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Many people complain that they don’t have time to eat healthfully or frugally. It’s easy to lapse into convenience food, which is both expensive and a poor nutritional choice. This tip at Bankrate suggests one way to combat these two problems is to practice once-a-month cooking:
Our family cooks all the dinners for the month on one day. [...] For a family of 4 (soon to be 5), I’ve been able to keep the cost of dinners down to around $80 per month. That includes meat meals 5 or 6 times a week and a starch, vegetable, and milk for everyone. It really stretches our food budget, relieves stress after a long day, and makes everyone happy since they know exactly what’s for dinner that night.
I shared a similar tip from my brother last June:
A few years ago, [my wife] got a book called Once-A-Month-Cooking. You can choose from a two-week cycle, a one-month cycle, or a low-fat cycle. You get all of your ingredients from the grocery store (a shopping list is included) and then spend eight grueling hours dirtying every pot, pan, and spatula you own. All of the meals are then frozen until they are needed. We always made the two-week option because we found that it lasted us at least a month (with leftovers and going out, etc).
I would have dismissed this idea out-of-hand when I was younger, but now the idea intrigues me. I see how it could save both time and money. I could never do this, though — I’m a moody eater. I generally crave specific foods, and that’s what I have to eat right now.
At Fractured Frugal Friends, Kim Tilley has posted a fantastic (and thorough) beginner’s guide to once-a-month cooking. She writes:
The most important tool in once-a-month cooking is your freezer, whether you have a large one or just the one on top of your refrigerator. Yes, you can fit a month’s worth of meals into that small freezer space — it just takes a little more creativity! [...] Please don’t be afraid to try once-a-month cooking. If a month’s worth of cooking is too much for you to even think about, try a week’s worth and see how you like it.
Tilley’s article offers a bonanza of tips. For example:
- Use master recipes. Base your cooking sessions around a master recipe each month, some main meal from which you can derive sub-recipes. For example, you might bake a ham and then prepare several dishes from the meat.
- Don’t overdo it. If cooking all of your food for a month seems daunting, then start smaller. Cook for just a week. Don’t cook or freeze things that don’t save time.
- Be organized. The first couple times you try once-a-month cooking can be overwhelming, but if you develop systems for shopping and preparation, the method really pays off.
If cooking in advance appeals to you, Tilley’s guide is an excellent place to start. (There’s also Once-a-Month Cooking World!)
Though Kris and I aren’t ready to make this leap yet, we do like the idea of a soup swap, which involves several families preparing large batches of their favorite soups, and then exchanging them with other participants. This sounds like a fun way to save money while trying new food.
June 15th, 2007 at 5:39 am
I’m thinking of doing this in my new house because I will have access to freezing space. I’ll need to investigate though because the sort of fridge/freezer I have room for in my kitchen measures 2ft wide by 2ft deep by 3 ft high and contains a dinky freezer compartment (about 6 inches high?).
June 15th, 2007 at 6:01 am
I like these ideas… except the soup swap on. I live with neighbors who make “ethnic” food. And although I love “ethnic” food occasionally… swapping with them on a weekly basis would drive me up the wall. Plus I’m sure they hate my food.
June 15th, 2007 at 6:34 am
I’ve been doing a modified once-a-month cooking process for the past year and a half. I can’t begin to tell you how much freedom and control it gives me. Freedom from having to cook every day or more often when I really dont’ feel like it. I love that right before I leave for work everyday, I can grab something for breakfast and lunch out of the freezer, toss it in my bag, and be out the door. Control because since I’m cooking, I use the ingredients I want to use so I can control nutrition and cost.
I generally cook twice a month. Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way:
1. Chile, wear good supportive shoes! I can’t emphasize this enough! I always wear gym shoes on days that I plan to cook a lot since I’m on my feet so much. I made the mistake of wearing flip flops or barefoot a couple times and my feet were KILLING me later.
2. Be particularly careful when removing those Glad/Ziploc containers in the freezer. I’ve lost several of them when they slipped out of my hands and proceeded to shatter all over the floor.
3. Do NOT over pack your freezer. Air needs to be able to circulate around your containers to freeze the contents.
I highly recommend folks give this method a try and modify it as they see fit. I think a lot of people could get a tremendous benefit from it.
June 15th, 2007 at 6:43 am
Oh, I forgot to add links to pics (because I’m a dork and TOTALLY geek out when it comes to food)
Futures lunches/dinners
My little assembly line
June 15th, 2007 at 6:58 am
My wife and I have this book and are going to attempt to start it to coincide with our second child’s birth (we hope to be a few days into a month when the baby arrives).
