Domestic Disease And My Freezer Addiction

My test results are in.  The doctors tell me that there is no turning back now.  This post is a cry for help.  Someone please save me from this latest addiction.

Back in mid-January, I revealed to you that I had a new obsession -- meal planning.  Well this obsession is almost a full-time hobby now at two months later.  I just took inventory of my deep freezer.  Frosty (that's my freezer chest's name) is begging me to stop placing food items in him.  He is threatening to melt my pureed vegetables and my sausage links if I don't put an end to this madness. 

Here's why he is upset with me -- and what I have stocked in my freezer at this very moment:

• 13.5 pounds of ground turkey (bought on an unbelieveable sale at Wal-Mart)
• 6 bags of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (a deal I couldn't pass up at Publix)
• 9 pounds of turkey sausage links (less than $2 per package.  I couldn't resist!)
• 1 sirloin pot roast
• 13 homemade granola bars
• About two dozen homemade pancakes in various varieties - blueberry, chocolate chip and banana
• Blueberry muffins
• 3 cups of frozen strawberries
• 6 cups of frozen blueberries
• Over twenty 1/2 cup portions of various pureed vegetables - spinach, broccoli, yellow squash, carrots, and much more
• 3 cups of mashed avocados
• 3 pounds of diced ham
• 3 loaves of wheat bread
• 2 loaves of corn bread
• 2 packages of whole wheat tortillas
• 10 bags of shredded cheese in various types - cheddar, mozzarella, etc.
• Sloppy Joes - servings for 8
• Pizza Pasta - servings for 10
• Hummus dip - servings for 10
• Meatloaf - servings for 3
• Chicken Coconut Soup - servings for 4
• Turkey chili - servings for 4
• And there is more in there too -- but I'm too lazy to list out any more. 

Whew!  So you see, I'm either completely insane or completely brilliant.  I could eat from my freezer and not have to cook a fresh meal for a month if I wanted to. 

But gawd help me if we lose electricity and all my precious stocked items become ruined.  You'll hear me cussing and stomping my feet from wherever you are. 

The crazy thing is that I have NEVER been like this in my life.  I was not one to freeze leftovers or make double the recipe amounts to save for later.  Since I have been married, (and even before that), I would cook fresh meals.  But I never bothered to plan ahead.  I didn't realize the headaches and the money I would save by doing some simple preparation and planning. 

It began in November 2009 when I was stuck in a rut, eating the same meals I've cooked forever for my family.  I wanted something new....  I wanted something healthier that I could prepare for my husband and daughter. 

Several friends recommended the cookbook, "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld.  A few days later, I purchased a copy.  That was the first step that got me thinking about preparing vegetables and making purees to include in my meals.  This served two goals of mine -- planning ahead and including a vegetable in my dinners.

Then I met a friend here in Florida - her whole eating lifestyle revolved around her freezer.  Plus, she had compiled a whole document full of tasty, freezer-inspired recipes that she was willing to share with me.  She encouraged me to take the next step.  She regularly eats from her freezer for a week at a time if she doesn't feel like cooking.  Did I mention she has two young boys under the age of three, eats no processed foods and uses cloth diapers?  Thanks Briony, you're amazing (and a bit insane yourself)!  :-) 

I also contacted my pals Jess from Pennsylvania and Jen from Wisconsin for their regular meal planning recipes.  They both use Excel spreadsheets to track what they prepare for their families.  I simply copied their hard work and made it my own style, to fit my needs. 

It took some initial work - about three weekends in a row, two hours each weekend of steaming, chopping and pureeing veggies.  But the dedication paid off.  And now I'm stocked and hooked on this new lifestyle. 

And because I love to blog and enjoy reading blogs, I mostly turn to other bloggers for wonderful, healthy recipe ideas.  I don't go for fancy, elegant dinners with tons of ingredients.  I rarely even look at The Food Network or sites like that for inspiration.  Nope.  I just locate other moms, other wives like me, who are also out there cooking for their families, trying to provide a well-balanced meal.  Those have been the best recipes I've made to date.

