Meet Once a Month Meals member Megan. She is a career woman in her 20s, sews for business and pleasure on the side and blogs about it, and freezer cooks on the weekends.
We introduced our newsletter subscribers to Megan back in July, but we wanted to spotlight her for all of our readers as part of our new series. I love her interview because it shows that OAMC is definitely NOT just for stay at home moms owning a chest freezer, but can be a helpful tool in any kitchen.
How long have you been once a month cooking?
I have only completed one month of OAMM so far and I love it! A friend of mine posted her cook day on Instagram and I was curious. I had never heard of it before that.
The “what did I get myself into” look. Don’t worry first timers, it is worth it!
What circumstance pushed you to give once a month cooking a try?
I work a regular 40-hour career job as an engineer, have a side job sewing, and have to cook, clean, and attempt to have a life. All if those things were causing me to feel stretched way too thin, but I didn’t know what to do about it. OAMM dropped into my lap at the exact right time.
How has choosing to OAMC benefited you and your family?
Since the last thing I want to do when I come home from work is cook, it has allowed us to eat meals I always wanted to cook but never had the energy or forethought to make happen. Now I can relax when I get home and have a variety of meals available. Shopping this way also allowed me to cut my food bill by 60%. I would buy random things at the store, but somehow never have a weeks worth of meals. The organization of OAMM benefited my budget.
What is your favorite OAMM recipe?
No deep freezer required!
We haven’t gotten to try too many recipes so far since we have only been doing this for a month. I think the favorite from this menu is probably the BLT pasta. Not the healthiest of favorites, but definitely delicious.
Megan’s apartment kitchen. It CAN be done.
Give us a brief introduction to your kitchen.
We have a tiny apartment kitchen – next to no counter space, an oven that can’t get the temperature right, and only one large burner on a stove of 4. We also have a tiny freezer. To fit everything, we basically had to throw away all that was in there, but it was worth it. On cook day, I really only have room to do one dish at a time, and I wash whatever dishes I need in between meals. While I have a ton of dishes, they don’t all fit in the sink. I also empty the dishwasher before I start. Each meal goes straight in the freezer once it’s done to make room on the counter.
What is the number one tip that you would give to a first timer?
Put your meals in the fridge to thaw the night before you want to eat them. Mine are always still frozen otherwise. Wear comfy shoes, order out or have something available for lunch and dinner (you won’t want to prepare it), clean as you go instead of at the end, wear gloves if you are cutting anything spicy, and take advantage of menu customizing. I only wanted dinners, and once I figured out how to adjust my menu to such, it was perfect for me.
I love the way she uses her refrigerator to organize recipe cards and instructions on cooking day.
Tell us about a time when you experienced an OAMC or cooking fail.
I cut a jalapeño barehanded. Somehow it burned my thumb and finger so badly that the rest of my cooking day was agonizing. I couldn’t figure out what had happened until I finally popped my finger in my mouth for relief and tasted how spicy it was. My first recipe fail was stuffed mushrooms. They were just not for us and ended up having to order pizza.
Do you involve other people when you OAMC? (spouse, friend, group, kids, cooking FOR others, etc.)
I generally cook by myself because I can stay organized. It’s kind of like working, and it leaves you with a sense of accomplishment when you are done.
How is OAMC hard? How does it make your life easy?
The hardest part was learning how to make a menu best suited to our household. We are good for breakfast and lunch, but really just needed a month of dinners. After figuring out my menu, it was smooth sailing. It makes my life easy for nothing more than the relief I get knowing I don’t have to cook. I don’t start stressing at noon about what to cook for dinner or get mad that I have to cook. It has also helped me get my grocery shopping organized enough to save me a ton of money. That is a large part of why it is such a good system for me. All in all, a 12 hour Saturday cook day is not nearly as hard as trying to figure it out an hour before you need to eat every night. That being said, I like to cook. The cooking day was never a drawback for me.
**Do you have a unique membership story or use OAMM in an unusual way? We would love to hear about it! Send it to info @ onceamonthmeals.com with the subject: I am OAMM. Talk to you soon!**