I’m traveling on business to attend another excellent technology conference, which causes my family into a full-blown panic attack as they will have to fend for themselves. It is not the first time I head out on an adventure, but each time it is the same drama, my wife suddenly starts humming the theme song from the Oliver movie … “food, glorious food!”
They equate these brief moments to the post-apocalyptic worlds we see in Mad Max, The Walking Dead, Last of Us, and I Am Legend – living in a hostile environment with little food and cooking a heavy thick broth from various roots.
How will they survive on hardboiled (to a crisp) potatoes, instant noodles, and the familiar favorite spaghetti with ketchup?
But fret not, my dear family! The Viking Heart Warrior (aka dad) and home chef have incorporated the travel plan into the weekly meal planning throughout the past 4-5 weeks. I have to make sure the family survives and stays healthy.
No Cooking, Just Nuking
Shortly before I changed the weekly meal planning from four dishes to three, I had spent some extra time creating bigger portions and intentionally froze the leftovers. I used ziplock freezing bags or my awesome food vacuum thingy from Meat!
The only challenge with freezer bags or containers is labeling them clearly and legibly.
I invested in some simple labels that stick and stay on bags and containers in the freezer. Some labels fall off easily, and it is not easy to find a pen that works on zip-lock bags, and I do not want to use permanent markers on my containers.
However, stickers are only helpful if you use them and place them on the meals in the freezer. Once the food is frozen, it can be extremely difficult to predict what is inside the bag or container.
On the flip side, starting to defrost a meal makes it more exciting as you might not know what you get.
As such, the family will unwillingly participate in a food lottery as they select a mystery bag or container from the freezer. They will have to make rice, pasta, or potatoes… or no side depending on what they get.
Something tells me the family will skip the sides and eat the food once it has been nuked in the microwave.
Lunch & Dinner
| Lunch | Dinner | |
| Monday | Bagels with tuna salad | Freezer Adventure I |
| Tuesday | Homemade pizza | Freezer Adventure II |
| Wednesday | Bagels with pesto & mozarella | Freezer Adventure III |
| Thursday | Caesar salad with croutons | Freezer Adventure IV |
| Friday | Bagels with boiled eggs | Freezer Adventure V |
One day, I might get so organized that I will link the meals below to my recipes. We can only live in hope!
Have a fantastic week, my friends. I hope you enjoy these meal plans. It is much easier to make food in advance, although you must invest several hours preparing meals during the weekend.
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