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who bulk cooks/freezes their meals?

rambo

rambo

New member
I'm thinking about starting to cook my meals in advance, say every Sunday for the week ahead.
For those of you who do this, I have a few questions.

How do you do it?
How long can the food you cook be frozen/refrigerated?
How do you reheat it? (defrost + microwave/oven?)
How does it taste compared to making it fresh?
What can't/shouldn't be frozen & reheated?
Is it okay to cook chicken, freeze it, then defrost/reheat it later?


I was thinking of doing a couple chicken breasts and tuna tomorrow with the combination of pasta, rice, potato or veggies & some random sauces. Will it be ok to freeze these & reheat later in the week? Or better to just refrigerate them?
 
i like making spaghetti bolognaise amd curries, have some for dinner and chuck the rest in containers in the freezer

imo rice doesnt freeze very well, so i usually make new rice with frozen curry

i prefer to thaw it out first then microwave it, cooks alot more evenly then
 
I just do two cooks a week one sunday usually a big weber roast and one wednesday usually bbq steak or chicken and mashed sweet potato. Hate reheating frozen food and the sunday cook keeps ok to wed lunch. Friday is usually nandos day lol. Like the mcains frozen veg packs too just nuke and eat as a side to the pre cook meal.

Uncle bens mexican instant rice 1/2 packet and a big tin of tuna mixed in is a good meal if your in a jam at work. Always have a few of those spare so I never have to hit shitty take out.
 
Soups I like to cook in bulk and then freeze it. I make epic soups with plenty of ingredients in it and proper stock so its good to have a quick and nutritious meal handy when I am short of time. I also freeze stews/curry/stir fries but not often as I enjoy eating it all when its still steaming fresh hot sexy.
 
How do you do it?

I cook, I refrigerate, I freeze. Depending on how much I cook and when I plan to eat it I will do both. If I plan to cook food for an entire week I will store food for the next ~3 days in the fridge and the rest in the freezer.

How long can the food you cook be frozen/refrigerated?

Depends on the food. Most foods you will cook will be OK for over a month when frozen. In the fridge they will generally last up to 5-7 days.

How do you reheat it? (defrost + microwave/oven?)

Mostly zap in microwave. May defrost a bit on the bench first.

How does it taste compared to making it fresh?

It's always better fresh. Some foods freeze and reheat better than others. Generally reheated from fridge will taste better than from the freezer but some foods are more noticeable than others.

What can't/shouldn't be frozen & reheated?

In terms of food safety most things are fair game. Some foods will taste better than others. Steaks don't go well as they get dry and crappy. Avoid cooked fish, particularly fillets. Nasty smell when reheated. Anything with a high water content will become soggy after freezing and reheating. e.g. don't freeze a salad.

Is it okay to cook chicken, freeze it, then defrost/reheat it later?

Chicken is fine to freeze and reheat. Anything with diced chicken will generally turn out better than larger fillets.


I was thinking of doing a couple chicken breasts and tuna tomorrow with the combination of pasta, rice, potato or veggies & some random sauces. Will it be ok to freeze these & reheat later in the week? Or better to just refrigerate them?

Yes it would be OK - well it depends on what form the tuna is in. With those options personally I would do something like ... chicken stir fry with sauce and veggies (to be frozen or refrigerated). Rice or pasta cooked and can be stored with with the stirfry or separately. I only eat tinned tuna so I would keep the tuna in the tin until I am ready to eat it. It's easy to keep a few tins around ready to crack open and add to another meal when ready.
 
My wife recently bulk cooked pork mince skewers + couscous AND also a heap of beef and black beans in various size containers, just with a heap of vegies, hokkein noodles and a sauce from woolies.

When she did a chicken recipe, we didn't freeze and instead had a big bowl in the fridge which I just ate from for dinner/lunch for the next couple of days. Chicken isn't so good in the freeze, whereas beef and pork were great. I think it helps if you just chuck it in the freezer straight away.
 
I cook up a heap of veggies and mash them up like baby food and freeze them in portion sized bags, you can eat them reheated in the microwave or cold, just have to add some meat
 
... cook up once for the entire week. Chicken thighs and re-heat as required throughout the week at work... Some say it's too long to eat from the one cook-up esp. with chicken - but i like to live dangerously :cool: Haven't had a bad case of salmonella in at least a few years ;)
 
How do you do it?

I cook up 3 days worth of meals at once. Usually sundays and wednesdays i do the cooking and im usually away at least one day a week so i just eat as healthy and as close to maintenance (slightly above) for that day

How long can the food you cook be frozen/refrigerated?

Depends on the food really, Mine is mostly chicken, rice, egg white omelettes and salads, all of those are all fine for the 3 day period.

How do you reheat it? (defrost + microwave/oven?)

Microwave

How does it taste compared to making it fresh?

To be honest not as good as if it was fresh but when you have limited time you have to make sacrifices somewhere along the line.
 
Great replies.

I didn't get around to cooking anything yesterday, wasn't quite sure what I should do.
I'm thinking of doing it Sundays & Wednesdays as mentioned above, and just refrigerating everything instead of freezing. Don't know why I didn't think of this myself!

I bought a small convection oven the other day, might just chuck a couple marinated breasts in with veggies/potatoes and see how I go.
 
Sydking said:
This is one thing i will not touch, Reheated chicken.. Gets a real funny taste.

Ive found if you re heat in a grill or oven its much better, the microwave does something real weird to the flavor
Click to expand...

microwaving kills flavour in most food
 
I will bulk cook mash potatoes, in 200g containers, Mabey 5 kg a time.

Rice is crap from frozen.

Meat i like fresh and as above i will not touch re heated chooks, Beef sauce ect i will do.

Good preparation saves so much time, For me the sweet potatoes was a big one, I would have them most nights. Il save around 20 min not ahvign to steam and mash them every night i just chuck a frozen and pre weighted container in the microwave.

Pasta and rice will last a half a week in the fridge no probs. I like to cook my lunch in the morning if i have time. Things like bolognese sauce are great to re heat.

Curries are primo to, I do a big curry cook up every now n then. Eat it over a week.

Mind you, I was a kid who never took sangas to school cause i would see all the kids pulling out rotten ones form there bag it would make me sick. haha
 
I've been doing a lot of soups and stews and freezing them.
3 min in microwave add chilli and pepper and good to go.

At school had 12+ years of vegemite and cheese sandwiches
 
lex said:
I've been doing a lot of soups and stews and freezing them.
3 min in microwave add chilli and pepper and good to go.

At school had 12+ years of vegemite and cheese sandwiches
Click to expand...

Slow cookers is boss for work meals now, Cook night before, Take to work fresh.

Usually smash it for breaky too - who says cereal and eggs only for breakfast.

+1 for soups.
 
View attachment 7194


My set up on a Sunday arvo!
Lentils or quinoa in the pot, chicken on the grill or wok.
Take the meal/s out of the freezer the night before you need them, that defrosts them.
 
Has anyone tried musclemealsdirect? works on this principle for the super lazy man. I tried it and it was a bit pricey and some meals were average but it was easy as
 
I prepped meals for a full year and a bit. Now I prep meat only and use Steam Fresh veges.
 
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