I don't coupon very often.  But I do look for bargains in the grocery.  I scan the BOGO baskets (buy one, get one free).  I pay attention to the prices of meat and produce so I can spot a good deal when it comes along.  But I choose what recipes I want to make a week to a month in advance, depending on my mood.  Then I only grocery shop for the ingredients I need to make the recipe, unless I come across a really great deal in the store.  I make a list and I stick to it.

No one has tutored me along the way.  I just figure it out as I go along.  I can tell you that my family rarely eats out now and we're saving a lot more money, even without much couponing efforts by me.  Also, most things don't require a lot of defrost time either.  Most soups and stews can be microwaved or reheated over the stove.   Most breads, pancakes and muffins can be nuked straight from the freezer.   Thawing out doesn't take as long as you may think for most items.

It's funny how this domestic disease soaks into your body though, after you get started.  I almost peed in my pants when I walked through a farmers' market recently and saw pints of blueberries for 99 cents.  Immediately I thought of all the blueberry muffins and pancakes I can make with them.  How sick is that! I tell you~

But for me, it's been a strangely, creative outlet.  Cooking?  Yes, cooking.  Meal planning and freezing items for later?  Yes!  For what I know now is that a carefully planned, delicous meal can be a work of art.  When you're having a rough day and nothing seems to go as you hoped, you at least know that your tacos and guacamole dip are going to taste fantastic.  Also, all this cooking and staring at food recipes all the time has strangely led me to weight loss too.  Since I've meal planned, I have lost fourteen pounds.  Again, because I make the time to plan for healthier meals with better ingredients.

Food is something everyone loves and enjoys talking about too, I find.  Eating is a common ground that all humans share.  I rather enjoy talking about what I eat and the steps I've taken to plan my meals and track them.   In fact, I have shared my meal planning spreadsheet that I've created with over twenty different people now.  If you want a copy of it, post your desire for it in the comments section and I'll share it with you as well.  Or send me an email at littlebit.mandy@gmail.com and I'll hit reply with the attachment so you can catch my domestic disease too.

My spreadsheet is updated every week.  I'm always adding new things to it -- I am constantly finding unique food blogs or making a new list of healthier snacks I want to whip up.  That is one of my favorite things to do here lately - make a delicious dessert that is lower in calories and fat.  So far, I've discovered chocolate bran muffins and whole wheat banana bread that are out of this world! 

I'm definitely on a muffin kick lately too.  I wonder if I should start my own shop -- "Mandy's Muffins - Eat More And Weigh Less!"  As long as it's not just muffin tops.  Hahaha!  We all know that idea was taken and ridiculed in the Seinfeld series.

Perhaps I should open up a bed and breakfast.  I've gotten pretty good at making several egg casseroles and I always have pancakes stocked in the freezer now too.  After nearly drowning my coffee pot a week ago, I finally mastered the art of making a decent cup of joe too.

So perhaps this domestic ailment of mine can be salvaged into something for the greater good.  If I can share my ideas, help others or feed the hungry guests in my home, then I'm not just an insane, former working Donna Reed type. 

What do you think?  Do I need an intervention?  Or do you secretly envy me and want me to send you my spreadsheet so you'll be infected by this cooking and freezing disease too?


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Editor's Added Note:  If you plan to undertake this kind of meal planning and freezing, you will need a deep freezer or chest.  It will make storing much easier.  We found one during a Labor Day sale almost three years ago.  Check your local listings for sales or even Craigslist.  Also, I have my freezers organized with plastic baskets.  For instance, I have all my ground meat in one basket.  Stacked below that is a basket with my pureed veggies and so on and so on.  Having a file system so to speak for your meals and ingredients makes it so much easier to find things when you need them.  That is another trick I learned from my friend Briony.