Is it worth having a second freezer

wigginsmum

Does this sound like a good idea? I'm still at the novice stage of proper food/household budget planning, and want (need!) to get the cost down to under £200/month for 2 people, including £70 on cat food (7 cats = non-negotiable).

I'm planning on getting a second cheap upright freezer purely for meat/fish/bread, doing a blitz in Costco/Lidl/local market once a month when I get paid, batch-cooking for the month including some 'ethnic' veggie recipes and freezing in 2-person portions so I only have to cook the carb bit on the day. Then all I'd need to buy throughout the month would be the odd bit of fruit/veg/dairy etc. My DH won't eat 'cheap' meals like beans on toast, so it has to be a 'proper' dinner each night which puts quite a strain on me cooking-wise (he won't cook). I reckon if I do this well and make sure I do a variety of dishes, we'll both be happy with the outcome.

Am I being sensible or is it a crazy idea? Obviously I'd need to label everything properly, but I'm guessing an indelible marker on the plastic takeaway-type tubs I've got would work.

Thoughts?

Jules

squeaky

Yeah, a couple.

One... PLAN on doing extra protions of things like casseroles, chillies, currys and stews etc and deliberately freezing the spare so that you have some "instant" meals to hand for days you don't have time for, or feel like cooking.

Two... Line containers with freezer bags, freeze the contents, then lift out of the container so you can use the container again.

And yes, it's either label well or play "Freezer Surprise"

kiwichick

Hi Wigginsmum,

I am planning on doing the same thing when we move house in the new year. I hate it when I see good deals on BOGOF or similar and not being able to take advantage of them. Would love to be able to bulk freeze. I do use Squeakys freezer bag tip, it good cause you can still stack stuff but you dont have to splash out loads on new containers.

arkonite_babe

I just wish I had space for a second freezer. *sigh* ah well some day!

wigginsmum

Good suggestion re the freezer bags. I'm figuring a weekend a month to cook the lot (I enjoy cooking when I don't have to do it), rather than doing extra portions as I go. I'm knackered when I get in from work so am trying to cut down on cooking from scratch during the week (it's what makes take-aways look so appealing!).

Jules

arkonite_babe

Funnily enough I'm the opposite. Cooking is the one thing that de-stresses me

kiwichick

I'm with you on that one akronite babe, LOVE to cook.

Having said that I am by no means a good cook but most of it is edible

Sadly it also means my waistline (or what used to be a waistline) has expanded along with enthusiasm for all things HM. I've put on 5 lbs since getting my BM!!!!

trigger_mike

i have a second larder freezer in the garage and it was well worth doing, we save a fortune on stock buying froozen food, plus always buying the nearly out of date food in the bargain section of sainburys, i have sausages coming out of my ears!

wigginsmum

Heehee - DH is dragging me to Comet tomorrow to treat me to the freezer of choice AND will be around to take delivery of it It was that, or take it in turns to do the cooking from now on Whoever said headology doesn't work ... found a Hotpoint frostfree one of the right dimensions for £259 (Product code FZA34P). He won't shop around, buy online or go anywhere where he hasn't shopped before, but as I don't have to pay the bill, fair enough. The only drawback is we have to keep the frozen mice for the snakes in it, but that's not really a problem. And while we're down there I can have a nose round Lidl to see what their prices are like.

Jules

trigger_mike

check out iceland, we got a good size feezer for £129 from their, lot cheaper then comet, curry etc.

wigginsmum

Okay - will go have a look, thanks.

Jules