June 15th, 2007 at 7:12 am
In the past we have tried the one-week cooking experiment; didn’t work for us for the same reason you mentioned - we are moody eaters. Once a month looks way beyond us.
Plus, the joy of eating fresh cooked meals is just out of this world - so we end up cooking about 5 ~ 6 days a week - it takes time and efforts, but we don’t mind it.
June 15th, 2007 at 7:34 am
I’ve also done modified once-a-month cooking. I would make 25 breakfast burritos and a couple of entrees that would give me 10-12 portions each. It was great for busy weeks, although sometimes I would get tired of the same type of dish. Before you start, look around for a list of what freezes well and what doesn’t–lettuce, tomato, egg, mashed potato, etc, do NOT hold up well when frozen and don’t taste good when thawed out.
Sometimes all I would make is a casserole, cut it up into individual portion sizes, and leave it to defrost in the fridge in the morning. I’d come home, make potatoes or a side dish, heat up the individual casserole, and have dinner in 10 minutes. I haven’t had a chance to get back to it since moving a month ago, but it was great.
June 15th, 2007 at 7:35 am
I have local friends who have a once weekly Soup Group, of four families. They each therefore host the group once a month. More than exchanging food, it creates a cheap way to get together, let the kids romp, and have some adult conversation. You can imagine how connected they all are over time! Offerings change with the season.
June 15th, 2007 at 7:41 am
I hadn’t heard of this before, but for years I have cooked large enough meals on the weekend to eat during the week. I may still cook or put together something quick on a weeknight, but the majority is done. And it’s not so much in advance that I can’t satisfy cravings as they occur. I also occasionally freeze a few portions of a really good meal, for a week after a busy weekend, or in case I get sick. Both these things might work better for you if a month seems like too much.
June 15th, 2007 at 7:55 am
One easier, lower key alternative to this is simply to double your recipe the next time you make a casserole or stew and put aside the extra to freeze. It really takes almost no more time to make two lasagnas instead of one and they hold up well in the freezer. I freeze the servings individually so that my boyfriend and I can each pick what we want from our stash of homemade frozen dinners. I also eat homemade muffins every morning, so I always make two dozen at a time and freeze them. I have yet to do a true mega-session where I can buy in bulk to save money on ingredients, but the time savings alone makes this a worthwhile approach for me. It also is a great stress reliever as I always have meals on hand when I am sick, busy, or just have come home from work and don’t want to have to think about dinner (which is basically every day for me). Not everyone would be as happy as I am eating a one-dish meal every night, of course, but I find this works great for me. And in combination with meal planning, I avoid stupid impulse purchases of crap food in the grocery store, too.
June 15th, 2007 at 9:43 am
There are many people where I work that prepares their food ahead time. They do it for one week, rather than the whole month though.
What we do is make prepare half of our dishes ahead of time, and then we would add one dish every night so there is some variety. Doing this takes more time but it works well for us since we would really drive ourselves crazy if we eat the same thing for one whole month.
June 15th, 2007 at 10:01 am
I am sure you all have spoken about how to save money at home by cooking more and eating out less. Can anyone offer any advice/suggestions for a young couple. We just got married and both work. We have such busy lives that when we get home, we don’t feel like cooking and just eat out. Last month alone we spent $1100 on the both of us for groceries and eating out. It’s insane and I don’t know how to fix it! Any advice and any healthy recipes for weekly or monthly cooking?
June 15th, 2007 at 10:18 am
[...] A Beginner’s Guide to Once-a-Month Cooking ? Get Rich Slowly (tags: finance food tips cooking) [...]
June 15th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Most people have the time to cook everyday, they just don’t want to. I’ll tell you one thing, it makes a big difference in your physical health. It’s sad to see people dependent on eating out 5 or more days a week.
June 15th, 2007 at 10:57 am
I’m also a moody eater, and so is my wife. This would never work with us. Food is an area where I don’t have much to cut back, so I look for other ways. I also try to eat for health over price. I consider both, but if price is the only issue I could find cheap garbage rather easily.
I try to eat foods as fresh as possible( frozen works sometimes though), use as little dishes to make the least mess, things that can be made in 20 minutes or so.
My wife likes to make elaborate things that I consider unhealthy, take several pots and pans, a lot of time,etc.
I on the other hand, prefer simple food. Like fish and vegetables or chicken and vegetables, eggs, etc. And I can eat the same thing over and over if I mix it up some, rotate side dishes,etc.
