The Best Freezer Meals For Meal Prep

Meal prep is a great way for people in Calvary, Canada to save time and money. Freezer meals for meal prep saves even more time. You double or triple recipes and store the extra meals in the freezer. It cuts meal prep time in half since you only have to do it twice a month instead of four times. Here are some favorites.

Try a meatless chili with black beans and sweet potatoes.

You’ll need 2 medium sweet potatoes and 2 large onions, both diced and peeled. Heat oil over a medium flame, add onions and sweet potatoes, then cook until they’re soft, approximately 4 minutes. Mince 8 cloves of garlic. Combine the garlic with 6 tsp of ground cumin, 4 T of chili powder, 1 tsp of ground chipotle chili pepper, and 1 tsp of salt. Add it to the sweet potato mixture and mix until blended. Pour in 5 C of water, cover, and allow to simmer for 12 minutes. Remove the lid and add two-14 oz cans of diced tomatoes, 4 cans of black beans, a cup of freshly chopped cilantro, and 2 ½ T lime juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for five minutes as you stir constantly.

Chop all the vegetables for several meals at once for stir fry.

Use red bell peppers, broccoli, snow peas, shredded cabbage, or any other type of vegetables. Blanch thicker vegetables that take longer to cook, like broccoli or carrots. To avoid clumping, lay them in a single layer on a cookie sheet or tray and freeze. Choose the meat of choice. Poach it if it’s chicken, pork, or beef until lightly cooked throughout, cut into bite-sized pieces, freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and pack in meal-sized portions. If you choose shrimp, do nothing. You can take the bag out the night before the meal or thaw them under ice water. Prepare rice and do the same. Either make a healthy sauce to freeze or purchase a healthy sauce to add later.

Quick stuffed peppers are delicious and simple.

Make quinoa or rice, Sauté onions, celery, and ground beef or ground turkey if you include them, and cook. Mix with the rice or quinoa, add black beans, and sautéed onion mixture. If you choose to add chopped cooked chicken, add it now. Mix enough cans of stewed, spicy, or plain tomatoes to the moisture without making it watery. Cut the tops off peppers and stuff them. Freeze on a tray, then pack enough for a meal. When you use them, Add a can of tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, or spicy diced tomatoes when reheating.

• Not all meals are freezer friendly. You can’t freeze fresh vegetable salad and expect good results. Food containing mayonnaise, cream-based soups and sauces, cooked pasta, most gravies, and fried foods don’t freeze well either.
• If you plan on prepping all your meals, consider a vacuum sealer. The vacuum seal can help prevent freezer burn and keep your meals fresh longer.
• Save money by using leftover vegetables for soup. If you don’t have enough, chop and freeze what you have. You can boil chicken for chicken salad or other dishes and save the broth for soup.
• No matter what you use to store the food in the freezer, make sure there’s a way to mark the date, write the name of the meal, and add any special instructions, such as how long to cook.

For more information, contact us today at Get RIPPED! by Jari Love