Thursday, February 28, 2013

Slow Cooker Freezer Recipes Cookbook

Its finally here!!!

I only ordered it a couple days ago but I am so excited that it finally arrived - From Your Freezer to Your Family Slow Cooker Freezer Recipes by Stephanie Brandt Cornais of Mama and Baby Love. I began reading about Stephanie on a fellow bloggers site and immediately was drawn to her. Her style is very much my own and her nutritional epiphany began with the birth of her own daughter, much like mine. All we seem to be striving for is better nourishment for the ones we love and being aware of the food we put on the table is a good start.

I gravitated towards Stephanie's love of the slow cooker. Who would've thought, right? With it being winter here, the crockpot is a staple on my counter these days. Typically for soups and stews, you can also simmer sauces for hours and they won't burn - my new trick to a warm dinner on the table even on the busiest of days. Anything from spaghetti sauce, to tacos, we got it covered at our house. Anyway, her tactic is a bit unique and one I am happy to try myself. I'm a big planner so the idea of meal prepping almost seems fun to me! In her cookbook, Slow Cooker Freezer Recipes she takes roughly 30 recipes and breaks them down by ingredients for you to shop for at your local grocery or farmers market. Once home, you peel, cut, and prep your ingredients, place in a large Zip Loc freezer bag to store in your freezer for later use. This is genius!  My tactic was always a bit simpler, but always seemed to hover around the word leftovers. Whenever I cooked a stove top meal or a slow cooker meal I always doubled the batch to freeze for later. That was it. But its basically a leftover meal in the freezer. Still a good idea and always fared well when reheated (in the slow cooker), I seem to like hers better because the fresh ingredients (veggies and meats) are frozen at their fresh point as opposed to being placed in the freezer after the cooking process which can lead to less flavor and nutrients. I am excited to try out her cookbook immediately and I encourage all mamas out there to try it as well!

I have even heard of having "Meal Prep Parties" where a group of women get together with all of their ingredients and pack their freezer bag meals for the month. Maybe over a glass of wine...or two (who's counting) :) Its a fun way to get your girlfriends together and make sure you're feeding your family well on those days where cooking just isn't your thing. Stephanie is a Real Food cook so her ingredients come from farmers markets, gardens, farms where animals are grass fed, etc. Although an ideal way to get your food, do your best and what works for you. That, in itself, is enough.

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