Ten Smart Tips When Making Freezer Meals

Ten Smart Tips When Making Freezer Meals

Freezer meals offer a lot of advantages and can save you so much time and stress in today’s busy world. They come in handy in many situations especially when you often find yourself not having the time to prepare something big for yourself or the whole family. If you decide to prepare some freezer meals, there are many tips you can learn to make the most of your cooking time, like these ten simple ones…

Tip #1 Planning is So Critical

Planning is essential when preparing freezer meals. If you just jump into this type of meal prepping, it will overwhelm you. Putting together a solid plan for what food to prepare will be helpful. You want to plan for everything, from the budget to preparing the food itself.

Tip #2 Pay Attention to What Freezes Well

By freezing something that does not freeze properly, you will have food you don’t want to eat. For example, watery produce like fresh cucumbers and tomatoes will not hold up well in the freezer. Pasta is another food that does not hold up well when frozen. Knowing what works for this type of meal prep will ensure you will have food everyone will want to eat.

Tip #3 Invest in Good Quality Freezer Bags

You good quality freezer when prepping these meals. First, they will take less room when storing them. They will also be simpler to unthaw when you want to prepare them. Putting a freezer meal in a bowl of hot water to unthaw is far easier when the meal is in a freezer bag. Research the best quality freezer bags for your budget.

Tip #4 Loose Meat Freezes Well

Looser meats freeze much better in freezer meals. Taco meat, pulled pork or chicken, and sloppy joe meat are all wonderful options. These meats unthaw easier, and you can package different-sized portions to tailor to your meal needs.

Tip #5 Do Not Use Frozen Meats

Avoid using frozen meats for freezer meals. For freezing, raw meats are usually marinated. Your food will become watery if you use frozen meats that have not been defrosted. Also, refreezing meats that have already been frozen can often contaminate them.

Ten Smart Tips When Making Freezer Meals

Tip #6 Cooked Foods Need to Be Refrigerated First

Before meals go in the freezer, they need to spend time in the fridge. Cooked meals need to be in the fridge at least overnight before freezing. This will help you avoid contamination of your meals.

Tip #7 Try to Freeze Meals as Flat as Possible

You will have much more room in your freezer if you freeze meals as flat as possible. This is especially relevant if you are prepping meals for longer periods. If your freezer bags are misshapen, they will be difficult to store.

Tip #8 Don’t Over Do It

Don’t try to cook 50 meals at one time. You will end up overwhelmed and likely not finish all the cooking. Start with smaller batches or spilt the cooking up over a couple of days. When you get more experienced with this type of meal prep, then move on to making larger quantities of meals.

Tip #9 Create Meals Your Family Will Eat

Don’t just make a certain freezer meal because it looks easy. You want to make meals that your family will want to eat. If meals are made that your family does not like, you will have a lot of wasted food on your hands.

Tip #10 Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment

You don’t have to follow along with all the common freezer food recipes, you could always see what works and what doesn’t yourself. Try freezing leftovers or doggy bags from a restaurant.

Freezer meals have a lot of advantages. You will be able to save time and money while enjoying tasty foods. Make sure to research and plan when doing this type of meal prep to get the best results.

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