https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 30 Apr 2026 23:52:06 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-523523 Wed, 23 Jan 2013 23:39:20 +0000 LittleGBee 523523@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@daniellemybelle: Oh man, I don't even know. I even went back to the original recipe and it didn't help at all. I think the point where it went wrong was when they said to add 3 cups of water, it made it like a soup and if I had allowed the water to evaporate per the instructions, it would have taken hours and the squash would have been soup.</p> <p> Let me know how it goes when you get around to it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-522922 Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:55:07 +0000 daniellemybelle 522922@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LittleGBee: Oh no! Can you tell me why it was a disaster? Maybe I can avoid it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-522866 Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:25:32 +0000 heffalump 522866@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: So annoying, right?! How can they tell the difference if the food was in the freezer or not? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-522856 Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:20:37 +0000 LittleGBee 522856@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@daniellemybelle: We ended up tossing the acorn squash, it was that much of a disaster. I couldn't even salvage it from the original recipe either. </p> <p>We had the bacon wrapped chicken bites last night and the night before--they were underwhelming. I'm defrosting the spinach chicken tonight though. </p> <p>As a "mood eater", I'm not sure that freezer meals are really going to end up being my jam, but with the first trimester tireds and yuckies we were really hoping that we wouldn't be resorting to takeout so often. We'll see! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-520397 Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:30:53 +0000 daniellemybelle 520397@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LittleGBee: I actually haven't assembled the acorn squash yet - what trouble did you have with it?</p> <p>Which bacon wrapped chicken did you eat, haha? We had the spinach stuffed chicken tonight and we thought it was really good! But yes - SO MUCH BACON! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-520150 Tue, 22 Jan 2013 19:17:45 +0000 LittleGBee 520150@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@daniellemybelle: We just did the Paleo menu this weekend too. Did your acorn squash recipe turn out? Our was a total disaster. I agree, I ended up with a LOT of extra stuff that I chopped and was left scratching my head sometimes at their directions. We had the bacon wrapped chicken last night and for the amount of effort that recipe took, SO not worth it! </p> <p>I might feel differently about this in a month because we will have enjoyed the benefits, but right now I'm not sure it was worth it.</p> <p>And, I know it's Paleo, but OMG, that was A LOT of bacon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-519243 Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:59:57 +0000 Bao 519243@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If we had a bigger freezer I would consider this! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-519183 Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:31:35 +0000 daniellemybelle 519183@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So this weekend I attempted the Paleo January menu. Um, that is NO JOKE. I had my mom helping me, so it should have taken half as much time, but we spent 6 hours and only got halfway! I still have to finish the other recipes - and I really do have to, because I have a ton of fresh meat and veggies in the fridge!</p> <p>My first impressions:<br /> - It is a LOT of work for recipes that seem just OK, to @mrsmate's point. We'll see how we like them after a couple weeks but just from putting it together, nothing seemed amazing enough for all that work. </p> <p>- The system is far from foolproof - I chopped too much or too little of a few different things, and I was following it exactly, so I'm not sure where I went wrong. </p> <p>- The Mini Tacos were super hard to make and didn't turn out at all. Overall, I feel like the meals should be super easy and simple to prepare so you can go quickly, and that didn't seem to be taken into consideration.</p> <p>- You still will have to buy/prepare sides. Most of the dishes will seem incomplete without a salad or some veggies with it. So that's kind of a downside to me.</p> <p>Overall, I'm a little skeptical, but I'll know better once we've been eating the meals for a while! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-487642 Mon, 07 Jan 2013 23:50:34 +0000 mrsmate 487642@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I did it once, and I nearly killed myself doing all that prep in one weekend (I gave myself one extra night, too). The recipes were just OK. Needless to say I went back to my normal weekly menu planning. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-487637 Mon, 07 Jan 2013 23:40:37 +0000 Mrs. Yoyo 487637@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I just found this, too! We did one of her Paleo recipes the other night and it was pretty good. Two more nights' worth are in our freezer, too!</p> <p>I love the idea of doing it once and having all sorts of meals ready to go, but it's hard to find that kind of time with a toddler who doesn't really entertain himself. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-487237 Mon, 07 Jan 2013 20:25:45 +0000 ladyfingers 487237@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@daniellemybelle: DH doesn't like most stuff on whole foods plans, and I'm not a huge Paleo fan. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-486963 Mon, 07 Jan 2013 18:16:53 +0000 daniellemybelle 486963@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Thehistoryofus: @mediagirl: I'm hoping the frozen factor won't be too yucky? To be honest, it has to be a step up from the constant crap we've been having for dinner!</p> <p>@jessiejo17: Why would it have been too much if you don't mind my asking?</p> <p>@ladyfingers: Her Whole Foods and Paleo meal plans seem as healthy as meals out of the freezer can get to me! Lots of fresh veggies.</p> <p>@bluestriped bee: Thanks for the review! It is probably going to be a couple weeks (at least) before I will have a whole day to do all that cooking. But I'd rather get it done in one day, and DH luckily loves to wash dishes! Though maybe not THAT many dishes! :)</p> <p>@MRS. LEMON-LIME: @bluestriped bee: I think I am going to borrow my mom's vacuum sealer to guard against freezer burn. I think it also just depends on your freezer - EVERYTHING used to freezer burn in my old freezer (I'm talking ice cream that's been in there 4 days), and since we've moved, it's a lot better. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-486587 Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:48:05 +0000 BSB 486587@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@daniellemybelle: I did it for one month. It was a lot of cooking and it was nice having all that food. I think we were eating freezer food for a good 3 months. Some food was better than others. The frozen soup idea was a brilliant idea. I would just grab a frozen ziplock and throw it in my lunch bag. The minestrone was amazing.</p> <p>The baked breakfast foods worked well. I tried the carrot cake muffins.