Freezer meal prep

I've loved the idea of freezer meal prep groups ever since I first heard of them.  I had several opportunities to join some groups in the past, but every time I decided I could make my meals cheaper and I didn't join. Last month, a friend attended a meal prep event at Hy-Vee and raved about it.  My mom asked if I wanted to sign up for the next one.  I thought about it, but still felt that I could make the meals cheaper. After discussing it with James, I decided to at least try it once.

Last night was the event I signed up for. It was way better than I thought it would be and I already can't wait to do it again! In just one hour and $77 spent, we had 7 meals to take home. I normally spend $65-$85 a week on groceries, so this really wasn't terribly expensive. Plus, my kids won't eat anything I brought home, so James and I will get more like 14 meals out of it, as each one serves at least 4.

I was very impressed with the set up. There were 7 tables (one for each meal). Each table had all of the ingredients needed to make 14 meals (there were 14 people there). 2 people worked together at a table to bag the 14 meals.  My mom and I had a pretty easy one.  We measured and poured 6 ingredients into a bag. Some people had to stir things together or patty up burgers, which took longer, but we were all still done in an hour.  All of the veggies (onions, peppers) were already diced for us when we got there.

After all of the meals had been made, the staff subtracted any ingredients we didn't open from our grocery total and divided the total by the number of people there.  We just paid for the groceries used (nearly all of them were hy-vee brand), plus $10 just for attending the event.  To have that many meals prepared in just an hour and not have to do any meal planning, grocery shopping or dicing veggies, was worth the $10 for sure!!!  One lady we talked to said she has been going to these every month and she and her husband eat the meals for several weeks, cutting her need to meal plan and grocery shop.  The time savings alone is very valuable to some of us!

I'm excited to try the meals now.  The dietician leads the event, so the meals are mostly healthy. She also gives suggestions of healthier sides to serve with the meals. There are some ingredients in the meals that I have never tried before, but so I'm eager to see what I think of them.