June 15th, 2007 at 11:29 am
There’s an even more basic alternative than once-a-month cooking or even weekly cooking: Just cook up a bunch of separate ingredients on the weekend and then you can throw them together in different ways during the week. We’ll often cook up a big pot of homemade beans or rice or potatoes or whatever, and then during the week use it as part of a recipe. One of the biggest drawbacks of cooking during the week without having these pre-cooked ingredients on hand is you have to sit around and wait 35 minutes to make brown rice, 45 minutes to make a potato, etc. When the basic ingredients are in the fridge and all ready to go, it cuts down on the cooking time by a ton. And plus, since you’ve only pre-cooked basic ingredients and not whole dishes, you can still have lots of variety during the week.
June 15th, 2007 at 11:48 am
I do a mini version of this all the time. My husband doesn’t like many of the things I like, and we generally eat separate meals for every meal. Unless I make pizza.
Anyway, when I make chili, he will eat it once and then the rest is leftovers. I freeze that and eat it for lunches and dinners throughout the next week or so. When I make soup for myself, I freeze it, too. I am not really a mood eater, though. I can see how this would really not work for someone who is fussy. Hopefully the fussy people are frugal in other ways. 
June 15th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
Mseth – congratulations on your new marriage! My husband and I also both work, and it is tempting to just order in on a regular basis, so I have become the Queen of quick and easy. Probably the most used tool in my kitchen is the countertop “grill”. I use it 3-4 nights a week. It’s just the right size for cooking for 2, it’s easy to clean, doesn’t take up too much space, and since it cooks from the top and the bottom, food cooks in half the time. We use those bottled 10 minute marinades, and I’ll preheat the grill and prep a salad or other side dish while it marinates, and then dinner is done 10 minutes later – about 20 minutes grand total. Another thing we keep on hand for when we’re REALLY beat are those Bertolli frozen-dinner-in-a-bag things. Seriously quick and easy there, but I try not to take advantage of those too often.
As for cooking ahead – you could make a big pot roast on the weekend and have Sunday dinner. If you use a crock-pot (I’m sure you have one-I got six when we got married
) then this is a really low maintenance dinner. Then pull apart the leftovers into strings and make cheese-steak sandwiches another night. Brown up a double batch of plain ground turkey for spaghetti one night, then season the other half with a packet of taco seasoning later in the week. Grill some extra chicken to make chicken salad for lunches. Make meatloaf on the weekend – it’s a little time/labor intensive, but nothing beats meatloaf sandwiches, or you could crumble up leftovers to put in a pasta sauce or top a pizza.
It can be done even for busy young couples. It takes a little practice and advanced planning, but it’s worth it. I know when we first started staying home more, it was actually really nice to eat at home, as we were sick of all the restaurants. And now eating out once a week or so is a nice treat, and we can afford to go somewhere nicer if we want. Hope that helps some, good luck!
June 15th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
For the newlyweds, various ideas: Check out Desperation Dinners and the Monday-to-Friday Cookbooks for quick meals. Make a big pot of beans once a week–these can easily be turned into burritos with beans and salsa. You can also cook a big pot of rice and use it through the week. Buy a rump roast or brisket and make a pot roast in the slow cooker–you’ll get lots of varied meals out of that. Buy a preroasted chicken and eat it the first night. Make soup with the carcass, left-over meat and whatever else you feel like throwing in it the next night.
I am a frugal home cook and because I coordinate meals, it doesn’t take much time. The Once A Month Cooking may be too fussy for some (it is for me), but you can probably eat well for about 25% of what you are spending on food.
Good luck and bon appetit!
June 15th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
I live alone and since most recipes make 4-6 portions I would get tired of eating the same leftovers for a week. I started doing the once-a-month cooking about a year ago and it is great. I freeze meals in individual portions and make 5-6 different recipes at a time, so I can eat a different meal every day.
I tend to spread the work out over two days: the first day I shop and prepare all the ingredients (e.g.cut up vegetables for all the recipes); the second day I do all the cooking. Also, I agree with Shaz, you have to wear comfortable shoes when you do this.
June 15th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
P.S. I often just buy frozen mixed vegetables and add them to my individual meals before putting them in the freezer (without cooking or thawing the vegetables), this is am easy way for me to eat healthier and frozen vegetables come in much better varieties than they used to.
June 15th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
@Mseth:
I totally used to be in your position — I did freelance music work that involved a certain amount of daily travel and started my writing work at the same time, and my husband worked at a startup. A few years later, our grocery budget is down to $75 a week, and we eat out pretty rarely — and I’m a food snob on a restricted diet.
