Freezing to Stretch your Dollar

I’m all about penny pinching when I can. It doesn’t get better than being on a $100-$150 budget for a family of 3 for two weeks! Yes, you read that right. It’s taken me time to get to this point, but it’s worth it.  This right here is my biggest tip saving time and money. Meal prepping is literally saving me money and time when I go to the store. Don’t get me wrong, I do miss walking through the grocery store aimlessly but my wallet couldn’t take that kind of pressure. I’m the type of shopper that will buy food if it just looks interesting. Now, going into grocery stores I’ve always got a list and my game face on. I’ve meal prepped for a while now so I know what to buy and what can be stored in the freezer so that I can stretch it a little further than usual.

I find that a lot of people forget that produce CAN BE FROZEN! As I tell you this I feel like I’m Drew Barrymore in the Santa Clarita Diet. (If you haven’t watched that gem on Netflix, go now!)  Flash frozen is my best friend. We have a freezer and fridge combo in the kitchen and a mini freezer chest that makes our lives so much easier. We can buy in bulk without wasting anything. Obvious freezer items are bulk meats, but you can go further than that. Check out how we freeze our produce, here .

Here are some of our staple DIY frozen items

Grapes ( Frozen grapes are so good btw)

Bananas

Strawberries/ Blueberries / Raspberries (any berry)

Peaches

Pineapples

Mangoes

Pumpkin (Pureed or chunked)

Spinach

Corn

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Carrots

Peppers

Green beans

Bread

Muffins

Pancakes / Waffles