Meal Prepping!

MEAL PREPPING FOR SURGERY

I'll be the first to admit that I don't like to cook, but it's a necessary evil. I cannot stress enough how important it is to be as stress-free as possible for your recovery! Meals ARE stressful, and you need three of them a day!  I decided to take the stress off me and my husband by doing some freezer meals meal prep prior to the surgery.  

There are SO many ways that you can do this, but I decided to go the slow cooker route--and so I prepared meals raw and froze them. This allowed for easy cooking--we just thawed out what we wanted to cook the night before in the fridge, put it in the slow cooker the next morning, and voila! our meals were ready by dinnertime.  When planned right, it really can be a life saver. Most of the meals are good for 3 months, so even if you don't use them all, they have a great freezer life.

Prepping away!

My original plan was to do a few meals every weekend leading up to the surgery, but I realized it was just easier to figure out what I wanted to prep, make a massive shopping list and get everything at the same time, and just knock it out. I made 20 meals, and it took me most of one Saturday.

Here are some of the items I used to store the meals:

• Vacuum Sealer--there are a variety of these machines out there, but I bought a super economical handheld one that got the job done great. Getting the extra air out of the bags really extends the life and avoids freezer burn!
• Vacuum Sealer Bags - the gallon size are the perfect size for the meals.
• Labels--once I figured out what I wanted to make, I just typed the cooking instructions on the label and stuck it to the bag--super easy for my husband, lol!

Again--there are TONS of recipes and meals you can make, but here are some links to some great recipes that I used:

• 31 Crockpot Freezer Meals for Busy Days - Thirty HandMade Meals
• 25 Slow Cooker Meals You Can Freeze Raw - The Family Freezer
• 72 Crockpot Freezer Meals - Sidetracked Sarah

Recovery is stressful enough--take the burden off by planning some yummy meals that take minimal effort!

The thrill of success! I put this on our deep freezer so we know what we have!