Congratulations, “Give-Back Diet” participants, you’ve reached the 45th day of our program.  I hope you are continuing to limit or avoid sugar and fat, and are eating regularly in small portions.  I also hope that you are making sure to move at least 30 minutes a day, in your own joyous ways, everyday.

Today, I want to encourage you to set aside an hour or so a week to prepare your own foods in bulk and freeze them in individual portions.  That way, when you are in a hurry, or tired, you’ll have something on hand that’s healthy and delicious to eat.

I gave you a recipe (with a video) for homemade vegetable soup awhile back – take a look here.  This is a recipe that freezes very well.

You might also want to make some homemade “TV Dinners” – remember those?  Bake some chicken, doubling the recipe.  Here’s mine for roast chicken and vegetables – this freezes well, too.

Another “TV Dinner” could be baked fish with herbs, garlic mashed potatoes, and green beans.  Just double or triple the portions when you’re cooking a meal, and then freeze the rest.

ACTION PLAN: Here are some freezing tips for you.

— Use airtight plastic freezer bags, and squeeze the air out and seal before placing in the freezer.
— There are many freezer containers available, just get all the air out as much as possible before freezing.
— You could double wrap the food (when it’s cooled, of course).  Use masking or freezer tape to secure the packages.
— Color-code, or write the name of the item and the date it was frozen.  Use within a month or so.
— Never thaw food at room temperature; that could collect harmful bacteria or encourage spoilage.  Instead, allow 24 hours in your refrigerator for thawing, or quick
-thaw it in a microwave oven, set on the “thaw” settings.

Home cooking and making portions ahead and freezing them is not only economical, it’s tasty and healthy.

We’d all love YOUR ideas for frozen make-ahead meals.  Please post!

If you are new to this column, and new to the Give-Back Diet, welcome!  Please take a look at the whole program here.  And please tell everyone you know about it.