One of the problems that I kept running in to when living alone was not being able to use fresh ingredients before they go bad and getting tired of the cook-eat-wash cycle in an almost daily basis. It was only until recently when I saw someone on Tiktok freeze cooked meals to eat for a week that I asked myself...
"Why didn't I think of that any sooner?"
I know I should have thought of this sooner but for some reasons I just didn't. I stay at home all the time so I have always thought that I don't have an excuse not to cook. However, food supplies were getting more expensive and daily cooking was just consuming too much time and resources so I just knew this would help me a lot not only to stretch out my food resource but also to save time and utilities.
Checking how long food can last when frozen
Before I plan to cook something for days, I always search and check how long they can last (cooked) in the freezer. Freezing food can actually stretch its life span to weeks and even months. What I do is I let the food cool down to room temperature, pack them and store them in the freezer. I cook lunch and dinner for up to five days at a time. This usually consists of two different dishes just for variety.
Packing in individual servings
For both the rice and the viand, I make sure to pack each container with individual servings for each meal. That way, I will only reheat what I know I can finish for one meal. I don't do those meal prep meals that we can find on Pinterest. I just cook the ones I regularly eat. Nothing really special.
Reheating
Most microwave ovens nowadays have a defrost setting. In my case, I use the defrost setting for my food for a minimum of two minutes. This setting is very low and definitely is not a miracle defrost worker but it does help lower down the temperature. At times I also just take it out of the freezer 30 minutes to an hour before heating it up.
After that, I heat my food up in the microwave high for at least two minutes and that will get it nice and warm. If it's still a little bit cold in the center, I mix it up in the container before heating it again on high for another one minute.
I know this seems to simple and maybe even a no-brainer for some or maybe others will think this is just me being lazy but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. I'm just happy that I discovered this because I have been having a delight using the time that I should have used for daily cooking to other activities instead. It is also great to know that even if I get lazy or tired from work, I wouldn't have to get up and do the entire cooking ordeal because all I have to do is to heat up what I already have. Personally, I think they still taste the same even if they have been frozen for days.
If you also live alone and you're thinking of doing this as well, I highly suggest you give this one a try and see how much you can save as well.
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