Reduce your mental load while saving energy, time and money by utilising your freezer for your family’s meals.
It’s taken me almost 8 years and three children to discover what works for running my household. One key tool I use is my freezer system and I’m confident that you’ll be able to adapt at least a few of these to your own home to create less stress around food and feeding a family.
FROZEN OVER FRESH
The first system I’d like to introduce is possibly the easiest thing to incorporate first; which is opting for frozen ingredients. Buying frozen vegetables over fresh vegetables has been one of the biggest money saving and energy saving tricks I’ve added into my weekly routine.
I used to spend a lot of time trying to manage fresh vegetables - keeping track of inventory, freshness and trying to make time to prepare them and have the energy to actually cook them. I ended up wasting food and feeling guilty about the money I spent. By choosing things like frozen mixed vegetables over fresh carrots and corn, it has meant almost eliminating those issues.
By having frozen vegetables in the freezer, it takes the pressure off by extending freshness, making it easier to keep items on hand (meaning less time ducking to the shops and frequency of shopping trips), and much less food waste in the kitchen - win, win, win. I also freeze my meat like sausages, mince, rissoles for the same reasons.
CONVENIENCE FOODS
Now let’s talk about busy family life and fatigue. Set the scene, you’ve been out all day - travelling to an appointment, running around after the kids, and now everyone is tired and hungry and you need to feed the family and get everyone in bed after the long day. Convenience options on these days are your best friend to avoid opting for takeaway.
I like to keep a combination of homemade freezer meals and frozen ready meals on hand. I opt for foods that require little effort from me and that I can have on the table within about 30 minutes. I will talk about the homemade freezer meals a little later - for now I’ll focus on the store-bought convenience options. As we are a gluten free household with little ones - the tried and true foods I keep in our freezer are gluten free tenders, chips, and dim sims. More options could be frozen pizzas or family size ready meals like lasagna. Simply pop into the oven or air fryer according to the instructions and bam - dinner is ready.
Bonus tip: I keep an eye out for specials and stock up on a few when they are on special to get the most bang for buck.
HOMEMADE FREEZER MEALS
Lastly my absolute favourite way to utilise my freezer is to have homemade frozen food prepped and ready. Things like mince for spaghetti or tacos I pre-cook and freeze in dinner sized portions from one of my bulk cooking days.
For context - on days I have the time and energy I double, triple or even quadruple the recipe when I cook; then portion out and freeze the extra. This means on days I have low energy or am busy with other responsibilities I can get out the portions, heat and serve within 30 minutes with the peace of mind that I know it’s celiac safe for my family, and that I’m saving money by bulk buying ingredients and minimising food waste.
Click here for some recipe ideas.
That’s what makes the freezer such a valuable tool for me. It’s not about having it perfectly organised or spending hours making elaborate freezer meals. It’s about reducing the mental load around food, saving time and saving energy.
Hopefully you find some of these tips and tricks helpful in your kitchen.
