Crock Pot Freezer Meals

I'm trying to be healthier both physically and financially. 

In most of the health and fitness plans I've come across, I've noticed that all of them suggest to plan your meals and prep your meals ahead of time. The purpose is so that you are able to just grab a meal or throw one together easily when you're hungry instead of having to sit and ponder about it and then end up going out and grabbing a pizza because it's easier and quicker to do that than to make something healthy.

I've never done this before because the idea of prepping a million meals all in one day just didn't sound exciting. However, I decided to stop dragging my feet and just do it! I hopped on Pinterest and found this website (through a pin) that was truly a game changer. I am kind of a picky eater so I went through all of the recipes and picked out recipes that I knew I'd like and recipes that would limit the variety of what I had to buy. She also has a meal label you can print off and I did that too! Anyway, I picked the following meals:

1. Garden Veggie Soup

I made two batches and added chicken.

2. Chicken Teriyaki

3. Honey Dijon Chicken 

I made two batches of this as well. She made hers with pork but I'm trying to not eat pork so I swapped it for chicken.

4. Shredded BBQ Chicken

but I also wanted to make a couple other meals that she didn't have recipes for:

5. Beef & Broccoli 

6. Taco Soup

(Two batches)

7. Dr. Pepper Pot Roast

I add in potatoes and carrots the last couple of hours

My meals, ready to go!

I also made some meals for breakfast including:

1. Egg Muffins

I made 24 of these and could've easily made more.

2.  Refrigerator Oatmeal

I used Greek God's Vanilla and Honey Greek Yogurt and Almond Milk and I made 12 jars.

3. Fruit and Spinach Smoothies

I could've also made more of these but only made 8

Smoothies. I'll be making more.

So, I've got breakfast and dinner covered for the rest of the month and will be working on the lunches soon. These batches are perfect for two people and will leave a good amount of left overs so that they'll last for a couple meals rather than just one.

 I went to Costco and Smith's and spent about $175 total (I know, it seems like A LOT...and it is) on groceries and items needed for making my meals.

I ended up buying:

(From Costco)

Raspberries

Blueberries

Strawberries

Oranges

Organic, hormone free Chicken Breasts (12 lbs)

Carrots

Black Beans

Corn (canned)

Frozen Veggies

2 Dozen Large Eggs

Babybel Cheese

Bananas

Avacados

Quinoa

Lettuce

Spinach

Rotisserie Chicken Breast Meat

(From Smith's)

Low Sodium Teriyaki sauce

Low Sodium Soy Sauce

Zucchini (x2)

Yellow Squash (x2)

Onion (x1)

4 lb Chuck Roast

Beef Stew Pieces 

Chicken Broth

Beef Broth

Beef and Onion Soup Mix

BBQ Sauce

Gallon Size Freezer Bags

Quart Size Freezer Bags

I think I'm forgetting a few things but you get the idea. 

Anyway, I followed her advice and printed my recipes and labels before putting everything together.

All in all it really did take me almost all day to make the meals but I'm grateful that I did it. I've loving only having to clean up the rice maker and crock pot after dinner that I've decided to raid my freezer and see what else I have for freezer meals. I haven't found anything for the shrimp but I do have some things planned for the Salmon and the left over chicken that didn't get used this time around. (About 4 lbs.) I'll post about that round of freezer meals once I've done them. 

In the mean time, I'm going to enjoy the fact that I don't have to buy groceries or worry about dinner or breakfast for the next month.