A couple of months ago, I bought my first pair of skinny jeans. In that moment I felt accomplished, proud and, for the first time in a very long time, I loved the way I looked. I never thought I would ever buy a pair of jeans or pants that were not relaxed fit but, I did and it was awesome!
You may have initially come to Skinny Mom’s Kitchen and thought, “What the heck does freezer cooking have to do with losing weight?” Well, the slogan for this blog is “Where motherhood makes friends with healthy eating and weight loss”. The “makes friends” part is where freezer cooking comes in. Losing weight will always have its ups and downs but, the one tried and true method to successful weight loss for me has been planning my meals ahead of time and freezing them. That’s why I focus so much on teaching menu planning and freezer cooking. These two strategies continue to make all the difference for me. In my busy life, I could not depend on “winging it” every morning to figure out what my family would eat. This failure to plan ultimately meant planning to fail. Once I created a plan (calorie awareness) and implemented a method (menu planning and freezer cooking) losing weight became naturally integrated into my lifestyle and the pounds started to come right off.
Here are some more reasons why I choose freezer cooking as a method to support my healthy lifestyle:
Portion controlled meals There are many diet programs out there that offer to send you prepackaged meals every week and you can find hundreds of different portion controlled meals in the supermarket. However, these meals come at a high cost and they do not even come close to tasting as good as a home cooked meal. Freezer cooking allows me to prepare portion controlled meals with fresh ingredients for much less money. Another benefit to creating your own meals is that you learn what appropriate portions are. If you always use big name diet brands to create your food you will become dependent on them forever. When you stop eating them, it’s more than likely you will gain the weight back because you never learned how to create your own portion controlled healthy meals. Freezer cooking your own meals will allow you take back control over your eating.
Nutritious minimally processed meals By making your own meals and freezing them, there will be no need to add preservatives or artificial ingredients which are found in many of the prepackage meals. Freezing food naturally locks in the freshness and nutrition without the need for any preservatives. When you start eating fresh, minimally processed food, your body will naturally start to become healthier and will thank you with a smaller waistline.
Meals are ready when you are ready The best thing about filling your freezer with ready to eat meals is you always have healthy food available for your family. By having these meals ready, you are less likely to order out or slide into the fast food lane. Not only does that mean you eat more nutritious food, it means you are spending less money! In addition to skinny jeans you’ll have a fatter wallet! Like how that works for ya?
As you can see, freezer cooking plays a large role in keeping my family healthy and me in skinny jeans. It’s not just about cooking up and stockpiling huge amounts of food. For me, freezer cooking is about taking control over the foods I eat and making sure they are available and ready when I need them.
Congratulations!!!
I just clicked over from SITS — checking out some interesting-looking sites, of which yours was one! lol Love the title, love the look and feel of the blog — great layout and great tips. I’ll be back!!! :^)
Thank you so much Rebecca! That really means a lot considering I am still a newbie at this. Looking forward to having you back and getting to know you better.
I came by from the SITS31DBBB.
I hate cooking and am trying to get over it.
This looks like just the help I need to do some cooking.
I’ll be back when I have more time to read.
I want some of those skinny jeans too!
Thanks for stopping by! Yeah I never thought I would like skinny jeans until I actually fit into them
Looking forward to having you come back.
Amen to the fact that planning ahead makes a huge difference in eating healthy foods! If I make a salad in the morning after I make breakfast, then I’ll eat it for lunch. But if I don’t, buy the time lunch rolls around I’m grabbing all types of carb-y snacks, etc. I came here from #sits…love your site
Planning for me has made the difference of 36 pounds now. I absolutelty have to think ahead when it comes to meals. Thanks so much for stopping by.
I still don’t think you’ll ever see me in a pair of skinny jeans, but I definitely need to use my freezer more! With young twins in the house, finding the time to fix a good, healthy meal is tough. Look out freezer, here I come!!
You will LOVE freezer cooking. Seriously mama it will change your life for the better. Keep in touch and let me know if you have questions.
Congratulations on your skinny jeans! I definitely am not a meal planner but would like to be. Right now the only meals I freeze are lunch-related: chili, soups, etc. Glad I found you, stopping over from SITS – happy Friday!
Once you meal plan you never go back
then add freezer cooking to it and life will never be the same…you will love it. Thanks so much for stopping by. Keep in touch!
Congrats on the skinny jeans! Not sure if I will ever purchase a pair – never tried them on for the fear of what would go through my mind ! I do menu plan already, but I am intrigued by freezer cooking. I will delve into your blog to find out more. Joining you from #31DBBB
Try them at least once I am sure you would look fab in them
freezer cooking is the way to go. I have a 4 year old too and yes it does get challenging but maybe try to get her invovled in the cooking or having some other activities like coloring, arts and crafts, etc. That’s what I try to do…notice I say try 
This is a great post, so focused. I am a reluctant meal planner and have fallen off the wagon in the last few weeks, I need to get it together.
Meal planning makes all the difference mama! Thanks for stopping by.
Great tips! I love this post! I, too just bought my first pair of skinny jeans. I think they are WAY more flattering than other types of jeans. and are def. stylish, I was surprised at how much better they made me look!
as for the meal planning and freezer cooking. I usually do this, commit like a crazy person and then fall off the wagon. I think I set my bar too high and I should just try to make a few things over each w/e and then I will be all set. I agree that it saves money, calories, and time. I like that we can have a tasty meal but more importantly, we have more time to spend having a family dinner.
Hi Michelle! Thanks so much for stopping by. Yes I LOVE my skinny jeans!! LOVE THEM! My main piece of advice is slow and steady wins the race. Find a system that works for you and fits into your family’s life. Once you find your groove there is no stopping ya! Keep in touch.
I’ve been doing weekly meal plans, but it’s tough because my husband may not get home in time for dinner. If he’s not getting home I find it really easy to not go with the meal I’ve planned and do something “easier” that is probably not as nutritious as the meal I had intended to have originally. I think it sounds wonderful to have meals in the freezer ~ especially love your point about portion control! Congrats on your skinny jeans and looking forward to reading more of your site to figure out how exactly I can do this!
Maybe try to have a bunch of easy meals planned for during the week when there could be a possibility that hubs is running late. Basically what I learned is that if I stock my kitchen with healthy food then even if I don’t make the meal I intended for that night I really only have healthy options to choose from.
Thanks so much for stopping by and please keep in touch. I want to hear how things go with your freezer cooking.
Stopping by from SITS. I bookmarked this and will be back later to read more thoroughly. I’m a SAHM on a 2 year old, but love the idea of freezer meals. I just haven’t gotten into it. I have a perfectly good chest freezer sitting in the basement holding ice…
Hey Lady!! You will love it! Seriously Jen once you go freezer you never go back. Just start small and get use to it. If you try it let me know how it works out.
Stopping by from SITS. I love love love this concept. My husband does most of the cooking in my house but he cooks way too late for my taste. I’m trying to lose by post baby bump and need to change our eating habits. This could really help. I’ll be back to read more.
Great post title. Fun to read.