2 quarts of milk when mixed with water)

bread (my goal is 6 loafs..)

granola bars (i've got 20 in the freezer now and that was pretty easy..)

pancakes/waffles

precooked sausage patties

precooked seasoned ground beef (taco and Italian seasoning)

sloppy joe sauce

cream of mushroom soup (GF/vegan - if i have this bagged and frozen my dh can make chicken pot pie pretty easily) 

coconut milk

ice cream (allergen free , obviously)

cookies (gf/v)

black bean brownies

i've already made

16 cups pinto beans (bagged and frozen)

garbonzo beans for recipes and hummus

tomato sauce

bagged/cut up onions

bagged/cut up celery

bagged/cut up carrots (from our garden)

frozen fruit and spinach for smoothies (cut where appropriate, bagged/ pre washed etc )  

the desserts are low priority but i know if i get stressed i'll want them and its better to have the healthy stuff on hand and not reach for the not-real food variety ..

my other issue with all of this is that we are currently out of freezer space AND meat! we have a 1/2 cow coming the first week in jan, and a new freezer being delivered right before christmas so i can't make anything else until we get at least the freezer..  

[BaMo]

DH & I were just talking about this. My goal is to have about 30 meals in our deep freezer. He is the military and won't be here a lot after baby #3 is here. I will have a few lasagnas, mostly bunch of crock pot meals, quiches, along with lots of muffins.

[cierra159]

I think il be able to handle cooking after a few days, as I did with my first. I'd loveeee to cut up and prep veggies and freeze though. Freezing onions, carrots and celery, how do you go about doing that? Maybe my brain isn't working correctly, lol

[loveandgarbage]

I usually don't freeze meals. I'll have a lot of help after the baby is born, and if things go alright, I'll enjoy getting back in the kitchen after a few days. Cooking is calming to me. However I've thought about freezing some muffins to keep the kids happy.

[etsdtm99]

Originally Posted by cierra159 

I think il be able to handle cooking after a few days, as I did with my first. I'd loveeee to cut up and prep veggies and freeze though. Freezing onions, carrots and celery, how do you go about doing that? Maybe my brain isn't working correctly, lol

for onions & celery i just wash, cut them up and put them in bags -like a snack size ziplock holds a cup of either -  if i want them to last longer than a couple months i use my food saver vacuum seal thing.. the onions sometimes really stink in the ziplocks, depending on the onions.. they thaw almost instantly so i just dump them into whatever i'm making, or run hot water over them for a couple mins..   for carrots you have to blanch them for them to keep their flavor/sugars etc.   I grow carrots in my garden in the summer then cut them or shred them depending on what i want to do and bag them as above - to blanch i steam them for about 30-90seconds (depending on the size of the chunks i cut up)  - the carrots are a bit more of a project .. but if you were going to freeze them just for a month or so you wouldn't have to blanch them

[Chloe'sMama]

We are starting on our no grain/ no refined sugar kick today (DH is on the intro to GAPS for his celiac).  I have been cooking like crazy to get ready.  I am really hoping that I am able to be GBS negative just by diet and garlic supositories.....

Anyways, on to the food-

Just made 2 dozen lara bars to freeze and I think I will make at least 3-4 dozen more before babe arrives.  I made 3 dozen muffins (almond flour).  I also made a huge batch of granola and a gallon of yogurt (although, we will be using all of that up and more before baby comes, I will have to make more.

We have tons of bone broth in the freezer and planning on making more.  

I may soak and cook and freeze white beans and maybe some 'pancakes' that we end up using as bread for pb&j sandwiches.

We eat a ton of lentils, but those are super easy to make in the crock pot so I don't think I will do that.  Maybe I will do some stews in the crock pot to freeze too.  Have not gotten that far.

[HouseofPeace]

Originally Posted by Chloe'sMama 

We are starting on our no grain/ no refined sugar kick today (DH is on the intro to GAPS for his celiac).  I have been cooking like crazy to get ready.  I am really hoping that I am able to be GBS negative just by diet and garlic supositories.....

Anyways, on to the food-

Just made 2 dozen lara bars to freeze and I think I will make at least 3-4 dozen more before babe arrives.  I made 3 dozen muffins (almond flour).  I also made a huge batch of granola and a gallon of yogurt (although, we will be using all of that up and more before baby comes, I will have to make more.

We have tons of bone broth in the freezer and planning on making more.  

I may soak and cook and freeze white beans and maybe some 'pancakes' that we end up using as bread for pb&j sandwiches.

We eat a ton of lentils, but those are super easy to make in the crock pot so I don't think I will do that.  Maybe I will do some stews in the crock pot to freeze too.  Have not gotten that far.

we're going mostly GAPS for the new year as well.

blessings!  it's a challenge, but it really really helps heal dramatically and also makes minor exposures so much faster to heal from!

we're getting a deep freeze Jan 5th, so am totally rethinking making frozen foods!!!  especially baked goods.  just got 25lbs of almonds for baked goodies!

[kellybeth]

made (ALL vegan):

oatmeal raisin cookies

chocolate chip cookies

banana walnut bread x2

zucchini bread x2

zucchini muffins x10 (i ate 2)

vegan chili

adzuki bean vegetable soup

2 orange seitan sausage loaves

10 chickpea/lentil burgers

24 vegan meatballs

chive pasta

and a couple other things but i have no brain and don't feel like rolling out of bed to look.

