Some time ago I read a series of social media posts from an author on how they manage writing while holding down a day job. They said they wrote only on weekends, as their Monday to Friday job left them too tired in the evening to even cook dinner, and they ate takeout on those nights.

Reader, my thrifty Chinese single mom self recoiled. Takeout five nights a week, in this economy?? 

To be fair, I don’t know what this person’s day job is, or when they get off of work. When I worked 12-hour days at a digital agency I ate A LOT of Subway for dinner at my desk at work. (Subway sandwiches now taste like Photoshop and defeat to me.) This person also alluded to roommates, so it’s possible cooking in a shared space is difficult.

I remember the excruciating weight of the mental load when I was married, as during the day I tried to recall what was in the fridge, and what I could possibly cook with those ingredients after work that would satisfy the dietary wants and needs of myself, my then-husband, and a toddler. I probably spent more time thinking about dinner than my actual job. The mental load, not the act of cooking itself, sucked up all my energy.

So this is how I handle feeding myself and my kid, without relying too much on convenience foods, so it alleviates that mental load and frees up more of my time for writing.

(YMWV, of course. You may have family members who refuse to eat the same thing week after week. I’m lucky that there’s only two of us and my kid thrives on routine. Or maybe you really love cooking and trying new recipes. Or maybe convenience foods help keep you sane. No judgement; I fill in the gaps with the occasional instant ramen cup and boxed mac and cheese.)

Step 1: Meal plan

Everyone says to come up with a meal plan, but it didn’t work for me until I read advice to keep it open-ended. You don’t have to decide to make that labour-intensive brown-butter five-mushroom, fennel and asparagus casserole on Monday, leeks with sumac, parmesan and pine nuts on Tuesday. Each day can be more of a theme, like:

• Pasta (I do this on Mondays, because it’s easy and Mondays are always a drag)
• Tex-Mex (think tacos, quesadillas, nachos, beans and rice)
• Fried rice (can be really quick with frozen shrimp, peas, and corn on hand)
• Breakfast for dinner (pancakes, scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausages, whatever you like!)
• Stir-fry (a protein and veggies over noodles or rice)
• Pizza (I do this on Saturdays, when there’s time to make pizza dough. Or maybe this is the day you get delivery as a treat)
• Fish (a nice piece of salmon, or fish sticks from frozen, it’s up to you!)

You can probably think of more options, like a salad bowl day, or soup and sandwich day, or slow cooker stew day. The above list is just what my kid will eat. 

When the themes are loose like that, it makes it easier to narrow down what to eat. You don’t even need a complex recipe, a lot of dishes can be just thrown together. Which brings me to my next step…

Step 2: Freeze EVERYTHING

(Again, YMMV. I’m in a household of two with a picky kid, so I freeze a lot of food because we don’t eat it fast enough. I imagine if you have to feed a hungry family of four, it’ll be hard to keep ahead of their appetites. Also, food prep takes time, and not everyone can afford an Instant Pot or spare an afternoon to batch cook beans and rice and soup.)

One of the most game-changing things I ever did for myself was buy a bunch of 8-oz deli containers off Amazon. They’re perfect for single servings. I don’t always eat what I cook for my kid, as he has different wants and needs. I also love the Ziploc 2-cup round containers, which stack well with deli containers, and you bet I save every deli container on the rare times I get takeout. And deli container lids usually fit other deli containers, so you don’t have fuss about keeping those organized.

(I know it’s better to store food in glass instead of plastic, but my freezer is packed and I live in fear of things falling out. I’m in a condo and can’t keep a chest freezer.) 

Although they’re transparent and it’s easy to distinguish the contents, I’ll still use painters’ tape and a Sharpie to label some of the containers so I don’t have to think too hard when I’m searching through them. (I started cutting the tape with scissors instead of tearing after watching The Bear.)

So what do I freeze?

Rice

Both brown and white. I store in 8oz containers for single servings, and 16oz containers for larger servings. Once thawed, reheat in a covered dish with a dash of water for a steaming effect.

Cheese

Full fat freezes best. Divide one of those big 400g blocks (sorry, I don’t know how cheese is packaged outside Canada) into thirds, grate, store in 8oz containers. You’ll have to stuff the shreds in, and that’s okay. One container is enough for a standard round pizza, or a pot of mac and cheese, or a tray of nachos. 

I haven’t tried freezing pre-shredded cheese, but it probably won’t freeze as well because they add cellulose so the shreds won’t stick together. Also, it’s more expensive!

