Make Ahead Mamma - update

Further to my previous post I would like to update you on progress!

As my last article said I set out to throw myself into the deep end of cook for a day and then eat for a month. Well the special day came around - my son's 1st day of Montessori (2.5 days a week as he needs an 'out' plus is too loud at home when I am working despite the excellent childcare hubby provides) I had taken the day off work and was full of ambition!

I had hoped to do all the shopping and some of the prep work the day before, but the way the week was shaping up - I had to do it all on one day (as the day before was a civic holiday and no other day that week would work..)

The day started with a full on shopping trip. I got back home and tucked into the most involved of all the recipes, looking back if only I had started with all the easy ones... Anyway it was the day I went into early labour! I wasn't sure at nearly 9 weeks early that I was in labour, but when hubby came in the kitchen and saw me kneeling on the floor hands up at head height chopping veggies - he pointed out that maybe I should take a break!

A few hours later I was at the hospital and amazed at all the great things they can do to help stop the labour... it really was incredible. (But that's not what this post is about.)

My groceries and my baby managed to wait and when I came home from the hospital I worked in earnest to get everything done and am delighted to say - my freezer now contains 37 dinners (6 different recipes to rotate) and 7 lunches.

It was very hard work and I learnt a lot from it, but that is the great part, apart from still cooking baby girl - I really have got the bug and feel for this batch cooking!

Now I feel I can accomplish a lot more and a lot more easily. I also intend to branch out and fill up the freezer on baked goods, treats and the such like, but sssshhh don't tell hubby as he already thinks we have 'too much food in the freezer' - like there can be such a thing!

I intend to log my journey in more detail for you next time and provide more advice, maybe this can just provide inspiration? No matter what I am a convert! To me this makes so much sense I am not a fan of cooking, but to have one day and to then prepare everything so you know where you stand for the month, saves bags of time, money and even washing up. You can prep x meals of chicken and then do the clean up and then x meals with beef/ pork and so on, this appeals to me on so many levels.

If this sounds too daunting - just try a 2 week plan and maybe double up ingredients and therefore you are still making a month's worth. (I mean really in a 14 day stretch how much variety is there in our meals...?)

Good luck and enjoy - healthy, cost effective meals with your family and more time to spend with them too! To find out more and share ideas go to Make Ahead Mammas!

Make Ahead Mamma

..that's me. Well that's me now!

I try to be time efficient and I am naturally very frugal - my husband and I bring in our groceries at a very low cost..we monitor per unit costs of food stuffs, so clever marketing or different packet sizes etc don't tempt us ... if the base unit cost is not actually that good.

This takes time, tracking and organising, but is so worth it. With the arrival of baby number two approx 7 weeks away it is time to step things up a notch... So begins batch cooking.

Whilst it is something I've wanted to try for a while - so far I have just been reading up on it, logging recipes (in library books - to keep the costs down!) They honestly look very easy. Next Tuesday is my son's first day of daycare and so I am taking it off work to see how many make ahead recipes I can get through in that time. (I look forward to sharing my progress with you.)

It's always in my advice to other moms to spend that last few pregnancy weeks filling the freezer, sleep is not something you can bank so not advice I give, but food very much is. Last time we made dishes and made extra and froze as we went, shopped for handy foods like waffles and ready made breaded chicken (yes our food bill went up) and I was content enough with that. It meant as sleep deprived as we got, we never had to think about food for very long!

For me cooking is not something I enjoy, but even less than that is the thinking about food, so this way if I can learn the skills to one day cook for a day and then dine on the results for a month - fantastic! Not only that I have a 15 month old whose eating habits are very much influenced by our own.. I'd like to continue to set him a good example and to not be nervous about sharing food from my plate with him and corrupting his so far healthy taste buds!

This time I'm taking it to a whole new level... making and freezing bulk amounts of food, visiting warehouse clubs to buy big trays of meat, then making what really looks like easy recipes, pouring it into ziploc bags and voila a freezer filled with nutritious, cost efficient and easy to prepare meals that really just need baking in the oven (same as those pesky breaded chicken bits) or cooking in the slow cooker - which is already my favourite process!

I've just looked up a very handy blog with 100 very tasty looking make ahead recipes.

Well I have to dash and get going with my writing notes and shopping lists as my books are due back at the library at the weekend!

I hope to record some successes and post them here, as I really hope to inspire others and why not - it reduces the stress, when we are rushing around in our busy lives - one less thing to think about as last night you took something out the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw and all you need to do is cook or assemble dinner! Perfect!

Good luck enjoy and please feel free to send in - share recipes!