It’s no secret that I am a super fan of my freezer meal group. Given just a sliver of an opening in conversation, I will rave about how much I love the convenience, community, money-saving, and ease of our freezer meal exchanges.
So, if you are interested in saving time, money, (and perhaps, your sanity), you might want to consider starting your own freezer group. (Hold on to your hats, here comes a long post. But, never fear, not only is there a good amount of useful information, but there is a printable at the end.)
STEP 1: Find 2-5 friends.
You need to be a little picky about who invite to your group, not because you don’t like them. There are just some practical commonalities you must have in order for these exchanges to work. Start by finding families of a similar size. In our group, we all have a need for meals that feed families of four. All the meals we bring to the exchange include the same number of servings.
Next, think about who has similar culinary tastes. Consider questions like: Does your family like adventurous, gourmet meals? Are you okay with meals that may use cream of chicken soup? Do you eat meat or poultry with every meal? Do you eat exclusively organic? Etc.
Finally, your exchange pals need to be dependable. Your freezer meal exchange will be most worthwhile if you have group members consistently participating. Remember, it takes teamwork to make the dream work.
STEP 2: Agree upon group guidelines.
You’ll want to establish some guidelines for your group to function smoothly.Communication
How will you communicate with one another about the date of an exchange and what meals you’ll prep? Our group started by using texts and Facebook messages. We’ve since graduated to a secret, closed Facebook group, which I think was a great move. I highly recommend you check out this communication option. I’ve also read about other groups that meet at a park while their kids play or at someone’s house while they snack on appetizers. I know of some groups that use group emails. There are many possibilities, find one that works for each member of the group.Meal Preparation
Will your group prepare meals together or individually? There are definite advantages to both. When you prep the meals together, it’s like a party. You’re all together for the shopping, you split the workload, and only make a mess in one kitchen. It may be a long day, but you’re finished with all the meal prep in a day. For us, it has always worked well for us to each prep our freezer meals at home and do a trade on the day of the freezer meal exchange. It’s a little more of a flexible approach. I like this because then I can pick and choose when I want to prep my meals. Sometimes I find a great sale on beef, but our exchange isn’t for another few weeks. I’ll prep the freezer meal while the beef is on sale and fresh, then store it in my freezer until the exchange day. But again, there are advantages to both, so just pick what works best for your group.
Like mentioned above, our group preps meals portioned to feed a family of four. We budget $5-7 per meal. On the rare occasion that an entrée costs less than $5, we include a side dish that will bring the total to the agreed upon range. Most of our meals are frozen in gallon-sized bags and the occasional aluminum pan. Miken shared a great tip on how to freeze casseroles without an aluminum pan. Check out this post to learn about it. To label the meals, we usually just use a Sharpie and write directly on the bag. I recommend to do this labeling before you put the food in the bag. Did I learn this the hard way? Maybe.
Think about how often your family eats freezer meals- a few times a month, once or twice a week, or most nights. This is a major factor in how often you meet and how many meals are exchanged.
Our groups meets just about every other month. We all eat at least one or two freezer meals a week. So, the math goes kind of like this:
Since there are six members in our group, we each bring two different meals to exchange with the group. In the end, we have 12 meals tucked away in our freezers to last through the next two months.
Food
How many servings should be included in each meal? How much should each meal cost? How will you package and label the meal? How many different meals will you each prep?Frequency
How often will your group exchange meals?Think about how often your family eats freezer meals- a few times a month, once or twice a week, or most nights. This is a major factor in how often you meet and how many meals are exchanged.
Our groups meets just about every other month. We all eat at least one or two freezer meals a week. So, the math goes kind of like this:
≈1 ½ meals a week x 8 weeks = 12 meals
STEP 3: Follow through and adjust.
By this point in the process, you’ve done all the leg work to get rolling. Make sure that you and your pals follow through. After your first exchange, talk about what worked in the process and what didn’t. Make adjustments to how your group functions until you start cruising along without any hiccups.I’m such a believer in freezer groups. This wonderful group of gals and their freezer meals have really helped to simplify this part of my life. So, if you’re wondering if it’ll be a good fit for you, just give it shot. It might just be one of the best decisions you make.
Use this printable to help you record the choices you and your group make while organizing your freezer meal exchange group.
No comments:
Post a Comment