I have gathered that most of the group are SAHM's, but unfortunately, I am not that lucky. I have such a hard time with preparing healthy meals every night because when I get home at 6:00 pm and then take them to their various activities, it is very difficult to prepare a meal with the right food groups.

I have heard of people that make their meals ahead of time and freeze them. I have no idea what to try to prepare that would still taste good after being frozen and reheated. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas?

I would love your input.

By Emily7 on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 08:23 pm:

Katherine you may want to post this on the General board to get more responses.
I am a big fan of crock pot meals. You can throw in the crock pot in the morning & have it done that night.
Lasagne, meatloaf, & sweedish meatballs all freeze well for me.

By Amyj on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 09:59 pm:

There are alot of cook books out there now that focus on cooking and freezing. I like to make stuffed shells and freeze them. Don't cook them before you freeze them, they seem to come out better. I also make various soups and stews ahead of time. Another way to save time is to do prep work the day before(chop onions, fry hamburger...). Let us know if you find any great ideas!

By Lauram on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 08:16 am:

I am a working mom too and freezing meals is a huge help. I make a ton of pasta sauce and freeze that. A lot of Italian meals are good to freeze like Amy said. I make a lot of soups and freeze them (chicken noodle, french onion, meatball). We also eat a lot of leftovers. If I make double the amount of food, I can serve it again later in the week!

By Jayne2 on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 08:37 am:

Katherine have you ever heard of Once a Month Cooking? Here is a link that I found on Yahoo and I am sure there are lots more out there.
http://hardys.freeservers.com/oamc.htm

Could this be an option for you?

By Katherine on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 03:51 pm:

I will check out the web site.

Thanks for the great ideas!!! I will share any new ideas that I find.

By Mommierenee on Wednesday, July 28, 2004 - 09:24 am:

Make your dh help
If that's not an option, I usually buy things that are easier to prepare for those nights that it's impossible to prepare a full meal including all the food groups. Some of my favorites are frozen pizza, macaroni & cheese (with a vegetable mixed in) & some kind of meat that you can heat up (boneless chicken already cooked in the frozen food section or boca burgers, meatballs, etc) or even one of those frozen entrees that's just the meat and it's about 5 servings in the box. Then all you have to do is thaw or open a can of veggies.

As far as freezing, Sometimes I will cook meat & freeze it so I just have to warm it back up. Chicken, hamburger, pork chops, ground turkey.
I don't know how you feel about canned veggies, but they are very quick & easy! Sometimes if I feel like that kiddies didn't get all the nutrients they need from one meal, carnation iinstant breakfast is great any time of day!
You can mix it with the milk & take it to go.

I work the opposite schedule than you do. I work at night time, but I still have that issue, because if I want to be nice & not make my dh cook dinner, I have to prepare it ahead of time for them to eat while I am working!
Good luck!

By Maryg on Sunday, August 1, 2004 - 04:24 pm:

Hey there, just one of my favorite healthy quick side dishes. I boil pasta (extra wide egg noodles), then stir in butter and a big thing of cottage cheese in the same pot with the drained noodles. Just stir and heat the noodles cottage cheese and butter till the butter melts (about two minutes). If the kids want, I let them throw shredded cheese on top. I usually have this with those single ham steaks that I fry in a pan while the noodles are cooking. Or, I serve it with crock pot ribs that I throw together in the morning with barbeque sauce. We like the Kraft Honey BBQ. Also, I buy a ton of those frozen bag vegetables. You just slit the bag, and stick it in the microwave for about 4-5 minutes.

By Palmbchprincess on Sunday, August 1, 2004 - 10:50 pm:

Crock pot meals are great, I made a whole bunch of meals this weekend, one of them was meatballs in the crock for hoagies. I also made a chicken pot pie, for tomorrow night. I bought a whole fryer chicken (about 5 bucks!) and stuck it in the crock with onions and carrots, and a little water. Cook for about 3 hours on high, or until the chicken is done by thermometer. Take out the chicken, and strain the broth. Pull all the meat off the chicken,and shred. To save time you can use cream of chicken soup, a little salt and pepper, milk, and a bag of frozen peas and carrots. Heat the soup, milk, salt, and pepper until blended. Stir in chicken & veggies, pour into a pie dish with a ready bake pie crust. Put another pie crust on top, crimp edges, and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. After it cools you can freeze it, then reheat when you are ready to eat!!
I also freeze homemade mac and cheese, and lasagna. If I want to make stuff that won't freeze, I put it in gladware until later in the week. HTH!!!!