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Did you know that March is National Frozen Food month?
For someone who's been called the "Freezer Queen" on
more than one occasion, that's my kind of celebration!
I first started cooking ahead for the freezer because of
the time saving benefits -- it helped bring our family together
again around the table. But I was quickly surprised by
another benefit that I didn?t foresee. Our grocery bill went
down by almost $400 per month! I couldn?t believe it!
Some of the money we saved was due to the fact that we'd
been eating out quite frequently, quickly running down to
the corner for 59 cent tacos because I didn?t have time to
cook dinner. Now we always have time for dinner at home --
we eat out when we want to, not because we feel we have to.
Going out to eat has become a special treat rather than an
expensive and unhealthy way of life.
By cooking ahead, I was able to begin buying commonly
used items in bulk. I was also planning my menus ahead
of time. Just the planning ahead and bulk buying saves a
lot of money. But $400 per month? Wow. And that was
the average I was shaving off our grocery bill each month.
Sometimes we saved even more than that.
This method also eliminates waste, and because I don?t
go to the store nearly as often as I used to, it also cuts
down on those expensive impulse buys at the market.
I can take full advantage of sales at the grocery store,
planning menus around the weekly specials. If ground
beef is on sale, I?ll buy a large amount and then prepare
a quantity of ground beef recipes and put them in the
freezer.
Rather than doing a full month of cooking, I?ll often do what
I refer to as a "mini-session." This involves preparing a week
or so of, for example, ground beef recipes to intersperse with
the chicken or tofu recipes I prepared during an earlier
chicken or tofu mini-session. With a combination of these mini-
sessions, I can stash away enough Frozen Assets to last for the
next two or three months.
But in addition to the time and money saving benefits, I
discovered many other freezer-meal perks:
HOSPITALITY
Frozen meals can be used for hospitality and outreach.
Dinner parties are a breeze. If we want to spontaneously
invite people over after church, it?s not a difficult ordeal.
I know I have things in the freezer that I can quickly and
easily heat and serve.
You can have meals available for the sick or for people in
need. Bringing a couple of frozen meals to a new mother
or a grieving family can add a touch of sanity to an otherwise
stressful time of life. I don?t even have to think about it or
plan for it. I just grab something from the freezer and go.
FINANCIAL FREEDOM
Not only did cooking ahead solve the meal planning issues
and time restraints, it also provided me with a way to help
our family?s financial situation. Money was tight and I'd
been thinking of getting a part-time job to help make ends
meet. I found cutting back a bit on what I was spending
on groceries could mean the difference between remaining
at home full-time with my children or going back to work.
I didn?t cut back on the amount of food we ate so we still
ate well, but by being conscientious about meal planning
and buying on sale, we shaved sizeable amounts off our
monthly food budget. Saving $400 each month from our
approximately $700 per month food-related budget became
my part-time job. Over the course of five years, I spent
$24,000 *less* on groceries! ($400 x 12 x 5 = $24,000!)
NO MORE KITCHEN SLAVERY
During those rare times when I run out of my stash of
Frozen Assets, it?s a rude awakening to see just how
?daily? food preparation is in a busy home. As I often say
when teaching workshops: I love cooking ... I just don?t
like doing it every day!
Between all the planning and actual preparation for each meal,
it can begin to seem like the kitchen is a harsh taskmaster,
not even allowing time off for good behavior. The daily-ness
of cooking wears us down quickly. By having meals ready
to go in the freezer, I find that the joy of cooking has been
restored for me. When I do decide to cook a special meal,
it?s a joy again and not just another chore to be accomplished
as quickly as possible. I also have more time and energy
for fun cooking -- baking cookies with my children or making
fresh, hot gingerbread on a cold winter evening.
RESTORING THE FAMILY DINNER HOUR
Recently, there was a story in my local newspaper about
the disappearance of the family dinner hour. With more and
more double-income families and children involved in numerous
after-school and sports activities, the family dinner hour has
gone the way of the dinosaur. Yet my family sits down
together for dinner at least five times each week.
How often do you sit down as a family at the table for a
leisurely meal? Four times a week? Twice? Once? I?m
not super woman; I?m simply someone who discovered a
way to reap the benefits of advanced planning and preparation.
Now these benefits can be yours. If you?d like to restore this
time-honored tradition in your home, cooking for the freezer
can be the solution.
So what are you waiting for? Let?s get started.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Frozen Assets Webpages
http://hometown.aol.com/oamcloop/index.html
Frozen Assets Email Discussion Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/frozen-assets/
About The Author: Copyright 2002/2004 Deborah Taylor-Hough
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
--Deborah Taylor-Hough (free-lance writer, wife and mother of three) is the editor of the Simple Times (join-simple-times@hub.thedollarstretcher.com) and Bright-Kids (join-bright-kids@hub.thedollarstretcher.com) email newsletters. Debi's also the author of several books including "Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month" and "A Simple Choice: A Practical Guide for Saving Your Time, Money and Sanity" (Champion Press). Visit Debi at: http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/
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