With baby number two on the way and no family in town or meal trains set up to help out in the meal department, I set out to do some research on Pinterest for healthy freezer meal ideas and get to work. Sadly, once I started searching and looking, many of the “healthy” recipes that I found were not what our family would consider the same. I didn’t think we were that overly picky about our healthy meal options, but with every cheesy/creamy casserole and sodium-packed breakfast sandwich and gluten-filled snack, I realized that maybe we do eat a little more healthier than most and that coming up with ideas wouldn’t be as simple as I’d thought.
Bummer.
So I made a call for help on my Instagram asking for healthy freezer meal ideas as well as tips for how to get the most out of my freezer meal experience. The feedback was very helpful and in fact, some of the ideas were just plain genius! I’m sharing a few of them here on the blog so that you can bookmark and pin them to come back to.
1. Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken or Pork
– Cut up chicken or pork into strips.
– Slice peppers and onions.
– Freeze meat and veggies (raw) in a freezer bag.
– On meal day, dump everything into the slow cooker with a jar of salsa and call it a day.
Leftover meat and veggies can be used the next day for quesadillas, sandwiches, or served over rice/quinoa.
2. Zucchini Carrot Breakfast Muffins
Bake up a dozen or two of some tasty zucchini carrot oat muffins and freeze. This is a great alternative to baking an entire loaf of bread. You can easily take out a few muffins at a time to thaw as you need them. I love the taste of this recipe from Slender Kitchen and really love that there’s no refined sugar in them. I’ve even skipped the maple syrup a time or two and they were still gobbled up!
3. Burrito Bowls (these can be made with or without meat)
– Cut and sauté veggies (peppers, onions, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, etc.)
– Brown the meat (ground turkey, ground beef, or chicken) and add your favorite spices.
– Cook a few servings of rice or quinoa.
– Combine all your ingredients and freeze in gallon freezer bag or container.
– When ready to eat, just thaw in the refrigerator overnight and heat up as needed.
4. Pot Pie (filling only) *this was one of my favorite genius tips I was sent!
Prep some pot pie filling and freeze in a bag or container. Thaw as needed and just dump the filling into a store bought (gluten free) crust and bake. You can also forego the top crust and simply eat it open faced. It’ll still taste amazing and save you on time! Here is one of my favorite healthy pot pie fillings from Well Plated. I like to add potatoes, green beans, corn, and peas to it for even more flavor and veggies. Adding more vegetables is also a great idea if you prefer this pot pie to be meatless.
5. Breakfast Sandwiches (these can be made with or without meat)
– Cook eggs adding spinach, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, salt, and pepper to raw egg mixture beforehand. Omelet style or over easy work best for these sandwiches and cooking them inside a round cookie cutter can help them keep shape.
– Brown lean turkey or Italian sausage patties. (You could also use bacon instead. I prefer my bacon super crunchy so after freezing and thawing the sandwiches, it just isn’t crunchy enough for me.)
– Toast english muffin.
– Layer egg circles and patties inside english muffin or bagel thin.
– Wrap individually with parchment paper and freeze all together in a freezer bag.
– To reheat, pull from freezer and bake (no need to thaw) for a few minutes in the oven or toaster oven…or simply microwave, if you prefer.
**Other simple recipe ideas and helpful tips:
1. Make and freeze protein balls. Can be eaten frozen or thawed.
2. Keep hard boiled eggs on hand in the refrigerator for a quick snack or to add to a salad.
I’m excited to use these great ideas for my freezer meal prep in the next few weeks and cannot wait to have a little more of a stress-free meal planning experience after baby arrives. Do you have some tips and tricks or healthy recipes to add to this list? Please share them in the comments below!