Eating healthy takes some effort, no doubt about it. Let’s face it, today we might be excited to make a tasty, creative recipe that’s good for our waistline, but tomorrow may not bring the same enthusiastic mood. So we slip for the next few busy days and grab something more convenient, with higher calories and much less nutritional value.
What if we chose one weekend out of the month, the weekend when our stars aligned and we actually felt enthusiastic about shopping for the right ingredients and cooking them up? We’re talking about some big batch cooking. This is a strategy that lets us take advantage of when we feel high energy and we’re determined to do something productive for ourselves and our family. Big Batch Weekend is devoting several hours to meal preparation so that meals become healthier and convenient for weeks to come. It means making a big batch of something today and freezing it in meal-size portions so that we can pull out easy-to-reheat lunches and dinners time and again. It takes the thinking out of making healthy choices when you need a ready-made meal.
How about making a big batch of healthy soup, stew, or a casserole for convenient freezing and reheating? Not only will it be a time-saver, but it’s more economical as well. Why pay for all those low-calorie frozen dinners that cost $3-6 when we’re perfectly capable of creating our own for much less per meal? Some recommendations for big batch freezing are listed below along with maximum storage time in the freezer.
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"I used to buy big bags of frozen chicken breasts and lay them out, still frozen in most cases, onto a baking sheet or casserole dish. I would spray a little cooking spray directly to the meat if frozen and then season with several different flavors throughout the dish. On a few pieces I might use lemon pepper, chicken seasoning, seasoned salt, etc. Then I would cook them all at the same time.
I then would put them into containers that the food could be reheated in and add a side dish of vegg..." -- PETITE
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"You can also mix "raw" meals that are ready to cook, for a fresher take. Freeze boneless breasts in a marinade, and they are ready to grill after thawing. Mix your meatloaf mix and freeze flat in a ziploc. Thaw, mold into loaf and bake. You can also pre-bread chicken or porkchops, fix an herb crust for a pork or beef loaf and freeze. Just thaw and bake as usual! Saves your prep time and your mess is all at once!" -- PARTYOF9
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"I have done lots of big batch cooking and am planning one right before this baby comes. I've found a cheaper way to freeeze many meals especially soups is to use ziplock freezer bags. Label them, pour your meal in and then lay it flat in your freezer. Takes up a lot less room and stacks really nice once frozen so you don't need huge amounts of freezer space. Just make sure that if you have wire freezer racks that you don't place the ziplock bag directly on it until it is frozen. Otherwise it wil..." -- CREATIVEMOMMY
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