Freezer February – Money Saving Challenge!

This month’s meal planning is going to look a little different because we will be working on eating through our freezer! Thanks to the Home-Cooked Roots Meal Planning Method, I’ve been able to stock our freezer full of quite a few meals and it’s gotten pretty packed.

To maximize our grocery savings this month and clear out the freezer for a new rotation of meals this spring, our goal is to eat through our freezer stash as much as possible and shop for just the bare necessities.

Join me with for a freezer February challenge!

The Details

I don’t know about you, but I love to have a few guidelines to follow when completing a new challenge. It helps me stay on track and measure how I did at the end of the month.

If you want to follow along and participate (or simply are just curious!), here’s how it’s going to work:

1. Make an inventory list of EVERYTHING in your freezer, fridge, and pantry. And I really mean everything!!! Trust me, this isn’t my favorite thing to do either, but it is the essential first step.
2. Sit down with this list and write down a list of meals that you can make with no additional shopping. This can be freezer meals that are already pre-made or ingredients that you have on hand that can make a full meal.
3. Next, make a list of meals that you could make if you were to pick up 1-3 additional ingredients. For example, if you have burger patties in the freezer and would just need buns and a few toppings to make it a meal, write that down!
4. Determine a realistic weekly grocery budget that will cover fresh produce, supplemental dinner ingredients, and breakfast/snacks. For our family of 2, I am setting this at $37/week for a monthly budget of roughly $150. Note: this budget amount is going to look different for everyone based on dietary needs, size of family, location, and how much you have in your freezer to work with.
5. Set a savings goal! The whole purpose of paying attention to your spending is to intentionally spend money on things that matter to you. For us, we’re working on paying off our home mortgage and I’m setting the additional payment goal for February to $350 ($500 typical food budget – $150 reduced February food budget = $350 savings). For you it could be saving for a vacation, a new couch, new clothing you’ve had your eye on, an emergency fund, etc!
6. Find a friend to keep you accountable! It’s always more fun to do a challenge with a friend anyway.
7. Tag me in your dinner pics! Nothing would make me happier than seeing what you make every night. Give me a tag at #homecookedroots on Instagram!

Dinners I Can Make from the Freezer

1. Red Lentil Curry x2
2. Vegan Taco Soup
3. Vegan Minestrone Soup
4. Vegan Lentil Soup
5. Peanut Stew
6. Sofritas Tacos or Burrito Bowls
7. Kidney Bean Burgers
8. Chickpea Meatloaf
9. Split Pea Soup
10. Vegetarian 13 Bean Chili
11. White Bean Chili
12. Balsamic Tempeh
13. Spaghetti and Meatballs
14. Vegan Sesame Chicken with Rice
15. Pizza x3
16. Jackfruit Enchiladas
17. Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Casserole
18. Vegan “Beef” and Broccoli
19. Vegan Meatball Subs
20. Vegan Mongolian Beef Noodles
21. BBQ Soy Curl or Tempeh Sandwiches
22. Beyond Meat Burgers and Fries

It’s honestly more than I thought! Based on this list, I should be able to make it through a majority of the month without having to shop for full dinners.

Follow me on Instagram to see how I do! I’ll be regularly checking in sharing what I make for dinner + how much I’ve spent at the grocery store every week!

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