I've always batched cooked and frozen left overs from the days when we had 5 kids at home and soon discovered that this way there was less food waste if we banned fizzy drinks and bread from the dinner table as the kids would fill up on that and leave most of their dinner then be hungry later on that evening.
Batch cooking allows me to freeze meals according to the number of people I'm feeding. Currently Child 2 and 2a are visiting so there are meals for 4 portioned out ready to cook/reheat.
You'll have noticed the frozen plastic bottles of water in the fridge. In Dubai our water is stored in a tank under the ground, it's sandy here and quite often it gets into the tank, making the water undrinkable.
If Peter is cooking, we will portion out our meals and then freeze what is left in individual pots for days when only one of us is eating. It's difficult to only use enough ingredients for 2 and if there is only half a meal left, we'll often reduce our size portions to put more in the tub for a meal next time.We also freeze the tomato puree as we never use a whole tub with each dish.
We only buy fresh veg, fruit and salad as we are going to need for each day.
We usually buy a small carton of milk and if we run out the shop over the road is open from 7am till midnight every day. We also buy boxed wine and keep a jug of cold water in the fridge. In summer the ground heats up and the tap water doesn't run cold.
We portion out enough butter for the week and freeze the rest till needed.
We freeze bread on the day of purchase, we don't eat much and living in a hot climate it goes off quickly. This allows us to have several types of bread on the go at one time also.
Do you think about food waste? Do you batch cook and freeze left overs? Do you have any tips you could share with me on reducing food waste further?
Kudos to you for making the best of the situation! We also batch cook (especially meat) and freeze portions for future meals. I usually cook double meals and will eat tonight's dinner for tomorrow's lunch.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I could eat the same thing 2 days in a row
DeleteVery interesting to read, different climates call for different solutions :). Batch cooking is working very well for me too, otherwise there are always the odd ingredients left lingering in the fridge that won't make it until the next weekend. So better bring one's own food throughout the week (healther too) #goinggreen
ReplyDeleteBatch cooking makes life so much easy it's really time efficient also
DeleteI've really made an effort to plan meals recently to reduce food waste. I do get thrown though sometimes when children need to be somewhere else with very little notice and I find hungry teenagers in my house!
ReplyDeletewe're currently eating salads and lots of fish at the moment
DeleteYour environment really plays a major role in your food preparation. I don't think I'd like sand in the water. I plan meals and cook for one often having food for me for 2 meals. I usually like eating a favorite for 2 days.
ReplyDeleteI can't eat the same thing 2 days running and it's handy for the other when Peter or I are away
DeleteSuzanne, you're doing well! I try very hard to eliminate all food waste, but once in a while something in the back corner of the vegetable bin in the refrigerator gets past me. I love cooking more than we need for one meal and freezing meals-for-two to enjoy later.
ReplyDeleteIt's more likely that processed food would go off in our cupboards and fridge
DeleteSome seriously handy tips! Batch cooking is definitely the way forward when feeding families! Saves time... and money! Sim x #PoCoLo
ReplyDeletethanks, works just as well and makes life easier when cooking for one as well
DeleteBatch cook, make new meals from left-overs, buy in bulk and freeze the excess, make stock from bones/veg peelings, feed odd bits and pieces to pets ... very little food goes to waste in our house. Having teenagers with gargantuan appetites also helps! A great post for #GoingGreen - food waste contributes so much to increased CO2 levels and it is something we can all easily reduce with a bit of planning.
ReplyDeleteIt's something I've alwasy done and I hate to see food go to waste
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