Meal Planning: Time Management

I've always meal planned to an extent but more so mentally or on paper... up until the last 3-4 years that is. I prepared freezer meals for other families (ie: sick families) but never for our family. And after my 1st back surgery when people poured in with prepared freezer meals- I thought, why didn't I think of this for US too... and there my real prepping business began!

 

My last blog had 2 really good freezer meal posts... lots of variety... but I didn't think to save the food posts when I deleted that blog :(

 

But bare with me and I'll have diversity back within time. A few posts ago, I posted several mini casseroles. I don't make those often due to my cheese allergy but the hub and son love them so before my 3rd back surgery... I stocked them up for the duration of my recovery. They've since been gobbled up and I need to make more- but I always forget about making foods that I cannot eat!

 

If you're planning to prep, cook, package, and/or freeze meals... do it immediately after grocery shopping. I say this based on experience. From my reads- most other preppers recommend this as well. If I don't do it right away... after a day or two,  the meats get shoved in the freezer not marinated, seasoned, prepared or anything... so that means having to thaw them, prep them, and then cook them which I don't always have time for on a week day... And the vegetables... if you read my spinach cubes blog... you can imagine where they end up if not prepped or used pretty quickly.

 

Also- set aside 2 to 4 hours to do all of this. I usually do my mass meal prep every other Sunday. And meal plan for the week every Sunday. 2-4 hours may seem like a lot but it beats spending 1-2 hours in the kitchen every night after work!

 

***Disclaimer: Although most of my fruit and veggies are fresh... some are frozen and every now and then canned... Also, I use a lot of prepared McCormick seasonings which probably have more sodium and additives than making your own... But they're my "cheat" in many prepared meals. Nearly all meat that we buy are low in fat or trimmed or rinsed- I'm a freak when it comes to fat and grease. So overall, majority of the foods I cook are low in fat but not in flavors! ****