I saw this suggestion on a blog and while I don't doubt that the strategy could save you some money [you'll be throwing out nothing] I wonder though, wouldn't leaving food in your freezer for 10 or more days make it lose it's taste forcing you to go out and buy some fresh food? What do you guys think? Would cooking all the food you eat in one month [at one go] save you money or would it prove to be more costly in the long run?
I think that is a very unhealthy way of cooking food. When my husband went to the US, he was narrating the way of kitchen life there when he came back after 6 months. His uncle would cook a dish in a big cauldron that would last for at least 2 days and sometimes even 3 days. In effect, they cook about 2x or 3x at the most in a week. The microwave is their friend that reheats the dish and the rice. Yes, even the rice, the volume cooked is good for 2 days. But not good for one month.
I think that a whole month might be pushing it a little bit, however maybe twice per month would be more manageable. I certainly like to cook things to make around four portions, and then I will put one in the fridge for the day after, and then freeze the other two. I would never want to eat things that were more than two weeks old though, even though in theory they should be fine for a long time in the freezer.
I always cook in bulk, it is such a great way to eat well if you have no time. I work nights, so this is the best option for me in regards to eating. I think eating junk is awful if it is all the time, so when i cook, i tend to do two meats, a load of vegetables and use a container big enough for a full healthy meal. The only other fresh produce I buy everyday is fruit, but again, make a mix in another tub and take it too work! Easy! I would not worry too much about how long it is been in the freezer, as long as the food is well covered and does not get freezer burn, it will be fine!
There are several ways to approach this though - some people don't necessarily *cook* the food in advance, they merely prep the ingredients and put them all together in their own individual large zip-loc bags. That way all they have to do on a given day is grab one of those bags and toss them in something like a crock pot, to have them ready when they get home. I would probably be more open to that approach as opposed to cooking the food first then freezing it, which would really destroy it's texture even more imo. My other issue with frozen food is it often tastes bland, due to all the ice crystals that form in the food, which then dilute their flavors when re-heated. When I freeze then later re-heat chili for example, it seems to have less "kick" to it than it did when I initially made it. I definitely could not go a whole month eating re-heated frozen food, nor would I want to be eating something that I cooked a month ago. I think the furthest out I could make it would be a week.
I don't think cooking for a month would save money unless you freeze alot of the food. I cook for 3 days at one time and depending on what I cooked some of it may not be good by the third day. Like pasta, it gets too soft if it has been over cooked. The extra food is always frozen to avoid spoilage.
I could not cook for an entire months worth of dishes, but I have been known to make a double batch of certain foods so I can stick those in the freezer for later use. We have a busy family and it is nice to just grab something out of the freezer, thaw it, and reheat it.
Even if food loses its taste, its healthier and costs less than eating out. When I lived alone, I would make a lot of food and freeze after two days. My maximum time in the freezer was about 6 months. Although I hated tossing food, it was nice to know it was there.
I think it's possible if you plan it well enough and have the necessary tools and equipment to keep your food as fresh as possible. You can do it for soup and for sauces, for example, if you have containers that can seal it well enough and freeze it at once. It's best if you could vacuum seal some of the other food items, I think, but I honestly think it is completely doable. It will probably end up saving you a lot of time and money too since you won't have to keep cooking daily.
Without a doubt - although a pretty mammoth task that I wouldn't want to undergo - you'd definitely save money by cooking a months meals all in one go - particularly as its highly unlikely that any food would go to waste or need to be discarded after just 10 days in a freezer - as most food - provided it is frozen correctly and stored in an airtight container - will keep for at least 3 or 4 three months in a standard home freezer - without the quality being affected. As I've always cooked all my meals from scratch - I already do this to some degree as I generally make enough for more than one meal - so that the extra can be stored in the freezer and used at a later date - not only is it more cost effective all round as nothing goes to waste - but healthier too as all the ingredients are fresh and frozen at their prime - it also helps to keep meals interesting - as you can switch them around and don't have to eat the same meal two nights in a row.
My roomate does this on a regular basis. He cooks many things once a month and stores them in the freezer and takes them out as needed. I think it saves him money because he buys the food on sale, and then has food when he needs it. I enjoy cooking though, and would get bored of the freezer food, so I don't think it is practical for me to do.
I’ve already got my cooking down to once or twice a week, which I really like. But with storm season upon us, it wouldn’t be practical for me to cook only once a month. Last year my area lost electricity for two and a half days when Hurricane Iselle hit, and other areas were out of power for much longer than that. Another event like that would render such an effort completely useless.
Once a month isn't practical unless you are on a strict diet. Besides storage space, sometimes you need to cook things fresh and not all things can be frozen like dairy products. Maybe if it's a big family with little time, it could be an idea, but I expect many will still choose snack or convenience meals rather than waiting to defrost items.
Is the issue solely about saving money though? Because even if you don't cook your food weeks in advance, you can still cook it on a daily basis and save roughly the same amount of money. Only instead, you can also enjoy fresher food instead of eating all re-heated frozen stuff. I suppose some people generally don't like to cook and find it bothersome, and/or they may be more "on the go" than some of us, in which case knocking out a bunch of meals at once and freezing them might be more appealing to them. However, personally, I enjoy cooking - it's not just something I do out of necessity, I do it for fun as well, and it's a great stress reliever for me when I get home from work. I suppose though, that you could get some cost benefits by cooking a bunch of meals all at once too though. Primarily due to the fact that you can use up a lot of perishable ingredients before they go bad. So in other words, if you bought a bag of carrots and only used one or two and left the rest sitting in your fridge until they were rotten, with bulk cooking you would be more likely to use the whole bag up in the process.
I'm a big fan of cooking in bulk in general...I think it can save time and money and hassle in the long run. But I think once a month is really pushing it. In my opinion, once a week is often ideal.
