In the midst of all of the splashing, playing, and exploring summertime brings, it inevitably sneaks up on you: Dinnertime. In my house, it typically goes something like this: “Oh man, it’s 5pm already! What are we having for dinner?” In these glorious days of late sunsets and simpler schedules, stopping to cook can be such a drag.
I imagine that whether your summer is jam-packed with camps, activities and bucket lists, or you are going the slow and relaxed route, most of us can relate. In this stage of life the living ain’t always easy, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find ways to help simplify things while savoring this precious time with our families!
We generally eat pretty healthy, so this last minute scramble can pose quite the dilemma. That is, until freezer meals once again save the day!
It’s no secret that I love freezer meals. For an hour or two worth of time, you can have months’ worth of healthy meals planned and prepped. These healthy grill-ready freezer meals come with added perks:
You won’t mess up your kitchen every night.
The kids think anything on the grill is amazing.
There are no rules.
You read that right. There are NO RULES when it comes to these simple, healthy, grill-ready freezer meals! You can truly mix and match any of these suggestions to create some truly unique flavors to tantalize your taste buds all summer long!
Here’s what you need:
- One gallon freezer bags
- Meat
- Any combination of the following (or any other flavors you’d like to add):
Directions:
- Buy meat in bulk and cut it in various ways: strips, cubes, or leave whole.
- Mix up a marinade using any combination of acids, fats, and seasonings.
- Place meat into freezer bag; pour marinade over it.
- Label and date.
- Lay flat (to save space) and stick in freezer.
- Thaw the night before you want to eat it.
- Grill until cooked through.
- Serve with grilled veggies and fresh fruit.
Let’s pause to discuss the simplicity of this; let’s take a teriyaki marinade, for example. Mix up a batch of the marinade, pour over one bag of whole chicken breasts, one bag of cubed chicken breasts, one bag of sliced steak, one bag of cubed steak. You now have at least four very different meals that can be served alongside fresh veggies, in a stir-fry, tossed with pasta or rice, on a taco, on a salad, or on a kebab.
Summer sides are equally simple.
We always keep grill-ready vegetables on hand: peppers, zucchini, squash, corn, tomatoes, and onions. Fruits such as watermelon, mango, and pineapple make an amazing special treat on the grill as well. Of course, you can never go wrong with a simple fruit salad or slice of juicy watermelon!
For those of you who like more concrete recipes, here are some of our favorite marinades:
Each grill-ready freezer bag usually feeds my family for two meals. So when we’ve pre-prepped 12 healthy meals in under an hour and pull out a freezer bag once or twice a week, we’ve got summer covered!
What are some of your favorite summer meals?