[AnahataChakra]

Originally Posted by Chloe'sMama 

We are starting on our no grain/ no refined sugar kick today (DH is on the intro to GAPS for his celiac).  I have been cooking like crazy to get ready.  I am really hoping that I am able to be GBS negative just by diet and garlic supositories.....

Anyways, on to the food-

Just made 2 dozen lara bars to freeze and I think I will make at least 3-4 dozen more before babe arrives.  I made 3 dozen muffins (almond flour).  I also made a huge batch of granola and a gallon of yogurt (although, we will be using all of that up and more before baby comes, I will have to make more.

We have tons of bone broth in the freezer and planning on making more.  

I may soak and cook and freeze white beans and maybe some 'pancakes' that we end up using as bread for pb&j sandwiches.

We eat a ton of lentils, but those are super easy to make in the crock pot so I don't think I will do that.  Maybe I will do some stews in the crock pot to freeze too.  Have not gotten that far.

chloe'smama totally needing more lentil recipes and crockpot recipes...got any? Good luck on the new diet I am trying to get hubby on board for a clean up diet as I am sensitive to like three things(peanuts, dairy and corn) that i need to cut out before breastfeeding and to avoid thrush i'd like to do no yeast, refined sugar or white flour...yikes

[etsdtm99]

i've started a new frozen meal thing lately - i've been making "stews" or very thick soups for dinner because its freezing and they are easy and the last couple times i doubled the recipe and froze half of it .. its super easy cause its what i'm already  making for dinner and oh so productive!
 

[typebug]

I don't have much of a freezer (it's smaller than a standard fridge freezer) and have lots of help coming in with food so I'm just focusing my list for labour snacks for me. Many of them frozen but they should fit ok. I'm thinking high protein but no dairy/meat and things that won't gross me out. I got a lot of suggestions from Birthing from Within. Anyone have more labour snack ideas?

• Ice chips

• Water

• Non-citrus juice popsicles

• Frozen blueberries

• Lara bars

• Hard boiled eggs

• Non-citrus juice

• An electrolyte drink

• Whole wheat crackers with peanut butter

[odinsmama]

Originally Posted by typebug 

 Anyone have more labour snack ideas?

I prepared frozen grapes to have on hand last time, but I was freezing during labor (both of them) and didn't want anything cold at all until the very end (ready to push) when I started feeling hot.

This time I'm going to have an electrolyte drink on hand but I'm also making a thermos of hot tea.  The crackers/PB snacks seems like something I would have liked a few bites of, or maybe more than a few if labor was really long.  But since I have been cold during my previous births, and our house isn't warm, and we don't have any heating (aside from a small space heater)... I'm planning on warm stuff this time.  Tea, maybe broth of some sort, maybe a  piece of toast with butter if I feel hungry (didn't at all last time).

[kellybeth]

Originally Posted by odinsmama 

I prepared frozen grapes to have on hand last time, but I was freezing during labor (both of them) and didn't want anything cold at all until the very end (ready to push) when I started feeling hot.

This time I'm going to have an electrolyte drink on hand but I'm also making a thermos of hot tea.  The crackers/PB snacks seems like something I would have liked a few bites of, or maybe more than a few if labor was really long.  But since I have been cold during my previous births, and our house isn't warm, and we don't have any heating (aside from a small space heater)... I'm planning on warm stuff this time.  Tea, maybe broth of some sort, maybe a  piece of toast with butter if I feel hungry (didn't at all last time).

frozen grapes is such a great idea. i hate ice in my drinks, let alone anyone trying to make me eat ice chips. blech

[Jenny01]

Does anyone care to share their electrolyte drink and/or popsicle recipes?

Also I was wondering how you ladies freeze meals like lasagna or casserole dishes.  What storage do you use for them so that they can be easily popped into the oven while still avoiding freezer burn (I hate freezer burn with a passion! lol).  I haven't made anything yet because I'm afraid it will get all fuzzy if I don't store it right.

[typebug]

Originally Posted by odinsmama 

I prepared frozen grapes to have on hand last time, but I was freezing during labor (both of them) and didn't want anything cold at all until the very end (ready to push) when I started feeling hot.

This time I'm going to have an electrolyte drink on hand but I'm also making a thermos of hot tea.  The crackers/PB snacks seems like something I would have liked a few bites of, or maybe more than a few if labor was really long.  But since I have been cold during my previous births, and our house isn't warm, and we don't have any heating (aside from a small space heater)... I'm planning on warm stuff this time.  Tea, maybe broth of some sort, maybe a  piece of toast with butter if I feel hungry (didn't at all last time).

Frozen grapes are a great idea. I guess freezing sliced fruit in general so hubby could whip up a cold smoothie would work too. I've never done this before so i have no idea what my body temperature will dictate. I know it'll be hot here because it always is. Not a big fan of cranking the aircon but i might need to. Anyone been in labour in a heat wave?

[odinsmama]

I just use emergen-c packets for my electrolytes. I've been drinking them daily for a while and am getting a little sick of them, even with 4 different favors in the house. My water bag broke (with a trickle the first time and with trickles every time I stood up with the second) several hours before the first labor started and about 20 hours before the second labor started. Vitamin c is supposed to help strengthen the water bag, so hopefully I won't have to worry about that this time.

For freezer burn, we have a vacuum sealer. If you don't have one.... dunno. Maybe just focus on foods where a little freezer burn won't really be a big deal, like stews?