Freezer Cooking 101

It goes by many different names; bulk cooking, batch cooking, once a month cooking (OAMC), or freezer cooking. They have slight variations but the basic concept is doing meal prep ahead of time to make dinner time less hectic.

Freezer cooking has helped me during so many stages of my life. I have dietary restrictions which makes it hard to eat at restaurants, or use convenience foods or prepared foods. I have to read every ingredient, grill the wait staff, and hope there was no cross contamination. I only truly feel comfortable eating food I have prepared myself. Good thing for me, I love to cook!

Like everyone else, my life gets busy and setting aside an hour each evening to prepare a wholesome meal can be hard. Freezer cooking helped when I was single and cooking for one, when I was in school and limited by the options in the cafeteria, when I was working 12 hour days, and when I had a baby. I have learned a lot over the years and I want to share my knowledge with you.

Before we get started, lets explore the benefits of freezer cooking.

• Saves time
  • For most recipe it takes just about the same amount of time to make a double or triple batch as it does to make a single batch. Knock out the time consuming prep when you have the time, and reap the benefits when time is short.
• Saves money
  • Take advantage of sales and in season prices. Get the best prices by buying in bulk. Then turn those great deals into great meals or meal components with a locked in price.
• Makes dinner time less hectic
  • Who wouldn't love to come home from work and have dinner already made? Who wouldn't also love most of the dishes from that meal already washed?
• Adapts to complicated diets
  • When you have special dietary concerns it can be hard to just grab something. There are freezer recipes for all sorts of diets including vegetarian, paleo, gluten free, food allergies, etc.
• More wholesome
  • Not all freezer recipes are healthy but homemade foods are generally more wholesome than packaged foods or fast food.

Does this sound good? Would you like to try freezer cooking? Check out my freezer cooking resources to learn more.

The Basics of Freezer Cooking
Batch vs Bulk vs OAMC
Storage 


Freezer Recipes
Tomato Butternut Squash Soup
Dirty Rice
Honey Glazed Tarragon Chicken
Sloppy Joes
Breakfast Burritos