Looking to start a freezer cooking club?? Some clubs get pretty complicated in planning and prep. As moms of young kids, we chose to keep things as simple as possible. We just cook, trade and enjoy :) There's little planning involved. Here's our guidelines:
* Start by finding friends with similar food preferences. Ask on facebook, talk about it at your kids' sporting events, ask at church/MOPS/playdates/School events, etc. 6 people seemed ideal to us, because 6 meals are easy to make in one afternoon and 6 moms with their kids is about max for hosting playdates in our homes. Plus, since it's an even number, we can double recipes and cook them 3 times. So it's not much more effort to cook 6 meals than it would be to do 5.
* Set a budget. We budget about $10-$12 per meal, some groups spend more or less depending on their food preferences (i.e., if your group only eats organic, you'll spend more) and the area of the country (we have access to lots of cheap produce here in south TX). If a mom chooses to go over your budget, that's her choice. Try to keep packaging costs down by reusing disposable foil pans (they aren't dishwasher safe!). But most of the time, you can use ziploc freezer bags (they work better than store brand!! They don't tear or make food taste plasticy). And bags take up much less space than pans in a freezer! Just about any meal will fit in a bag - even casseroles. Just thaw and put in a pan when ready to reheat.
* Start by finding friends with similar food preferences. Ask on facebook, talk about it at your kids' sporting events, ask at church/MOPS/playdates/School events, etc. 6 people seemed ideal to us, because 6 meals are easy to make in one afternoon and 6 moms with their kids is about max for hosting playdates in our homes. Plus, since it's an even number, we can double recipes and cook them 3 times. So it's not much more effort to cook 6 meals than it would be to do 5.
* Set a budget. We budget about $10-$12 per meal, some groups spend more or less depending on their food preferences (i.e., if your group only eats organic, you'll spend more) and the area of the country (we have access to lots of cheap produce here in south TX). If a mom chooses to go over your budget, that's her choice. Try to keep packaging costs down by reusing disposable foil pans (they aren't dishwasher safe!). But most of the time, you can use ziploc freezer bags (they work better than store brand!! They don't tear or make food taste plasticy). And bags take up much less space than pans in a freezer! Just about any meal will fit in a bag - even casseroles. Just thaw and put in a pan when ready to reheat.
* Set a portion minimum. How many people should each meal feed? All our groups' meals feed at least 6 people because the largest family in our club is 6, so the smaller families get to enjoy leftovers.
* Since there are 6 moms in our club, so we each make the same meal 6 times. We tell other moms what we're planning to make a week ahead of time, so we don't have duplicates. We usually do this thru email or facebook.
* Once a month, we meet for a playdate & trade meals. We each bring a large cooler to keep our frozen meals cold while we chat and our kids play. Then we trade, set a date for next month and head home with a cooler full of meals.
* Vote on next month's meals. At your monthly meal swap, have each mom bring 2-3 recipe ideas for the following month. Vote as a group on what your family would enjoy most. This helps keep everyone happy and prevent duplicate meals.
* Vote on next month's meals. At your monthly meal swap, have each mom bring 2-3 recipe ideas for the following month. Vote as a group on what your family would enjoy most. This helps keep everyone happy and prevent duplicate meals.
SIDE NOTE: Our group tried making meals together on meal swap day. We brought our ingredients and cooked together. But we quickly learned that making meals in our own homes, on our own schedules, was the best fit for our families. Then we can relax and chat for a couple hours while our kids play on meal exchange days!
Great info. Thanks for putting it together!
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