For our family I came across a new way to look at cooking while I was trying to save money. I was a coupon queen and slight hoarder because of it. We just had Losing It Big, but I was pregnant with Losing It Middle so I really needed to figure out how we were going to make it with 2 children and one income. Coupon shopping worked but I found I was spending way too much time and purchasing a lot of processed foods. Sure you can coupon shop and NOT get processed foods but it isn't as easy. I did the "look what I got for pennies!" for about a year and decided that it would not be possible with two small children in tow.
While browsing the internet one day during naptime, I found a site that talked about Once A Month Cooking (OAMC). It peaked my interest, cooking one day a month? Sure, sign me up! I read as much as I could and found as many recipes to plan for the big day. The first time I "freezer cooked" or OAMC, was a very long day. I tried to make 30 meals and it was a lot more than I thought it would be. My legs and back hurt for 3 days after. Since then I have learned to make a few meals at a time when I am making other things. I have also found to make 2 or 3 of the same thing because it will be eaten over a few months (we won't have hamburgers every week but I can make 3 meals and it we can have them once a month).
I am telling you all this because today's food journal post has 3 items on it that I made a month ago. It is so easy to just pull out of the freezer and either pop on the grill or crockpot (or blend, microwave, etc). Want to eat healthy and not spend a fortune on salt, pumped mush? This is a great way to go, you know what is in your food and you can control how much you are served at a time (cutting down on waste). You don't have to do it all in one day, just make 3 times as much as you are making that special meal on Sunday afternoon. Take 3 hours and make 3 or 4 meals using shredded chicken. There are many ways you can fill the freezer that won't take more time that it would be to cruse the freezer section at Wal-Mart (plus there isn't ice cream and pizza tempting you). It should also be noted that a regular fridge freezer will work, you don't need a big stand alone model to make a few meals. Using ziplock bags you can freeze anything from stews to meats flat and compact. They take up just as much room as a mass produced box meal.
Food Journal for Friday July 20th, 2012
Pre-Workout Snack
Luna Mini Bar - 2 pts
Breakfast
Coffee Protein Smoothie for 5 pts (I made it with Almond Milk instead of coconut milk and it was fine and I added a scoop of protein powder)
Snack
Yoplait Light Yogurt (Strawberry Cheesecake) 3 pts
Lunch
Chicken Sliders (leftovers) 8 pts for 2
Rosemary Potato Wedges (leftovers) 3 pts (when reheating potatoes it is best to do it in the oven)
Strawberries 0 pts
Baby Carrots 0 pts
Snack
Watermelon 0 pts
Dinner
Salad with tomatoes and light ranch 2 pts
Susi Rice 3 pts
Cherry Apple Porkloin (Slow Cooker) 6 pts
Friday Treat
Cherry Pomegranate Sorbet 2 pts (it was 2 scoops to share with Losing It Little. I had to really pay attention to make sure I only ate the 1/2 cup I pre-tracked. I threw away my spoon once I got to the visual of my hand for the correct size)
All that food for 34 points. YAY!
Ending my week with 46 activity points earned and 22 points used. I try to keep 1/2 my activity points and I don't use my weekly 49 points. If I don't use either activity points or weekly points I find I don't lose. I will have a Losing It Momma VS The Scale tomorrow (I haven't been weighing in at Weight Watchers so I don't want to put too many different numbers out there. WW is my "official" scale)
Also my water hasn't been the greatest this week. I get at least 64 oz but with my weight and activity level I need to drink 120 oz daily. Today I am ending at 80 oz.
Let me know if you try freezer cooking or if it sounds like something you want to try.
Losing It Momma
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