Close your eyes and imagine walking into the kitchen once a month to cook dinner. Oh the thought huh? It can be more than a thought it can be a reality. On top of that those meals can be nutritious. Impossible to do you might say. No it’s a real possibility and it can save you time, money and energy too. There are numerous people doing it all around the world. Meal preparation is an important factor when trying to plan for a family or a stressful month. The more prepared you are, the easier it will be to have great-tasting and healthy food on hand even when you don’t feel like cooking.

This little feat can be accomplished two ways. The first is to prepare, cook and freeze. This gives you a meal that can be reheated in a flash. The second is to prepare, freeze and then cook. There are benefits to each. Let’s take a look.

Cook First and then Reheat

For those with time constraints, such as a second job, kid’s soccer practice or even a late night out with friends, cooking first is the way to go. Just as the title conveys, this involves cooking all of the food first, letting it cool down and then storing it in the freezer to be used at a later date. The best part about this preparation method is the almost-instant door to table effect.

Since this food is already cooked, it only needs to be warmed up to your liking which can be accomplished within a few moments of walking in the door. Unlike the freeze first method there is no fresh cooking. If you are not a fan of eating leftovers, this may not be the ideal preparation method for you.

Freeze First and then Cook

Combining all of the ingredients into a big pan and then freezing is a great way to have a home cooked meal on limited time. These meals can be prepared well in advance, taken out to thaw that morning. At dinnertime they can be easily slipped into the oven to cook through. This completely cuts out the prep time for that meal on that given day. Imagine getting home from work and pulling the bake set out of the refrigerator and popping it in the oven while you take off the day with a warm shower. By the time you are done, so is dinner.

This is a great way to get the home cooked taste without all of the work. By freezing first, the freshly cooked taste remains intact and nothing beats a good hearty meal to end the day. The only negative to this solution comes into play when the amount of cook time is greatly reduced. These meals still need to be cooked. The reheat in the microwave factor doesn’t apply.

With techniques such as these your food can be ready in a flash. It saves you time after a busy day, energy that most of us don’t have to spare and money. It’s much cheaper to cook at home. With these techniques you buy once instead making a trip to the store every other day. Try a day of cooking and freezing and see if how good it feels and how great those fast and easy meals can taste.