We are always just a little dumbfounded when people ask us if freezer meals taste good. Or when they say that they or someone in their family just won’t eat frozen food.
- Ever binged on a frozen pizza at 10 pm during the big game or your favorite movie?
- Did you live on Stouffer’s Lasagna or Ramen Noodles during college?
- Do a large percentage of your children’s favorites come from a box or package?
If your answer is yes to any of those, then I say it is time to revisit freezer cooking.
In the case of Freezer Cooking vs. the Freezer Aisle, we are here to tell you that Freezer Cooking your own copycat freezer meals is way better than the freezer aisle! Here are three reasons why.
1. Freezer meals taste good!
For some reason, we have this idea that food frozen at home is going to take on some foreign taste, and we aren’t going to be able to enjoy our favorite dishes.
Let me assure you when done correctly, freezer meals are NOT tasteless.
Freezing will not ruin the dish. What it will do is allow you to enjoy a great tasting, homemade meal on a night when you don’t have time to cook.
Take a walk down your grocer’s freezer aisle. Chances are you stop here on a regular basis to grab frozen produce, side dishes, easy lunches, or maybe it is the only way you get dinner on the table. The top food manufacturers have figured out how to freeze such a variety of food and still make it taste good. I assure you – you can too with homemade copycat freezer aisle meals!
2. Freezer meals are healthy.
Planning and cooking ahead help you stick to your nutritional goals even when you are busy. Whether your goal is sticking to a special diet like Paleo or Weight Watchers, portion control, avoiding processed foods, avoiding allergens, or simply staying out of the drive-thru line –– freezer meals can help you meet that goal.
Manufacturers know and advertise that produce frozen during peak season has the best nutritional value. Freezer cooking can help you take advantage of local seasonal sales, farmer’s markets, and you-pick farms. You can flash freeze produce for later use or create meals and side dishes bursting with nutritious, seasonal produce. And you can do it better than a food manufacturing plant hundreds of miles away.
When you cook copycat freezer aisle meals at home, you control the ingredients.
You don’t have to add preservatives, extra sugar, or additives to get dinner to taste good and last longer. YOU can control what goes in and what doesn’t. Simply omit ingredients that don’t fit your tastes! Omit or make a substitution if you have an allergy. It is just that easy when you do it yourself.
3. Freezer meals are inexpensive.
The price per serving on freezer aisle favorites is surprisingly high. You are paying for the processing, the cooking, the packaging – basically, you are paying for convenience. But when you make freezer meals at home, you can create custom meal plans based on your budget.
Buy in bulk, shop seasonal sales, use up items in your pantry, and take advantage of local, seasonal produce. You can make a lot more servings at home for way less money. And with an organized grocery list and a ready meal plan, you will see far less food go to waste.
We want to take you on a culinary journey down the freezer aisle. We have created a number of copycat freezer aisle meals (our favorites and yours) to show you how you can make them at home. They are just as tasty and only a fraction of the cost!
Fill Your Freezer!
Get the “Better Than the Freezer Aisle” MEAL Plan
All our “Better Than The Freezer Aisle” Recipes
Bonus Resource:
10 Comments
Join the discussionDo you have a low sodium recipes? Most commercial frozen foods are typically high in sodium. I want LOW sodium recipes. Do you have this category?
Hi Sue! That is a great question! As a member, you get access to our MenuBuilder system with close to 6,000 recipes. With that system, you also get the ability to search and filter those recipes. One of our tags you can search and filter by is “Low-sodium” and for us that means 500 mg of sodium or less. Please let us know if you have more questions! We are always here and happy to help!
I also need low sodium AND low saturated fat! meals. The sodium is easier to cut out of a traditional recipe, but often fat is harder to cut and make things taste good. As for instance, using a less fatty cut of meat or taking the skin off poultry or omitting the butter! Is this possible with your recipes?
Reen, we offer several different recipe and menu types. We’d love to chat with you in the bottom right-hand corner about how OAMM can help you!
I need a heart healthy recipes
Hi Susie! We don’t have recipes that are exclusively designated as “heart healthy,” but we’d recommend you look at our Real Food recipes that also fall into the low sodium category for the most heart healthy options. You can find those recipes here. If you need additional assistance, just click that orange chat icon and our team will be glad to assist you!
I know both Paleo & Keto are low carb, but I’m kind of surprised you don’t have a specific low carb section. I don’t care about a specific diet, I just want to find easy, cheap low carb options.
We actually do! 🙂 We have over 1,800+ low carb recipes to our members. Please feel free to reach out to us on live chat or email us at info@onceamonthmeals.com with any further questions. We also have a Registered Dietitian on staff who would be happy to answer any dietary-specific questions you may have.
Great website and ideas! Have you considered adding a vegan category for your recipes?
Hi Leah! We do have a vegan option. 🙂 You can view that here: https://onceamonthmeals.com/recipes/?tag%5B%5D=vegan