My best advice is to figure out what you can make in 15-25 minutes or less. And tell yourself, when you don’t feel like cooking, that that’s less time than you could possibly spend waiting for takeout or delivery or going out. Because it’s true.
Here are just a few meals that fall within those parameters (you can find recipes online or pick up a good solid cookbook like *The New Best Recipe* or Mark Bittman’s *How to Cook Everything*)
* Frittatas are great for almost any vegetable, cheese, or meat.
* Couscous is almost instant (I can’t eat wheat anymore, but I lived off the stuff in college). Add toasted pinenuts and a vegetable.
* Polenta with sliced tomatoes and wilted spinach
* Pan-fried or broiled fish filets. Serve with a citrus vinaigrette and any side dish you like.
* Pasta with homemade pesto sauce or just fresh tomatoes and garlic and oil
* Pan-seared rib-eye, finished under the broiler, with a reduced red wine pan sauce finished with some cold butter and chives. Serve with some sauteed mushrooms and blanched asparagus. (You can make this entire meal in 20 minutes).
* A big salad with artichoke hearts, a great cheese, some avocados, and whatever fresh vegetables are in season.
Since you’re used to going out every night, maybe try hitting the grocery twice a week — that way, you can adjust to what you haven’t eaten and food won’t go bad. And maybe *plan* on going out one night a week and look forward to it. You might also buy a nice bottle of wine to have with dinner some nights so eating at home won’t feel like a deprivation.
June 15th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
One thing not mentioned above (I think) is the use of a vacuum food-saver. My aunt & uncle have one and swear by it. It extends the life of foods in the freezer and makes reheating a breeze. Their tip for reheating is to boil the bags, instead of putting them in the microwave (which apparently alters the flavor).
I occasionally grill a weeks worth of chicken parts (discounted family size packages) and individually wrap them for freezing. When I reheat in the microwave, I do it low & slow: Instead of a 1 minute nuke, I’ll do 4-5 minutes @ 40%.
June 15th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
I started “freezer cooking” about 7 years ago. I must tell you that I am a food snob and have over 100 vintage cookbooks. Up until a couple of months ago, I worked -very- long days and would be exhausted by the time I battled Los Angeles traffic and finally arrive home. Freezer cooking allows me to have -delicious- food that is good for me on those days when I am too tired to cook.
I think OAMC (once a month cooking) has a bad reputation, as if you are locked into eating food that is bland or that you are not interested in eating. On the contrary, it liberates you from having the “same-old-same-old” because it is easy to fix. For instance, if I’m in the mood for one of my favorites–chicken in dijon sauce–I take it out of the freezer and reheat it slowly while I cook some real potatoes or rice and a green vegetable. Dinner is on the table in no time. So, the craving excuse of wanting certain foods doesn’t work because you can have what you want!
Here’s something to think about, most people eat the same 7-10 things over and over again. Women’s magazines from my childhood used to call them “family favorites.” I think it is because we just like them and eat them over and over again (even if we go out to eat!). You can create a modified version of freezer cooking by taking your favorite freezer friendly dishes (as someone noted, there are certain foods that just don’t translate well to the freezer), whipping them up on one day, and popping them into the freezer. Then, when you are in the mood for that dish, it is already there for you. Beats eating out and is -wayyyy- better for you than processed food.
Finally, this kind of cooking came to our rescue this past week. We had lots of chicken soup in the freezer (noodles to be added during reheating). Both my husband and I were stricken with a stomach virus this week and it was so nice being able to just reach into the freezer and have good old homemade chicken soup. We’re out of it now, but that’s okay because freezer cooking really is more flexible than one expects it to be.
Oh, I also agree with the person who says two weeks of “freezer food” usually lasts for a month.
Can you tell I’m sold on this? I don’t follow the OAMC rules to the T, but I’ve made it work for me (and I’ve made it rhyme, too!)
Julie
June 15th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
theres a bunch of places by us called dinner by design. Basically they make up a menu and you pick 12 things. You go in there for about 3 hours and prepare all of them and take them home and freeze them. If your really lazy you pay extra and they’ll prep them for you. Its about $225 for 12 meals which feed 4-6 people or you can split them and get 24 meals. We do this once in a while when I know I’m going to be working crazy overtime at work for the next month or so (70+ hours a week) For $225 we get 24 meals plus theres usually leftovers for lunch the next day.
