Once a Month Freezer Meal Prep To Save Time

A freezer meal prep once a month can save you time and let you eat fresh every day. As an Italian, I do not freeze cooked meals, because I like my meals fresh. I freeze the base ingredients, the stocks, and the meat and seafood in portions, so when I cook from scratch I save time. Here is what I freeze, what I never freeze, and how I keep the freezer organized.

This post is Part 3 of a 5-article series: Organize your kitchen and eat healthily.

• Part 1: A Family Meal Planner Based On Fresh Vegetables
• Part 2: Italian Ingredients: A Comprehensive Guide
• Part 4: Cucina Povera: Zero Waste The Italian Way
• Part 5: How To Equip Your Kitchen If You Love To Cook Italian

Jump to:

• The freezer in the "Whatever" Method
• What I freeze and what I never freeze
• Freezing meat, fish and eggs
• Freezing cheese
• Saving time with frozen meal prep
• Freezing bread
• Freezing vegetables
• How to store food in the freezer
• Questions

The freezer in the "Whatever" Method

As an Italian, I do not plan a weekly menu. I keep the pantry stocked, I buy the vegetables that look good at the market, and I decide what to cook on the day. I call it the "Whatever" Method, and I explain it in full in Part 1 of this series.

It works because every Italian meal is built with the same five components, and only the first one has to be fresh:

1. The fresh ingredient from the market: the vegetables, the meat or the fish that decide the dish.
2. Fats and seasoning: olive oil, butter, guanciale, cheese.
3. The aromatic layer: herbs, spices, alcohol.
4. The base: pasta, rice, polenta, bread, grains.
5. The flavour enhancers: acidity, umami.

The pantry holds the fats and seasoning, the aromatic layer, the base and the flavour enhancers for months.

The freezer helps me extend the life of meat and seafood, so I do not have to use them by the expiry date, and of the bases I use regularly for many recipes:

• Meat and seafood in portions.
• Grated cheese, ready to use.
• Soffritto and stocks, which start most of my recipes.
• Bread, already sliced.
• Frozen peas and spinach, as a back-up for the days the fresh vegetables run out.

Using the freezer is not about storing ready-made meals. It is about organizing the kitchen to support daily cooking.

What I freeze and what I never freeze

Once you are back from the shop, it is important to store your food properly so it lasts as long as possible.

A general rule of thumb: carbohydrates go in the cupboard (pasta, rice, couscous, potatoes, bread, flour, pulses), proteins go in the freezer (meat, fish, cheese, eggs not whole), and fruit and vegetables are eaten fresh.

Most proteins freeze well, while vegetables tend to get soggy once defrosted.

I freeze	I never freeze
Meat and fish, raw, in 4-person portions	Cooked meals with cooked vegetables
Grated Parmesan and Pecorino, stracchino, chevre, mozzarella for pizza	Food that was already frozen once
Soffritto (carrot, onion, celery), stocks, breadcrumbs	Fresh vegetables to eat raw or as a side
Bread, sliced for sandwiches	Anything older than 6 months
Egg whites left over from custards
Vegetable dishes that will be baked or stewed afterwards

Freezing meat, fish and eggs

Whether cooked or uncooked, most proteins can be stored in the freezer.

I always freeze meat and fish uncooked and in 4-person portions, so each time I defrost only the quantity needed for our family meal.

If I want to freeze the meat or fish I have just bought, I do it immediately, without letting it sit in the fridge for days.

You can also freeze prepared meat dishes, but I never do it if the recipe has cooked vegetables.

The meat dishes I freeze raw, from the veal Milanese to the pot pies, are in my list of Italian recipes that freeze well uncooked.

Freezing fish

Fish goes in the freezer the day I buy it, raw, in portions, and always in a double bag, because the smell of seafood can take over the freezer.

The fish pie and the stuffed calamari freeze well raw and ready to bake, and both are in the list of recipes that freeze well.

Freezing eggs

You can freeze scrambled raw eggs, but mostly I freeze the egg whites left over from other recipes, such as custard or cream.