Beans and chickpeas

I batch cook in my Instant Pot and freeze in 8oz or 16oz containers, in their liquid to avoid freezerburn. A 16oz or 2-cup container is roughly the amount of one can.

Soup and chili

I often make pulse-based soups in the Instant Pot, like lentil or split pea. These freeze beautifully. Store in 8oz containers for a small bowl, 16oz if you like a large serving. I freeze Thai carrot soup and leek and potato soup too, but be warned that potato texture changes after freezing. Potatoes in your soup or chili will disintegrate a little, you’ll just have to live with it.

Thaw completely before use if you like, but I find it very satisfying to upend a frozen soup puck into a bowl before microwaving. This makes a quick, nourishing meal when I’m working from home or if I don’t want to eat whatever I’ve made for my kid.

Indian takeout

My kid won’t try Indian food so I can’t eat it fast enough. Again, since pulses freeze well, I’ll freeze dal, chana, and even paneer dishes in 8oz containers. If I feel like having Indian, I’ll take out a container of takeout and another of rice. Easy peasy.

Garlic

I don’t use up heads of garlic quickly enough, so I buy pre-peeled cloves and stick them in the freezer. No need to thaw, they’re easy to mince while still frozen.

Home-baked goods

There’s only two of us, so half the batch of cookies goes in the freezer in a Ziploc bag. It’s also a good strategy for keeping them out of sight so you’re not grabbing a cookie every time you pass the kitchen. 

Kid won’t touch loaves or muffins, so if I bake banana bread for myself, most of that goes in the freezer too. I’ve also frozen cinnamon buns and frosted cupcakes, placing a single one inside a 2-cup container so I can take one out whenever I want a treat.

Pasta sauce

If a buy a jar of pasta sauce, I’ll freeze half of it in a 16oz or 2-cup container, as half the jar is enough for the two of us. I also make my own (Jamie Oliver’s 7-veg pasta sauce) in the Instant Pot and freeze in 2-cup containers.

Breakfast sandwiches

I make egg-and-cheese English muffin breakfast sandwiches to take to the office, and freeze them in 8oz or 12oz deli containers. More about this in a future post or newsletter.

Pizza dough

I make pizza dough in my bread machine, but it also easily comes together in a stand mixer. (Or by hand, so I’ve heard.) One batch makes a very thick-crust round pizza, so I divide in half for a thinner crust and put the rest in the freezer, tightly wrapped in plastic and stowed in a Ziploc bag. I put it in the fridge to thaw the day before, and morning of put it in a bowl, covered with its plastic wrap, and let it come to room temperature. (Cold dough won’t roll out properly.) 

Shredded chicken

I’m pescaterian, but I’ve started making chicken for my kid. I buy chicken thighs, cook them in the Instant Pot, and then shred and freeze in 8oz containers (roughly one thigh per container). I add it to rice and vegetables for him.

Other things in my freezer:

• Frozen shrimp
• Salmon filets
• Frozen peas
• Frozen corn
• Frozen dumplings and/or har gow
• Half-portions of stuff I can’t use up all at once, like coconut milk, diced tomatoes, ground round
• Leftover tomato paste in ice cube trays, covered with a little olive oil to help prevent freezerburn
• Butter (butter is expensive, best to stock up during sales and throw it in the freezer)
• Half a loaf of bread that was going to go stale, that I will probably forget about and have to throw out six months later

Step 3: Put it together

When I know what’s coming up during the week, I can take out the necessary ingredients from the freezer beforehand and put them in the fridge to defrost. For example, for Pasta Monday and Taco Tuesday, I take out the pasta sauce, ground round, cheese and black beans on Sunday. Wednesday I take out the rice for Thursday’s fried rice. Friday I take out the pizza dough, shredded mozzarella, and pepperoni for pizza on Saturday. I write this down in my agenda, but you could set up calendar reminders if you want.

For veggies, I’ll usually stir-fry something on the weekend and we’ll eat it on the side during the week. I confess I’m not always on the ball about that. If I’m feeling lazy, it’ll be steamed broccoli, bagged coleslaw, or just a bunch of baby carrots.

Anyhow, that’s how I do it. With a combination of meal planning and freezing, I don’t waste a lot of energy thinking about what to make for dinner. Cooking becomes more reheating and assembling. Which might horrify some people, but they’re not the ones solo parenting with a day job and other commitments. I can cook; I’m not bad at it. But there are other things I’d rather be doing.