Welcome to part 2 of meal co-ops. In the first part, I explained what a meal co-op is and how it can save you on money and time. If you missed that first article, you can just click here: Meal Co-Ops (1).
We left off explaining how each member of the co-op picks a different day to share meals. Now, let’s continue.
For example, let’s say that you pick Tuesday and have three members of your co-op. On Monday night, you bulk cook baked ziti. You put together a salad and bread to go with the meal. You package the meals into three separate packages. One of the meals will be for your own family. On Tuesday morning on your way out to do errands, you deliver the two other meals to your co-op members. They do the same on the other nights. You’ll love it when it is around 4 p.m. and you know that you can read an extra story to your child or read a book yourself, since a delicious dinner is on its way to your door.
Cooking the night before may be best for some members, while others will cook and prepare the meals in the morning. Do whatever works best for you, your family and your schedule.
There are many meals that can easily be doubled or tripled without much extra work. A turkey can be cooked and distributed into many meals, pasta dishes can be easily made in bulk, crockpot meals, roasts, breaded chicken, vegetarian meals, etc. Buy your ingredients in bulk, and you will save even more.
One thing to note when doubling or tripling some recipes. You can easily over season your food if you double or triple spices, so use just a little less.
It helps to pick members of the co-op with similar family size and taste to yours. It can be fun to try new types of meals, so with the exception of considerations for food allergies, I usually welcome different meals.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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