Inside: Everything you need to know about starting a freezer meal swap group. Reduce “what’s for dinner?” stress and have fun with your friends and neighbors.
It’s a week night. You are tired and exhausted. Your people are hungry.
And you have no idea what’s for dinner.
You’re ready to hit speed dial and order takeout, but then you remember the casserole dish hidden in the corner of your freezer.
You put it in the oven, plop down on the couch, and thank yourself three weeks ago for hiding that fool.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have that kind of safety net? each week?
Meet the frozen food swap!
Several years ago, a neighbor invited me to join a frozen meal sharing group. How it worked: We each prepared two dinner recipes for each person in the group. Every month we met to socialize and exchange dinners. And everyone went home with a cooler full of frozen homemade meals.
It was a great way to meet more moms in my neighborhood and expand our family dinner rotation.
It also eliminated my dinnertime stress, because two nights a week I could take out a home-cooked meal to reheat while preparing some simple sides. Suddenly, meal planning became a lot easier.
Does this sound like music to your ears? Do you want to form your own group? Here are my top tips for a successful food sharing group.
Organize your food sharing group
Gather your group: An ideal group size is 4 to 5 members for freezer food sharing. More than that, it is difficult to prepare so many meals at once. (And always agree to consult the entire group before inviting others to join.)
Make sure your cooking styles and tastes match too. What are your family’s favorite recipes? Do the people in the group have similar tastes? Do members of your group like basic meat-and-potatoes meals or more elaborate dinners that may require trips to specialty markets to purchase ingredients?
Calculate the details: Calculate the number of meals you are going to exchange. You could start by cooking one meal for each and increase to two if possible.
Talk to your exchange partners about special dietary preferences and needs. Any allergies, intolerances or other dietary restrictions? Any ingredients that families don’t like? Are organic ingredients important to group members?
Decide recipes: Plan a variety of meals and a balance of dinners such as soups, stews, meat main dishes, and meatless recipes. It may go without saying, but avoid trying a new recipe for the swap. Try it at home first to make sure it works and tastes good.
Set an exchange date: We met every six weeks, which gave enough time for everyone to use their meals between exchanges and not have a buildup of items in the freezer.
Prepare and pack your exchange meals
Don’t forget yourself: When you’re cooking recipes for exchange members, be sure to make enough for your family too!
Pack them: We package our meals in disposables like a freezer bag (ironed to save space) for dishes like soups and spaghetti sauce. Disposable baking sheets are ideal for lasagna, casseroles, and enchiladas. But your group could also invest in reusable containers (glass or plastic) for exchange, or containers could be returned each month.
For disposable containers, write the date and cooking/reheating instructions directly on the bag or foil with a marker. Or you can keep a group Google Doc or other digital file to share, so you can always access the instructions.
Add up your costs: Calculate how much money you spent on your meals, including the portion you prepared for your own freezer. Include money spent on items like freezer bags or containers. Some things we don’t count, like a few teaspoons of salt, a splash of oil or a couple of cloves of garlic. But consider adding a small amount (like $1.00) to your total if you use a lot of spices, for example.
Swap frozen meals
Use a cooler: On the day of the exchange, bring your meals packed in a cooler or insulated bag so they stay cold and frozen.
Pay bills: Keep track of how much you spent on your meals. Compare costs and find the average (download this free cost sheet for instructions), then settle to make it even: cash, Venmo, whatever is easiest for the group.
Keep track: It’s helpful to designate someone in the group to be a sort of “club manager” and keep a record (paper or digital) of the different meals prepared, which ones were hits and misses, and the average cost per meal. When the group doesn’t know what to do for the next month, you can look back and see what went especially well.
Plan for next time: Set a date for the next exchange and find out what recipes you will prepare.
Take your meals home and get organized: Here are my top tips for organizing a bottom drawer freezer and a chest freezer. And here’s a free, printable freezer inventory you can use to keep track of your stash.
Exchange group tips for success
- Be honest. If a meal swap was not a success, make sure it is not repeated again.
- Keep your stock of supplies separate from the exchange pool. If the group pays for its box of freezer bags, for example, use them only for group meals.
- Be flexible. The goal of the group is to be a help, not a stress. So if anyone needs a few more days to prepare their meals, go ahead. If the group wants to take a break during holidays or other busy times, take a break and continue later.
- Stay in touch with member needs. For example, one person in our group wanted less food and another wanted more, so we made changes accordingly.
- Think beyond the casserole: You don’t have to serve the entire meal. It’s also helpful to prepare a key meal component, such as taco meat, spaghetti sauce, or grilled chicken strips, which can be used in many different ways. Here are some ideas for this type of batch cooking.
Freezer food ideas
These were some of our favorite meals from the frozen meal swap group, plus more ideas:
soups
- Lentil soup (recipe makes two batches)
- Chicken Taco Soup
- chicken chili
- Italian wedding soup
- Pumpkin soup
- Beef stew
Casseroles
- Tetrazzini CHICKEN
- Lasagna
- enchiladas
- Chicken pie
meats
- Marinated pork loin
- pulled pork
- Sloppy Joes
- meatballs
- Taco meat (recipe makes four batches)
- Marinated chicken for the grill
- Cooked and shredded chicken
- Marinated steak or chicken skewers
- Filling for baked turkey tacos
Miscellaneous
For more meal swap ideas, check out my 30 Healthy Freezer Meals and Cookbook post. Repair, freeze, celebrate.
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