I do like being set a challenge and this week I was challenged to cook a family meal from the freezer. That might not sound much of a challenge but we don’t tend to use the freezer for much more than ice creams, veg and the obligatory bag of chips. We all know frozen veg is very nutritious and picked, packed and frozen before the goodness is lost but we don’t really buy much frozen food and tend to live from the fridge and store cupboard. However with a busy household of five it actually makes sense to have more meals on standby. Therefore I wanted to see if we could have a tasty, healthy family feast from the freezer, one that everyone would enjoy and be filling at the same time. I got thinking and decided to do a couple of meals to see how far £25 would go. Therefore Erin and I hit the freezer aisles in anticipation, her first comment was that is was cold! The children love getting a chinese takeaway and especially love ribs, ribs are something I would never attempt to cook and so when I spotted some frozen ribs I thought we would try them. Frozen rice was the accompaniment of choice, a healthy option with some veg thrown in. To get more meal ideas you can take a peek at cool cookery which have some great family meals.
In this weather dessert could only be something with berries and ice-cream and again I thought frozen summer berries would be good healthy option. I found this lovely summer pudding in the form of Eaton Mess – I defy anyone not to enjoy it! However I did treat the children to some Ben and Jerry’s as I wanted the Eaton Mess!!! Another frozen food I spotted at the same time was smoothy packs – I thought these were a great idea as the children always want to buy expensive smoothies when we are in town. Therefore I am tempted to try these any make our own in the blender.
I also got some Harry Ramsden’s cod as I do like fish but again don’t have battered fish very often, it was a bit of a treat. Not quite as good as eating in one of his restaurants but not too far off it! Overall I have impressed myself, buying frozen was definitely cheaper than getting a takeaway and making the eaton mess myself. I was able to still provide the family with healthy food and I think I will stick to trying more frozen veg. The smoothie pack is on my next shopping list – I *may* need a bigger freezer now!
Disclosure: I was given £25 to purchase the frozen food for the challenge.
