Chest Freezer

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Chest Freezer

Postby Chumly » Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:13 am

I just purchased an 8.7 cubic-foot chest freezer to store food in the garage. I struggle with eating on plan, but I've noticed a pattern. I usually can make and store 1-2 dishes at a time because of limited storage space in the refrigerator/freezer. I find that I just get sick of eating the same thing after a few days and I think I need variety to stay on plan. I plan to prepare multiple meals on the weekend and freeze them so that I can have a selection of food to pick from during the week and I don't get burned out eating the same thing multiple days in a row. Does anyone else do this? Have you found it helpful?

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Re: Chest Freezer

Postby SonjaK » Thu Dec 07, 2017 10:38 pm

I don't have a problem eating the same thing for days at a time but I don't like to cook every night either. Sometimes it's nice to just take something out of the freezer. And I really like the flavor of soup after it has a chance for the flavors to meld more. So defrosted works great for that.

I have a chest freezer that I use to keep soaked beans (cook faster that way and easier for me to digest), berries that I buy/collect in bulk in season, large bags of veggies from Costco and similar. I also bulk cook like you mentioned on the weekends, eat one or two servings and then freeze leftovers in meal-sized containers.

Also, if you don't have an InstantPot yet, I highly recommend them. After I got over my nerves about using a "pressure cooker" and tried it, I now love it. Use it for rice and also for soups.

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Re: Chest Freezer

Postby Chumly » Mon Dec 11, 2017 12:21 pm

I wish I could stay satisfied with a limited diet, but I get bored and go off plan. I've done this too many times to believe there's a way to break myself of this habit. I think it's better to recognize my limitations and prepare extra food. I set up the freezer this weekend, so I am planning meals and I'm going to get a variety of dishes frozen over the next few weeks to make it easier to follow this plan. I have an InstaPot. It is a great appliance, probably the most versatile appliance I own. It certainly makes cooking easy and fast!

Michael
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Re: Chest Freezer

Postby Plumerias » Tue Dec 12, 2017 8:06 am

Michael, historically there have been discussions on meals for the freezer. Here are a couple of them.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18915&p=175871&#p175871

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11944&p=98569&#p98569

Remember also to keep a stock of starches readily available. Many freeze rice in meal sized packages, for example.

Happy cooking!

Oh, and as things are easily lost in a freezer, most especially a chest freezer, keep an ongoing inventory of the contents on the door or somewhere else where it can't get lost but is easily accessed.
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