What meals will be in your freezer? - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[kellybeth]

Originally Posted by 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?

i don't have a vacuum sealer, i just use a straw to suck out excess air from the ziplock baggie. works like a charm and no freezer burn. 

[rocknmama]

Freezing up some chili, lasagna, empanadas, pulled pork (without sauce so we can add depending on mood) Chix enchiladas, veggie soup, and maybe some cookies

Also not going to go too crazy. Cooking is definitely calming for me... all though I have had a serious case of the "I don't want to's" the last few weeks (35 weeks). I almost wish we had frozen meals for the last part of pregnancy. :) We might end up eating the stuff I've made for after babe...

[lovebeingamomma]

Instead of a baby shower, my family is having a freezer party for me.  So my whole freezer will be stocked full of various meals this Saturday, and no work for me, woot!
 

[kellybeth]

i wanted something sweet so i pulled a vegan chocolate chip cookie out from the freezer. 

be warned. 

cookies are amazing straight from the freezer.

[Madefromscratch]

Originally Posted by kellybeth 

i don't have a vacuum sealer, i just use a straw to suck out excess air from the ziplock baggie. works like a charm and no freezer burn. 

Brilliant, kellybeth!  I'm trying that.

This is a super helpful thread!  Love the ideas for freezing individual ingredients to make cooking simple.

Since our issue is space (just one tiny freezer), I'm not sure what all we'll have.  Soups are really easy for me to do, and I absolutely HATE running out of broth for soups, so today I've got 5 pots going and I'm planning to further reduce it tomorrow (by about 1/2, to save space) or the next day once it's chilled and I've skimmed the fat.

I'm also freezing some burritos today, filling them with black beans, rice, and cheese; can't think of other ingredients I have on hand that would freeze well, so I guess we'll add more fresh ingredients when we take them out and heat them up.  Does anyone know how avocado does in the freezer?

So here's my list, which may or may not all get done:  (* denotes priority item)

--*lots of broth, concentrated, in pint and 1/2 pint containers

--*8- & 16-oz containers of beans (garbanzos, black, pinto)

--*1-2 gallon bags whole wheat flour (we grind our own but our machine is super annoying to get out)

--*burritos

--3-4 loaves bread, sliced

--pasta sauce, 2-3 containers/bags

--lunches for husband--rice/beans, rice/curry, soups

--*assorted soups (make big batches between now and then and freeze 1-2 containers of extra)

--small containers of homemade yogurt for adding to soups and saucy dishes

Other than the freezer, it seems like a huge batch of granola is in order, and I may make and bag the dry ingredients for muffins, waffles, breads, etc.  Thanks for all the ideas, ladies :).

[venusthrow]

I am stocking up on the frozen meals from trader joes. They have great and yummy meals that can be microwaved or cooked in the fridge.

[LadyCatherine185]

just stocked up our freezer this morning!!

we have--

2 meals worth of BBQ and Baked beans (my favorite)

2 "mexican casseroles" (lots of protien, iron, and fiber!)

1 baked spaghetti

some taco meat (with a taco kit in the cabinet)

20ish rolls/buns that our neighbors brought to us around Christmas

I am planning to make and freeze some blueberry pancakes and pumpkin muffins later this week (my pelvis was screaming at me after all that this morning!).. I figure those things will last us at least a week (which is also how long DH has off of work) and then after that our church will bring us some meals.

[etsdtm99]

Originally Posted by Madefromscratch 

I'm also freezing some burritos today, filling them with black beans, rice, and cheese; can't think of other ingredients I have on hand that would freeze well, so I guess we'll add more fresh ingredients when we take them out and heat them up.  Does anyone know how avocado does in the freezer?

