The One Pandemic Habit I’m Keeping

We all remember March 2020 and our lives changing forever, as we entered the rollercoaster of pandemic living. In the early days of the pandemic, people were grocery shopping like it was going out of style, stocking up on everything they could find, and the grocery store shelves were bare. I was there with everyone else doing the same thing.

However, I bought extra frozen food and stocked my freezer like never before, trying to calm the stress and uncertainty. I would soon realize how easy and convenient it is to have the freezer stocked with some extra food.

Two years in, my freezer is almost always full not because I’m paranoid or waiting for the world to end but because it simply makes meal planning and life a little easier.

Stocking Up

I typically go to Trader Joe’s once every couple of months and get a bunch of frozen premade food along with some frozen vegetables and other treats and I also go to Costco every couple of months and get chicken and steak and other meats for the freezer. When I do the weekly grocery shopping I get any meat or other frozen items that are on sale that week. I wait until we eat through most items in the freezer before restocking and I try not to buy anything that will go bad or I know we won’t eat.

With the freezer consistently full I’m ready for dinnertime and eliminate frequent trips to the grocery store or ordering take-out often. This also allows me to eliminate the age-old question of what's for dinner.

Meal Planning

Each Sunday I do the meal planning for the week and make a list for the grocery store. While planning I check the freezer to see what we have and typically plan around that. Sometimes we are just having one night of food from the freezer whether that is just a frozen vegetable, something from Trader Joe’s, or defrosting chicken while other weeks most of the meal planning comes from what I already have in the freezer. Mixing it up each week makes it so we are not having the same thing every week and there is variety in what we are eating.

By planning for the week while going through the freezer I know what I have and I’m not spending extra money at the grocery store. On Sundays, I also pull anything out that has to be defrosted so it is ready to be cooked.

Taking these few extra steps on Sunday and planning out the week help me stay on track with my meal planning while cutting down on the grocery bill and take out.

In a Pinch

This is my favorite part of keeping the freezer full, it is helpful when you’re in a pinch or short on time. Didn’t have time to go to the grocery store? How about a chicken pot pie from the freezer. Trying to put together a last-minute meal? Defrost some chicken and use frozen veggies as a side. Looking for something easy? How about a Trader Joe’s frozen meal. Unexpected extra person for dinner? Frozen sides provide enough for everyone.

No matter the situation, having some extras in the freezer makes life that much easier and eliminates the stress around mealtime, and answers the never-ending question of what’s for dinner.

What started as panic buying at the beginning of the pandemic and then turned into a routine has now turned into a way of life that I will never look back on. Making things more convenient and easier on a regular basis.