How to Create a Freezer Meal Plan.
Ever wonder how those freezer meal plans you find all over the place are created? Well today I am excited to teach you exactly how to create a freezer meal plan!
Meal Plans are a great way to save money! There are tons of meal plans out there, some free and some cost money or a subscription for full access.
But even with all these options it can still be hard to find the right fit for your family. Especially now a days with so many different dietary restrictions and preferences, so why not create your own!
For even more detailed instructions and free exclusive gifts to help you create your own meal plans sign up here!
How to Create a Freezer Meal Plan.
1. Label Your Meal Plan.
Since you are taking the time to create a perfect custom meal plan for your family why not label it! One big mistake that can be made is meal planning just to get by for the next week, two weeks or month. Then you forget about it and have to start all over again.
What kind of label? Honestly its can be anything! As long as it identifies the meal plan so you know what it contains. Some examples of meal plan labels are (All About Chicken Meal Plan, Comfort Food Meal Plan, Italian Meal Plan, Pregnancy Meal Plan….)
By labeling your meal plan you give it purpose and will want to save it. Find a place to store meal plans as you build up a stockpile, it will become easy to pick out your favorite one!
2. Theme your Recipes based on Your Meal Plan!
Now that you have an idea of what type of meal plan you want its time to get even more specific! Think about what type of meat you want to use, dietary restrictions or what kinds of cuisine you want.
When you start to research recipes, the variety can be completely overwhelming so getting specific from the very beginning takes away a lot of stress.
3. Decide how many Recipes you want to make.
How many recipes do you want to prep? Doubling or even tripling recipes is a great way to save a lot of money on your groceries while making plenty of dinners to last. Shopping in bulk allows you to get higher quality ingredients for a better price.
If this is your first experience with meal planning, then choose 1 or 2 recipes and double each. You will end up with 2-4 prepared meals in the freezer.
If you want to go a little bigger then that choose 3-5 recipes and double or even triple each recipe. You will have enough variety to mix things up and end up with 9-15 prepped freezer meals. WIN!
4. Choose your recipes!
Time to choose your recipes! Luckily this should be easy because you already know what you want. Remember when we got real specific?
If you already have recipes you want to use then great! You are ahead of the game. But if not check out the freezer meals on my blog, search on Pinterest or even online! There are an abundance of freezer recipes out there.
Try searching for recipes with the word freezer or meal prep so you find recipes with freezer instructions and cooking instructions already put together.
5. Make a grocery list, you can even organize it!
Maybe the organizing thing is a little out of control, I am one of those crazy people who loves to make lists and organize them. But making your grocery list is a super important part of this process.
It ensures you get everything that you need for your shopping trip. And helps you stick to your list, just don’t go shopping hungry….
Have all your recipes easily accessible and decide if you will double or triple any or all of them.
Now go through each recipe and write down what you need and how much…don’t forget about doubling the ingredients if you need too!
6. Go Shopping!
After you write everything down go shopping in your pantry first! Figure out what you already have and cross it off the list.
Now you are ready and prepared to do this! You got this! Go shopping and come home knowing you are owning this whole meal planning thing!
One recommendation would be to grocery shop and meal prep on different days. Take the time you need. It is nice to have time to breathe and not feel the pressure to do everything all at once.
Remember this is about making your life more relaxing not more stressful!
7. Prep your meals and freeze!
Its meal prep day! Time to label, chop and freeze! Most freezer recipes have instructions for freezing and cooking after freezing. If you are using one of your own recipes and have no idea how to freeze or cook from frozen then try looking up similar freezer recipes and follow their example.
If this is still new to you try planning out your recipes with freezer recipes so everything is easy.
8. Enjoy Home Cooked Meals without the Cooking!
Yay! YOU did it, YOU created your own meal plan. Yes, YOU made the grocery list. Did the shopping. Prepped the meals and now you have delicious dinners you prepped in the freezer ready to be cooked!
Now you do not have to worry about last minute dinners or trying to figure out what to cook. Just take it out of the freezer and enjoy!
For more tips and tricks to freezer cooking check out this post!
This takes so much pressure off you. Now you can breathe a little easier!
One day, maybe even one hour of meal prep in exchange for days, or weeks of homemade dinners with little to no effort.
Not only will learning how to create your own freezer meal plans help take away the stress of cooking but it will empower you! Every time you pop in a freezer meal, smile and feel the confidence because YOU DID THIS! You made dinner!
I smile every time, because with ease I have something delicious ready to go!
Remember to save all your work if you can by printing off or saving the recipes and grocery list so that you can grab and go in a pinch.
Hope you learned a little something about how to create a freezer meal plan! Comment below and tell me what you thought! I would love to hear from you!
