OAMC Once a Month Cooking

[Buddyboosmom]

Once a Month Cooking - Freezer Cooking

Once a month cooking (also called once a week cooking or freezer cooking) is an incredible way to save money and time each month.  The concept is very simple - you cook all of your meals for the month in one day (even diet meals).  Now that may sound overwhelming but if you do it right it is very easy.  In this section I will explain to you how I do my once a month cooking.

The key to your freezer cooking success is in the planning. 

You must plan your time, plan your menu and plan your grocery list.  If you properly plan before you start you will be more efficient and save more money with once a month cooking. 

Step 1 - Pick a day. 

This is a day that you can devote just to cooking.  Saturday works best for me because my husband is there to help with the kids.  Think through a day when you will have the least interruptions and least amount of commitments.  If you have to leave the house to run errands or take the kids to games then you will not get a lot done.  I have also done my cooking at night once the kids are in bed.  I don't always get as many meals made as I would in an entire day but I can still get a lot done. Don't forget to make room in the freezer, as freezer cooking for a month will fill it up quickly!

Step 2 - Gather grocery store flyers. 

The purpose of the flyers is to plan your freezer meals around what is on sale.  In my area there are three main stores that I get flyers from:  Food Lion, Albertsons and Publix.  (Some grocery stores also put their flyers on their web page so if you aren't sure what is on sale you can look online.)  

Here is a very general rule of thumb that I use for buying meat.  I try not to never pay more than $2.00 per pound for meat.  Of course there are special occasions that I will pay more but I try to use this number as a top end.  Boneless chicken breasts can often be found for under $2.00.  Whole chickens, drumsticks and thighs can be found for under $1.00 per pound.  For ground beef I try not to pay more than $1.50 per pound.  Pork and fish tend to be pricier but I still try to buy them for less than $2.00 a pound.  We usually do our meat shopping for once a month cooking at a warehouse clubs.  While these prices may sound low, by buying in bulk, you can buy meat at substantially less than at supermarket prices.

Many people have a Sam's, BJ's, Costco or other wholesale clubs nearby.  I have found that buying meat in bulk at a wholesale club is a great way to get the low prices per pound.  And when you are doing once a month freezer cooking, buying in bulk is not a problem - it's a good thing.  We come home and divide it up into freezer bags or vacuum sealed wraps.

Speaking of vacuum sealing, it is really the best way to go.  You may want to check out the Tilia FoodSaver Vac 550 Vacuum Sealing System which has a very high user-rating on Amazon.

Step 3 - Plan your meals. 

I have a huge dry erase refrigerator magnet that is a calendar.  This is where I write down the meal we will be eating for each day of the month.  I bought it at an office supply store and it works really well for me because I can see at a glance exactly what I have planned for the day.  You can use a regular calendar or a sheet of paper to plan your meals.  I have put together different forms you may print out and use for your planning.  Click here to see the different forms.  (I made them in Word so that you can customize them to meet your needs.)  You can also view some of my favorite once a month cooking recipes that I use for my once a month cooking.