Ohhh Burritos are a great idea! I might need to do that - i have the ingredients but it would be nice to freeze them made -  avocado does pretty good, i've frozen it before - sliced with wax paper between slices, or frozen on a cookie sheet then put in a bag - and let it thaw on the counter (thawed pretty quickly) - now that it hink about it, i think i've also thawed it in warm water (in a baggie) and in the microwave.. . it does turn a bit brown sometimes but otherwise it is fine.. you can treat it with lemon juice to help with the browning.

[Madefromscratch]

Originally Posted by etsdtm99 

Ohhh Burritos are a great idea! I might need to do that - i have the ingredients but it would be nice to freeze them made -  avocado does pretty good, i've frozen it before - sliced with wax paper between slices, or frozen on a cookie sheet then put in a bag - and let it thaw on the counter (thawed pretty quickly) - now that it hink about it, i think i've also thawed it in warm water (in a baggie) and in the microwave.. . it does turn a bit brown sometimes but otherwise it is fine.. you can treat it with lemon juice to help with the browning.

Thanks, etsdtm!  Was wondering if the texture would be super weird, but if I do another batch of burritos I think I'll go ahead and include avocados this time :).

[Sunshine_Amy]

Vegetarian-cooking mamas, check out this thread on postpartum frozen meals in the vegetarian/vegan forum, some great ideas.  

Okay, here's my list of things I want to shop for and make this week.  

• lasagna --made with pre-cooked "oven ready" noodles!  I just discovered these in the above thread! You add 1 1/2 c. water to the jar of sauce, and layer these oven-ready noodles in with other ingredients, and pop right into freezer (and later the oven, of course). I can't wait to try this!
• corn chowder
• burritos
• a couple of Pot pies, assembled with pre-made crusts, veggies, tofu and homemade vegetarian gravy. (I have a spare freezer, otherwise I'd skip, or just make the filling, to thaw and assemble day of.)
• lemon-tahini dressing (because I'll want to eat lots of tahini, it's so healthy, and this is my favorite way of getting it)
• Doubling up some recipes I'm trying out this week:
• Roasted Butternut Alfredo
• Roasted Potato and Fennel Soup --I'll probably skip the onions, maybe try leeks, to reduce infant-gas
• and some tried-and-true favorite recipes from the same author's books "Veganomicon," 
• Leek and Bean Cassoulette with homemade biscuits.
• Chickpea Cutlets (I massage the chickpeas and float off their outer skin, to dramatically reduce gas. I've only tried it once so far, as chickpeas are SUCH gassy beans for me, but the small sample I had didn't give me ANY gas, so I'm eager to try a larger portion!)
• Linguine with Cilantro Basil Pesto and Artichokes (adding almond slivers for protein)

Already have, but will make more:

• healthy muffins!  --Whenever I bake sweets, I cut a recipe's sugar in half, and use 1/2 teaspoon organic Stevia powder per 1/2 cup omitted sugar. No one can detect the stevia taste, or the reduced sugar.
• Homemade muffin/pancake mix --I use fresh ground oat flour, ground flax seeds (an egg substitute), salt, baking soda & baking powder

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocknmama 
Cooking is definitely calming for me... all though I have had a serious case of the "I don't want to's" the last few weeks (35 weeks). I almost wish we had frozen meals for the last part of pregnancy. :) We might end up eating the stuff I've made for after babe...

Me too! I've been menu planning and rocking out the home cooked meals for months, and suddenly we're living off of store bought frozen meals because I can't bear to cook right now.  Tomorrow that is going to change!  Food shopping and freezer stocking, here I come!

Originally Posted by lovebeingamomma 

Instead of a baby shower, my family is having a freezer party for me.  So my whole freezer will be stocked full of various meals this Saturday, and no work for me, woot!
 

Nice!!!!

Originally Posted by kellybeth 

i wanted something sweet so i pulled a vegan chocolate chip cookie out from the freezer. 

be warned. 

cookies are amazing straight from the freezer.

OMG. I just got Isa Chandra's vegan cookies book. I can't wait to make some cookies, and try freezing them! That's a dangerous thing to know, though, we'll see how many last in the freezer! lol.