</p> <p>The turkey meatloaf was good too. </p> <p>By the way, I used some recipes from the Diet menu and the regular menu.</p> <p>I need to do this once a month cooking again but it's the weekend long prepping and cooking is not something I'm looking forward to.</p> <p>@MRS. LEMON-LIME: if you use a food saver to vacuum out the air, it helps a lot with freezer burn. I got one from amazon and I love it. If you don't have one, you should try wrapping things up in aluminum foil &amp; Saran Wrap. Then place into freezer bags should work. I remember my wedding cake did well using that method. Trying to reduce the air helps with freezer burn. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-486558 Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:33:28 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 486558@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Neat idea, but my freezing skills leave alot to be desired.</p> <p>What's the best way to prevent freezer burn an insure food retains tastiness and decent texture? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-486349 Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:22:50 +0000 ladyfingers 486349@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm not really a huge fan because I think her recipes are kind of unhealthy :/ </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-486331 Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:18:39 +0000 mediagirl 486331@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have done some freezer meals in the past. I have a hard time with it, though. I am not a big fan of leftovers and freezer meals always seem like one big leftover meal to me. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-486294 Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:08:38 +0000 LuLu Mom 486294@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I did it before the baby came, it was amazing to have homecooked meals without having to do the work each night those first few weeks, they were lifesavers for sure. I plan on doing it again now that I'm back at work and would rather spend my nights playing with my daughter than in the kitchen cooking!</p> <p>edit: we only ate them 2 or so times a week, so we spread them out. Every night would have been a bit much for my liking! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-486260 Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:56:30 +0000 T.H.O.U. 486260@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If I did this I would prefer to do just the dinners and just do enough to get us through a week or two of meals at a time. Probably not all the savings, but I can stand to eat freezer meals 2 nights a week, but eating them all the time is yuck. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-486150 Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:24:03 +0000 daniellemybelle 486150@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Reviving this thread to ask - Have any of you being doing this? I am pretty close to trying it this month, but I am not sure how it will work with packing our lunches? The lunches don't seem that "lunch sack friendly." </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-86080 Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:25:47 +0000 LuLu Mom 86080@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am now, thanks! A coworker and I have been talking about this, I want to fill our freezer before the baby comes so I don't have to worry about cooking! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-86026 Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:28:36 +0000 daniellemybelle 86026@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This looks really cool! I actually enjoy cooking after work a lot of days but I always destroy the kitchen and we don't eat until like 9pm... so maybe I will try this out! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-85676 Fri, 02 Mar 2012 01:46:22 +0000 BSB 85676@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Phew! I had a minor freak out with this month's menu but I'm good now. I was making something harder for myself. Ok, I'm ready to start stocking up! If anyone is doing OAMM this month, I'm going follow the January 2011 Diet menu. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-85168 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:57:03 +0000 DillonLion 85168@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I like this idea! I tend to get into "moods" about once a month where all I want to do is cook, so this might be perfect for me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-85160 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:49:05 +0000 BSB 85160@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yeah, luckily, my husband doesn't mind frozen food. He did say that he and his roommate did this in college with making food in advance and putting it into tupperware containers. He said the only problem is they were refrigerated so he would grab two servings in one sitting. So from a diet aspect, he was eating more food.</p> <p>I told him that I think most of the meals are frozen. He thinks that will help with his portions. </p> <p>I plan to supplement this with frozen crockpot recipes that I saw on pinterest. </p> <p>This idea should work for me since I'm so busy. I work full time and at weird hours so I don't always make dinner. If I can do cooking one weekend at a time, it should free up so much time for me to do other stuff! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-84916 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:33:28 +0000 mediagirl 84916@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've done this a couple of times but found that even the healthy ones are a bit too fatty for my liking. Or they ask for crazy ingredients that we don't normally use. I have a once a month cooking book that I like but honestly, I prefer meals made fresh - not pulled out of the freezer. I'm like @artbee and @looch's husbands. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-84894 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 07:35:24 +0000 looch 84894@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@artbee: yours too?!!! I thought I was the only one! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-84893 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 07:34:40 +0000 heffalump 84893@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My husband doesn't like freezer food or leftovers, plus our freezer would never be big enough for that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-84890 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 07:27:13 +0000 looch 84890@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is great in theory, but gosh, it's a lot of cooking on one weekend! I haven't done anything like this yet because I can manage dinners with no problem right now, but this would be super handy if I was working. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-84846 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 06:15:40 +0000 Ardently 84846@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am now! Thanks for sharing, I've never found a site like this before that includes vegetarian recipes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-follow-once-a-month-mom#post-84838 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 03:32:47 +0000 Boogs 84838@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I also just heard about this a couple times this week on FB. If either of you try it, let me know if it's worth it! </p>