June 15th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Cooking for a whole month seems a bit much to me, but I do occasionally cook large batches of food and freeze for later use. I’m much more into cooking for a week (or every ten days), with some wiggle room for spontaneous, fresh dishes and restaurant excursions. I rarely freeze when I’m cooking for the week; the fridge does just fine.
June 15th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
I sometimes do cooking for a month. But I find that I don’t really like frozen food. I grew up with fresh food and there are a lot of things I don’t like once they’ve been frozen. I do freeze spaghetti sauce, chili and soup. But many other things turn me off.
I am really interested in how to cook a meal quickly and easily. I like roasts, since I can just throw everything in one pot — but that means I need to have 3 hours ahead of me. Sometimes, that just doesn’t work. And it isn’t pleasant to have a hot kitchen in the summer.
What quick and easy fresh food ideas do you have? I recently discovered I could buy a roast chicken from the store, eat it for dinner, make chicken salad sandwiches the next day, burritos for dinner that night, then boil it all and turn it into soup for the third day.
What are your favourite quick, healthy meals?
June 15th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
I have a bunch of food restrictions that limit what i can and can’t eat… namely on my list of NO are: wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, tomatoes, potatoes and eggs.
Doesn’t leave much left, does it!? But I’ve learned a few things that have helped me:
- beans are my friend… buy dried in bulk and cook them up in large amounts yourself…throw them into the freezer in containers the same size as a can.. you can save a heap of money this way
- buy meats that aren’t chopped up into little bits, and do the chopping. chicken breasts with the bones in are often 1/3 of the cost of those with the bones out.. and then you can use the bones for soup later.
- the best thing since sliced bread - literally - vermicelli. takes 5 minutes to cook up these rice noodles, they are super light and very versatile. you can cool them down and make a salad or a rice wrap with them; or eat them warm with a stir-fry.
- clean up all your veggies once you buy them! that way, once a week cooking isn’t so horrendous
- soup stock: here’s what I do: all that once a week veggie processing that I do, I wash everything up beforehand really well. then, the stuff that I don’t want to put into a salad or cook, I throw into a baggie in the freezer. then when its soup stock time, i throw all those leftover veggies into the stock - no wasting good veg for the stock, and then its super easy. i do the same with bones from meat as well.
- i also try to keep dry milk and dry coconut milk powder on hand - nice for some recipes
I pretty much cook twice a month for the big things (soup, casseroles, etc) but honestly my other meals only take 20 min to cook, so it doesn’t bother me that much.
My quick meals:
- quick chicken chili - use black beans, precooked chicken meat and whatever veg in the fridge, cook for 30 min max
- tofu stirfry with vermicelli ( flavour how ever you like, thai/asian/hot)
June 16th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Wouldn’t this require a huge freezer? We like fresh meals too… but we will premake spaghetti sauce, etc. and use it forever.
Maybe I’ll feel different when we have nice kitchen + side by side fridge/freezer in the new house.
June 17th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
You know, I make some very good soups! Count us in on the soup exchange . . .
June 21st, 2007 at 7:56 pm
[...] from Get Rich Slowly posted a great article earlier this month about once-a-month cooking. I think this might be a little extreme for me [...]
June 29th, 2007 at 5:34 am
[...] Food Bookmarks: del.icio.us, reddit A while back over at Get Rich Slowly, J.D. talked about once a month cooking, which refers to a process of doing most of the effort for a month’s worth of home-cooked [...]
July 9th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
This is yet another money-saving idea for people who have already reached the #1 thing people these days save money for: owning a home. People in apartments don’t have the freedom (or space) to install a freezer big enough to hold 120 pre-prepared dinners.
July 10th, 2007 at 12:15 am
[...] writing this put on my glasses, expanded, and proofread this entry] Operative Elliott and I are grilling chicken and I’m soaking up as much sun as I can in shorts and no bikini wax. The BQE is surprisingly not [...]
August 18th, 2007 at 8:12 am
[...] Via Get Rich Slowly. [...]
October 15th, 2007 at 2:50 am
I recycle my glad freezer bags that have not stored meat per Amy Dacyzin’s Tightwad Gazette. I try not to throw away or use plastic bags by using pyrex bowl with lids as much as possible. I can clean and prepare a dish and freeze it until I am ready to steam or bake in the same container minus the lid.
August 2nd, 2008 at 10:30 pm
[...] me to pack more lunches and curb my urges to eat out. Hopefully, I can attempt the “Once-a-Month-Cooking.” Eventually…. « Another [...]