Mamavation Monday: Once a Month Cooking

Probably the most complicated part of healthy cooking is that it is time consuming – and we are always busy and always on the run. Few days ago I was running late – at 7 pm I was on the way home with kids strapped in their car seats and I knew I had nothing to eat at home. At that point drive though seemed like a perfect option, but I felt the gult of poisoning my kids with trans fats and hydrogenated oils. Unfortunately, we live in a society that never has enough hours in a day. We have so much to do and so little time to get it done – that’s why fast food industry has done so well loading us with fattening, unhealthy, processed meals. No reason to argue – home cooked meals taste better, but honestly, who has the time?

Have you ever considered cooking and freezing? I have, but I always felt that it is too complicated. However, here are few good reasons to give this idea a try:

Save time: cooking multiple meals at the same time will save you time on the long run.
Save money: If you only shop for the items on the list, you won’t have the time or money to buy extra food you don’t need
Save space: Cooking in bulk will help organizing kitchen space
Portion control: When you prepare your meals ahead of time, you can portion control your cooking. If you only have so much food to begin with, you can’t get more.

Special Guest: Tricia Callahan (@onceamonthmom)

Tricia is an avid once a month cook (also referred to as OAMC, bulk cooking, power cooking and freezer cooking), who loves having food in the freezer for easy meals. She has taken this love into the baby realm and started preparing once a month baby food menus as well. Tricia is Founder of Once A Month Mom a freezer cooking website dedicated to helping families lift the burden of meal planning and preparation by providing monthly menus using seasonal recipes to create ready-to-heat and serve meals. She has authored two ebooks, Survive Before 5: Toddler Meals for Busy Your Busy Days and Holiday eCookbook 2010. She lives in Dayton, Ohio with her husband and two young children. They enjoy all things food, Apple and escaping to the beach.

“I love the Lord and am so blessed to be able to stay home with my little one, to be learning how to save money, trying to make the most out of life, and doing the “chores” once a month so I can enjoy more time with my family!”

MAMAVATION TV: Join us Monday night at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Mingle Media TV.

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by Handi-Foil.

Two blogging carnival participants will each receive a set of disposable freezer containers by Handi-Foil. To be eligible answer put the following disclaimer in your weekly Mamavation blog post and link back to Mamavation site.

“This post is sponsored by Handi-Foil and hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway” at the bottom of your post. Link up your post here.

SISTAHOOD: If you are interested in pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood, Monday is the time to do it. Please go here for instructions. Invitations are done on Wednesdays over Twitter. (Or later if I get swamped)

GIVEAWAYS (You must attend Mamavation TV show to win):

A set of Freezer containers by Handi-Foil Company (2 winner)

To Enter (leave a comment for entry):

Hit the Linky
Tweet out this message “Giveaways LIVE on #Mamavation TV Join us 4 cooking chat w @onceamonthmom. This week sponsored by @HandiFoil. Join us! http://bit.ly/HhyXVe” (Unlimited Entries for tweets)

Extra Entries (leave a comment for EVERY entry):
Download the Alexa tool bar, http://www.alexa.com/toolbar (this will help your Alexa rating go up and will help Mamavation too!) (1 entry)

Comment on a Mamavation Monday post. (2 entries for each blog you visit)
Tell a Sista this week WHY she is special on twitter using the #mamavation hashtag (1 entry)
Subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog (1 entry)
Follow @InspiredRD on Twitter (1 entry)
Fan Eco-Foil on Facebook (1 entry)
Fan Once a Month Mom on Facebook (1 entry)
Give @Bookieboo Klout points, +Klout in Fitness, nutrition, health, social media, or parenting. (1 entry each)