I have been enjoying this frugal journey so much! My favourite bit is the savings that I have definitely seen both in terms of money and time! Win-win all round! This week I think I have seen the biggest money saving so far, just because I have cleaned my freezer!
I decided to give my freezer a clean because it had not been done in a long while and also because it was so frozen over, I could hardly close the door, plus some things I did not even remember that I had there. I have enough food for two week’s worth of evening meals without having to buy anything!
The Weekly Shop Myth
So many people are caught up in this myth of the weekly grocery shopping. I think it is just a matter of habit that is costing us dearly. So I set myself a challenge. For the next two weeks, I will not buy any food other than bread and milk. The weekly shopping does not need to be done every week! If we stop to take stock, we might find that we can do a monthly food shop (depending on storage of course) or maybe twice a month. I’m trying this out and I will certainly tell you how we get on.
Is Bread worth freezing?
In the Summer when it is nice and sunny we do a lot of BBQs and outdoor eating. For that reason, I usually stockpile hotdog rolls and burger buns to go along with the festive fair. Whilst cleaning my freezer I noticed that we still had quite a few packets of both. Well, me being me and not liking the thought of wasted food, thought I’d defrost some to see what they were like. Well, one lot that I let defrost in the fridge turned out to be soggy, and another lot I defrosted in the microwave came out with hard outer crust and soggy middle! I don’t know what the answer is to that but if you do know, then feel free to drop me a line. I’ll certainly try because I really do hate the thought of WASTED FOOD. I find it rather strange though because when I make my own bread at home and store some in the freezer, it tastes just as fresh when I defrost it.
My Freezer Haul
Some of the other things I found in my freezer which I did not remember included:
A bag of scotch bonnet peppers. 
Being Jamaican, I like spicy food. Scotch bonnet peppers are therefore essential. Other than the spice they emit, they also add a truly authentic flavour to many Caribbean dishes including traditional rice and peas. On quite a few occasions, I have had to purchase scotch bonnet peppers because I was not aware that I already had some in the freezer.
Meats and poultry, of various assortments
Burgers
coconut milk
Quorn sausages
Quorn style meatballs
Quorn chicken pieces,
desiccated coconut
and much more.
The two-week Menu from the Freezer Haul
As part of the great freezer defrosting and cleaning, we have come up with a meal plan for the next two weeks. They are as follows:
Week 1
Quorn Chicken pieces with rice, sweetcorn and peas
Lasagne with broccoli and carrots
Quorn curry with rice and peas
Roast Chicken dinner with stuffing, potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and vegetables
Fish Pie with curly kale and peas
Kebab, chips and mozzarella sticks
Week 2
Chicken curry with broccoli and carrots
Quorn meatballs with spaghetti
Fried Chicken with chips
Pizza, chicken nuggets, and potato wedges
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I am so happy to be linking up with and learning from Katy and Naomi each week as they share their meal planning ideas.
I would encourage you to check them out and also to do your own freezer clearout and see how many meals you can find. This is a great idea for saving money on the weekly shopping budget.
Do share any other ideas you have for us. AAnywaysthat you can save money while planning meals for your family, would be welcome.
Wow you guys are super organised!
Shows what can be done with proper preparation 🙂
We enjoyed doing it, but it saved us so much money too.
I freeze bread when I buy the double pack at Costco. When I have finished one load, I pull the other out of the freezer and let it thaw out in the bread box. It’ s ready to eat within 24 hours but does usually go bad within 7-10 days.
Love this post btw.
Thanks for stopping by Raynita! I love buying bread when the price is good ( may be reduced in price) and then freezing them too. They are just as if fresh
Wow ! Sounds like you’ve got some delicious meals planned. I’ve decided that this week I’m going to do the same now, I’m going to amend my meal plan and I’m going to shop from our freezer as much as possible!
Hooray! Happy I could inspire you, Katy. Can’t wait to see what you come up with! Thanks for the love.
Sounds great, you’re really organised. I wish I could do this but I simply don’t have the time. I do try to cook everything I make in much larger batches. If I make a soup or stew I’ll make double, freeze half and eat it the same day next week – I use coloured tupperware containers for each day of the week.
We freeze leftover vegetables for stock (a recent thing). The only thing I can’t seem to freeze is bread, as I don’t like mine toasted, it seems to defrost a little soggy – any tips?
Hi Jenny. I find that if you take it out of the freezer and let it completely thaw at room temperature, it is as good as fresh. You sound super organised with the coloured Tupperware too! That is something that I can use! Thanks for stopping by.
I go through phases of having so much in our freezers that we can eat from the freezer for ages, or just having useful things in there which I use a lot. I totally agree that we stockpile stuff and then forget about it. Do you use the chillis from frozen?
With the bread, I’d just leave it out at room temperature for a couple of hours, it won’t take long. It’s not meat so it doesn’t need to defrost in the fridge. If you use it on the day, it won’t be soggy.
Hey Naomi. Thanks for stopping by. Yes, we do use the chillis from frozen. Also, we usually have no problem with using frozen bread by letting it thaw at room temperature first. This time, however, it just didn’t work.
I love the idea of buying hot dog and hamburger rolls in the summertime when they are less expensive and freezing them for the winter. Great tip!
That has saved us a pretty penny in the past.Thanks for stopping by
As part of my effort to reduce waste, I need to take inventory and use up my freezer finds. I’m not a fan of freezing bread, but don’t mind it for toast. Great tips!
We used previously frozen bread to make french toast. When it is hamburger or hot dog buns, I use them for french toast sticks. The kids love it!