If you want to cook more during the fall season, you might find it a struggle due to lack of time during the week. When this is the case, looking to meal prepping and planning is the way to go.
The following tips provide suggestions for meal prepping and planning, while also giving you some ideas for freezer meals to enjoy during the fall months.
Get a Variety of Food Storage Containers
To start with, you will need some food storage containers. Food prepping and planning does require you to put some food items, chopped veggies, and prepared snacks into containers so you can store them in the refrigerator or freezer.
Try to get more containers than you think you will need so you can use them for lunches, snacks, prepped ingredients, cooked meals, and leftovers throughout the week. Make sure you get a lot of different sizes as well.
Chop All Your Veggies Beforehand
Meal prepping isn’t always about making entire meals and freezing them, but sometimes just about preparing the ingredients. You can do this by getting vegetables and chopping, slicing, and dicing them.
Think about what meals they will be used in so you can cut them in the right form. You might have carrots that are used both for a stew and for slices to put in your kids’ lunches, so make sure you split your carrots in half and prepare them properly.
Try Main Dishes You Can Use for Multiple Meals
Another great way to meal plan in the fall is to create a single main dish that can be used for multiple dishes. For example, if you roast a chicken, you can use it for so many different things. You can make chicken soup or chicken soup, shredded chicken tacos, chicken southwest burrito bowls, chicken fajitas, sandwiches, wraps, and so many other things with just this one ingredient.
Roast your chicken, then pull it apart and put the chicken in containers either to be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Having chicken on hand that has already been cooked is very helpful.
Examples of Good Freezer Meals
By this point, you have a handle on prepping your meals for the fall cooking season. Now it is time to take a look at freezer meals. Consider the size of your freezer and the meals that your family likes week after week when deciding what meals would be good to freeze. Here are some things that are good to be used as freezer meals:
- Soup and chili
- Casseroles
- Chicken and veggies
- Pork chops, steaks, fish main courses
- Lasagna
- Pasta sauce
- Stew
- Cabbage rolls
- Meatballs
When planning out your meals, think of freezer meals you can have for dinner, but also save for leftovers later in the week.
