If you like to prep meals but have very little freezer space, get creative!
many of Meal Prep Queens On our healthy mummy Foodie Facebook page He seems to be making a lot of meals in the fridge. But if you don’t have a large (or second) refrigerator, you probably think it’s not for you.
Think again! Here are 11 helpful tips for those of us with mini fridges that can’t fit many takeaway containers inside.
11 ways to prepare meals when you have a mini fridge
1. Make the salad last for a week
Kristen Jones shares her salad prepping tip for the week—just keep anything “wet” from it and add it when ready to serve.
“I make salads in bulk for the week, I make about seven and put them in separate containers. No tomato, no dressing and they’ll last all week, just keep them in the back of the fridge.”
2. Get your breakfast sorted in one sitting
We often don’t think about meal prep for breakfast, but if the mornings are busy, it can be really helpful to ensure you don’t miss a meal.
Try making a batch Shock Berry Chia Pudding or some of the Gluten free breakfast granola (pictured above) to keep all week long.
3. Make lunch for the week and store it in the fridge
Ebony Featherstone does this, and it doesn’t look delicious? You can make one meal for a week or two and mix it up.
ebony says, “This is chicken with brown rice cooked in coconut oil with steamed broccoli. The topping is yogurt mixed with cumin, paprika and curry powder.”
4. Prepare snacks for the week and store them in the refrigerator
Samantha Lee Gaskin says, I make zucchini slices and bacon (recipe from 28 day weight loss challenge) for my kids’ lunch boxes for the week.”
Stacy Bell agrees and says, “I’ve found some healthy mummy recipes that keep well in the fridge, like healthy chocolate Wet-Bix Slice (pictured above) and raspberry-and-chocolate-peanut bliss cups—they don’t take up much space.”
5. Prepare the ingredients for the dry juice
Cassie Brown knows how to make healthy mummy juice faster.
“I make ziplock bags of all the dry ingredients for my smoothies (smoothie mix, protein powder, nuts, chia seeds, coconut, etc.) so that in the morning all I have to do is empty it into a blender, then add milk and fruits/veggies.”
6. Prepare the minced meat and sugar it before freezing it
Cassy Browne shared this great tip. Instead of freezing bags of ground beef, you take the meat out of the container first.
“I make the burger patty mixture, put it in a ziplock bag and flatten it before putting it in the freezer to save space. This has the added advantage of faster defrosting as well.”
This burger recipe is from 28 day weight loss challenge.
7. Use glass jars in the freezer door for rice
Use all the space in your freezer, including the door! Cassy Browne does this by cooking the rice and then freezing it in individual portions in a jar.
Then, you just thaw in the microwave and reheat until steaming to serve.
8. Put leftovers into zip-top bags
Michelle Scowen always doubles her family’s meals so she can freeze a meal for later use. But instead of using bulky containers that don’t fit in a small freezer,
Michelle says, “I freeze the second one in a ziplock bag, making sure they freeze flat so they stack easily. I never use plastic containers because you have all the wasted “air” space in each one, plus they are more expensive than bags.”
This is the Red Fish Curry from 28 day weight loss challenge.
9. Cut the meat ready before freezing
Instead of freezing huge packages of steak or chicken breast, try this one.
Thea Gibb says, “I cut all my meat into meal portions and put them in plastic bags with a tight-fitting lid. Not only do I save time at night, but I don’t have to wash my cutting board with raw meat on it every night.
“Then you can have a bag of ground chicken ready to prepare for healthy stir-fry.”
This is lemon fried chicken 28 day weight loss challenge.
10. Just cook and freeze the main ingredients of the meal
Don’t have space to freeze an entire meal? Why not make and freeze just the main ingredient in it? Shayla Kuczer does this when she makes things like chicken strips that can be frozen.
“Then they just need to be partially thawed and put directly in the oven for 30 minutes or until completely cooked through, and eaten with quick salads or steamed vegetables.”
try Homemade chicken nuggets for this advice.
11. Make a triple batch of one main ingredient for one meal
We moms love goodness Bolognese (Especially with all those hidden veggies), and it’s so versatile to turn into other meals. Try making a big portion of bolognese (the slow cooker is great for this) like Stacy Bell does.
stacy says, “I turn a kilogram of minced meat into a Bolognese with lots of vegetables and tomatoes and that’s enough for three meals for two adults and two kids.
“We have it with pasta one night, then the next I add peas and make a puree of pumpkin and sweet potatoes to make it a shepherd’s pie. Another time I’ll use it as the base for a lasagna (adding some beans to stretch it if needed) or it can also be made into pasta bread.”
As if those aren’t enough bolognese ideas, we have more here.
For more meal prep tips – download our FREE Meal Prep Guide + Recipes.
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