Once defrosted and at room temperature, they make meringues for a special occasion: mini meringues and pavlova with chestnut mousse.

Freezing cheese

Cheese usually freezes well.

From my experience, I always freeze Parmesan, grated cheese, stracchino, chevre and mozzarella for pizza.

I have never frozen fresh mozzarella or brie, but it should work as it does for the other cheeses.

Saving time with frozen meal prep

I like to make all my food from scratch, so I do not buy prepared frozen meals.

I would rather have my meals freshly cooked, but I use the freezer to store the meal prep I make myself.

So I still cook fresh daily and I save time on the daily cooking.

What really saves me time are the base ingredients and the stocks that I prepare and freeze over a boring, rainy weekend.

One hour every second month saves me hours every week.

The frozen meal prep I usually make:

• Soffritto: carrots, onions and celery, chopped
• Grated Parmesan
• Breadcrumbs
• Homemade chicken stock
• Homemade brown stock
• Homemade fish stock

I also freeze leftover meals, if there are any left, but I never re-freeze a meal made with food that was previously frozen.

Freezing bread

Bread also stores well in the freezer. If you let it defrost overnight on the kitchen counter, it will be like fresh the next morning.

If you warm it up for 2 minutes in the oven once completely defrosted, it will also have the same fragrance as newly baked bread.

I always store fresh baguettes tradition, the best here in France, in the freezer, already cut to sandwich size.

Every morning I put one in the oven for 10 minutes to make sandwiches for the boys' school lunch.

You can also freeze pizza dough, but I never do, as I can quickly make it in the bread machine when I need it.

I always make it at least one day in advance: pizza dough without a bread machine.

Freezing vegetables

I only freeze vegetables that will be cooked or baked afterwards, in stews or quiches for example.

Most defrosted vegetables tend to be mushy, but that does not matter for those recipes.

I do buy frozen peas and spinach, because they freeze well and they are handy back-up vegetables to have when you run out of fresh ones.

The vegetable dishes that freeze well, from the ratatouille to the stuffed vegetables and the quiches, are in the same list of Italian recipes that freeze well, sorted by raw and cooked.

How to store food in the freezer

I keep my freezer well organized, so I can find what I am looking for and see which stocked food I need to replenish.

I use well-labelled plastic containers or freezer bags, and for fish I use double bags, as the smell of seafood can take over the freezer.

Labels are important, first because once the food is frozen you may not recognize it, and second to keep track of the date you froze it.

I never keep food in the freezer for longer than 6 months.

Cleaning the freezer

I do a deep clean of my freezer every 3 months.

I wait until most of the frozen food has been used, and whatever is left goes into a fridge container with plenty of ice packs.

I try not to have meat or fish left at that point. I throw away whatever is older than 6 months, defrost the freezer completely and remove the ice from the walls.

I disinfect it, turn it back on, and only put the food back once it is starting to get cold again.

Basic safety rules for freezing food

• If I want to freeze the meat or fish I have just bought, I do it immediately, without letting it sit in the fridge for days.
• It is best not to thaw food on the kitchen counter at room temperature, but I do. I always make sure to put it in the fridge once it is completely defrosted.
• I never re-freeze thawed food. Food can be refrozen only if it was thawed gradually in the refrigerator, and I never do this anyway.

For more food safety rules, see the Food Safety Basics from the United States Department of Agriculture.

The ice-cube check

We have a lot of lightning storms here in the region, especially at the end of summer, and the electricity often gets cut off.

To make sure the food in the freezer is safe, especially when we are travelling, I always leave a cup filled with ice cubes in the freezer.

If on our return I find a frozen block of water instead of the ice cubes, I know the temperature was not maintained and the food is no longer safe to eat.

You can do the same with a small plastic bottle of water: freeze it standing, then leave it lying in the freezer.

Questions

In the next article of the series, you will find hints and tips on how to reduce food waste: Part 4: A Zero Waste Kitchen Is Our Goal.

If you are making any of this once a month freezer meal prep, or if you have any other suggestions, leave a comment below, I would like to hear from you. You can find more ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.

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