Many students will fall back on the old standbys like ramen
or mac and cheese, but there is another alternative. It will take a small amount of time upfront
but will overall make life easier and healthier by planning out the meals ahead
of time. This will allow foods to be
bought in bulk which will help save money.
It can also reduce the time to prepare foods each day by making food for
the week all at one time.
One easy and quick way to do this is by using freezer to
crock-pot meals. The objective is to shop
for 20-30 meals, prepare the food and then place all of them in a freezer
bag. When a meal is needed, pull a bag out,
defrost it and cook it a crock-pot while attend classes. On the internet, there are many great recipes
that can be tailored for any diet like gluten free, dairy free and
vegetarian. These recipes can also be
personalized by adding spices, flavors, meat and/or vegetable choices.
The first time may be overwhelming, take a deep breath and
just follow the steps listed in the recipes.
Those who do not cook a lot, may want to start out making five or 10
meals first before jumping into preparing 20 or 30 meals at one time.
Good shoppers and those willing to use coupons and sales,
the ingredients can be purchased for approximately $150 for 20 meals, $7.50 per
meal or $1.88 per serving. The meals on
average feed four people with a side dish of rice, pasta or a salad. If the meals are serving a hungry college
student, it will likely only serve two or three. Leftovers make a great
lunch.
Warning, the first time shopping trip for these meals, there
may be some upfront costs for spices and 1-gallon freezer bags. A great tip to save money is to buy a larger
supply of freezer bags and spices from whole markets like Costco or Cash and
Carry. Many of the web sites that offer
recipes will also offer prepared shopping lists, handy tips, and costs break
downs to make life easier.
Below are three favorite recipes:
1 whole large onion
1 whole Pork Shoulder/Butt – five to seven pounds
2 cans of Dr Pepper soda
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
Place ingredients all in one 1-gallon freezer bag
Write on bag: pulled pork – add ¼ cup water when cooking –
cook on high for 4 hours
Makes serving for 4 with some left over if larger
roast. *This one would be served with
rice and a vegetable or salad. This
recipe would also make great pork sliders on a Hawaiian bun with coleslaw. This recipe works great with Costco’s small
pork roast. Use two of the smaller
roasts. –Do NOT sub diet soda in this recipe!
2-3 chicken breasts
2 cans condense Cream of Chicken Soup – can choose Gluten
free option
3 medium golden potatoes
Half a bag of frozen peas and carrots
½ cup diced onion
1 Tablespoon parsley
2 Tablespoon Butter
1 can of biscuits
Place all in one 1-gallon freezer bag – except the biscuits
Write on bag: Chicken & Dumplings – cover ingredients
with water – cook on high for 4 hours – after four hours are up, take a can of
biscuits and cut up each into fourths and drop on top, coat in juice and cook
for another 30 minutes.
1 pound lean ground beef (browned, drained, cooled)
1 package of mild taco season mix
1 (16oz) can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
2 (14oz) cans stewed tomatoes
1 (4oz) can diced green chillis
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (16oz) bag of frozen corn
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 (8oz) can chicken/beef broth
Place all in one 1-gallon freezer bag
Write on bag: Black Bean Taco Soup - cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours –
serve with tortilla chips, sour cream and/or guacamole
The first few times make take a bit longer, but as with
anything, practice makes the preparation and shopping go much quicker and there
will not be 30 minutes to an hour prepare time for each meal after a busy
day.
Tips and things to know: Most of the meals are healthy and can
be personalized to suit any lifestyle.
Look for sales on the ingredients and buy in bulk. It is best to read all of the recipes plus
the tips first, prepare the shopping list, and be creative. Plan for two hours
prep time for 20-30 meals and it is best to prepare all meals at once, cutting
and dicing the vegetable and meats and place in bowls and then measure out into
the meal bags. This will go much quickly
this way as opposed to making one meal at a time. Write on the bag before
filling it with date, name of meal, cooking instructions. The meals will fit into a 1-gallon freezer
bag. Lay the bag out flat while the meal
freezes, once the meal is frozen it can be stack the meals in a more organized
fashion. Final tip, if a recipe calls for ground beef, precook the meat. Even if Pinterest holds no “interest”, it is
a great place to find these recipes and read reviews and tips on them.
With a few minutes of planning, a couple of shopping and preparation,
20 or 30 healthy, cheap and easy meals will be available in the freezer. Allow the crockpot to do most of the work and
enjoy the free time and tasty meals.
At a glance:
20-30 meals for the
freezer to the crockpot
Three to four hours prep time a month
Need: crockpot, freezer, meal plan, grocery list
Links for recipes:
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/search/label/Slow%20Cooker
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