Inside: All the things you’ll want to learn about beginning a freezer meal swap group. Scale back “what’s for dinner?” stress and have enjoyable with your mates and neighbors.
It’s a weeknight. You’re drained and frazzled. Your individuals are hangry.
And you haven’t any thought what’s for dinner.
You’re able to hit speed-dial and order take-out, however then you definitely bear in mind the casserole tucked within the nook of your freezer.
You slide it into the oven, flop onto the sofa, and provides because of three-weeks-ago-you for squirreling that sucker away.
Wouldn’t it’s good to have that form of security internet each week?
Meet the freezer meal swap!
A number of years in the past, a neighbor invited me to affix a freezer meal swap group. The way it labored: We every made two dinner recipes for each particular person within the group. Each month, we bought collectively to socialize and swap dinners. And everybody went residence with a cooler filled with home made freezer meals.
It was an effective way to satisfy extra mothers in my neighborhood and broaden our household dinner rotation.
It additionally demolished my dinnertime stress–as a result of two nights every week, I might pull out a home made meal to reheat whereas I prepped a couple of easy facet dishes. Out of the blue meal planning turned a complete lot simpler.
Sound like music to your ears? Wish to type your individual group? Listed below are my greatest ideas for a profitable meal swap group.
Set up your meal swap group
Collect your group: A super group measurement is 4-5 members to your freezer meal swap. Greater than that, and it’s tough to organize so many meals directly. (And all the time conform to seek the advice of your entire group earlier than inviting different individuals to affix.)
Make certain your cooking types and tastes align too. What are your loved ones’s favourite recipes? Do individuals within the group have related tastes? Do your group members like primary meat-and-potatoes meals–or extra elaborate dinners which may require journeys to specialty markets for elements?
Work out the main points: Determine the variety of meals you’re going to commerce. You may begin by everybody cooking one meal for every particular person, and enhance to 2 if that’s doable.
Discuss to your fellow swappers about preferences and any particular dietary wants. Any allergic reactions, intolerances, or different different dietary restrictions? Any elements households don’t like? Are natural elements essential to group members?
Determine on recipes: Plan for a wide range of meals and a steadiness between dinners like soups, casseroles, important dish meats, and meatless recipes. It’d go with out saying, however keep away from attempting a model new recipe for the swap. Take a look at it at residence first to verify it really works and tastes good.
Set a swap date: We met each six weeks, which gave sufficient time for everybody to make use of their meals between swaps and never get a backlog of things of their freezer.
Make & pack your swap meals
Don’t overlook about your self: While you’re cooking recipes for swap members, you’ll want to make sufficient for your loved ones too!
Pack them up: We packaged our meals in disposables like a freezer bag (pressed flat, to avoid wasting house) for dishes like soups and spaghetti sauce. Disposable baking trays are perfect for lasagna, casseroles, and enchiladas. However your group might additionally put money into reusable containers (glass or plastic) for the swap, or you can return containers to one another each month.
For disposable packaging, write the date and cooking/reheating directions proper on the bag or foil with a Sharpie. Or you’ll be able to maintain a gaggle Google Doc or different digital file to share, so you’ll be able to all the time entry the directions.
Add up your prices: Calculate how a lot cash you spent in your meals, together with the portion you made to your personal freezer. Embody any cash spent on gadgets like freezer baggage or containers. We didn’t rely some issues, like a couple of teaspoons of salt, drizzle of oil, or a pair cloves of garlic. However contemplate including a small quantity (like $1.00) to your whole if you happen to use a number of your spices, as an example.
Alternate freezer meals
Use a cooler: On the day of the swap, carry your meals packed in a cooler or insulated bag so that they keep chilly and frozen.
Settle up: Carry a tally of how a lot you spent in your meals. Evaluate prices and discover the common (obtain this free price sheet for a how-to), then settle up so it’s even–money, Venmo, no matter is best for the group.
Preserve observe: It’s useful to designate somebody within the group to be a form of “membership supervisor” and maintain a file (paper or digital) of the totally different meals made, which of them have been hits/misses, and the common price per meal. When the group is stumped on what to make for the approaching month, you’ll be able to look again and see what went over particularly effectively.
Plan for subsequent time: Set a date for the subsequent swap and work out which recipes you’ll make.
Take your meals residence and get organized: Listed below are my greatest ideas for organizing a backside drawer freezer and organizing a chest freezer. And right here’s a free freezer stock printable you need to use to maintain observe of your stash.
Meal swap group ideas for achievement
- Be trustworthy. If a swap meal wasn’t a success, make certain it’s not repeated once more.
- Preserve your inventory of swap group provides separate. If the group pays to your field of freezer baggage, as an example, solely use them for group meals.
- Be versatile. The purpose of the group is to be a assist, not a stress. So if any individual wants an additional few days to get their meals collectively, roll with it. If the group desires to go on hiatus throughout the holidays or different busy occasions, take a break and resume later.
- Communicate with members’ wants. For instance, one particular person in our group needed much less meals and one other needed extra, so we made adjustments accordingly.
- Suppose outdoors the casserole: You don’t have to provide the complete meal. Making a key meal part is useful too, akin to taco meat, spaghetti sauce, or grilled rooster strips–which can be utilized in all types of various methods. Listed below are some concepts for this type of batch cooking.
Freezer meal concepts
These have been a few of our favourite meals from the freezer meal swap group, plus extra concepts: You may also like: 12 ALDI Freezer Meals (With Free Purchasing Lists)
Soups
- Lentil soup (recipes makes two batches)
- Hen taco soup
- Hen chili
- Italian wedding ceremony soup
- Butternut squash soup
- Beef stew
Casseroles
- Hen Tetrazzini
- Lasagna
- Enchiladas
- Hen pot pie
Meats
- Marinated pork tenderloin
- Pulled pork
- Sloppy Joes
- Meatballs
- Taco meat (recipes makes 4 batches)
- Marinated rooster for the grill
- Cooked, shredded rooster
- Marinated steak or rooster kebabs
- Filling for Baked Turkey Tacos
Miscellaneous
For extra meal swap concepts, take a look at my publish 30 Wholesome Freezer Meals and the cookbook Repair, Freeze, Feast.
I’m a participant within the Amazon Providers LLC Associates Program, an affiliate promoting program designed to offer a method for me to earn charges by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated websites.
Hello! I am Sally, a registered dietitian and mother.
I consider that EVERY mother can really feel profitable and assured about feeding her children. Join my emails for assist & inspiration (plus dinner concepts!) and I will ship you 16 game-changing ideas for feeding your kids–even the super-duper choosy ones.
