Ditch the Freezer Challenge — Sometimes You Have to Add Before You Can Subtract!
Well, this wasn't in the plan!
I'm supposed to be emptying the freezers, not filling them back up. But sometimes a bargain comes along that is simply too good to ignore — especially when it means saving at least 50% on food we regularly eat.
And with food prices continuing to rise, I wasn't going to walk past these chicken prices:
🐔 Chicken wings — 89c/kg
🐔 Chicken breast fillets — $4.89/kg
🐔 Chicken drumsticks — $3.48/kg
I hadn't planned a chicken stock-up at all. But when I was told about these prices, and realised I had to pass the butcher on my way home anyway, it was an opportunity too good to pass up.
Apparently quite a few other people thought the same thing!
The butcher shop was packed. It was very much a take a number and wait patiently situation, so that's exactly what we did.
There was a 2kg limit on the wings and breast fillets, which was a little disappointing — but Hannah was with me, so she was able to buy 2kg of each as well.
Home we came with 12 kilos of chicken, and then the work began.
Everything was portioned, packed and labelled ready for the freezer.
And the result?
💚 $47.64 spent on chicken
💚 12kg of wings, breast fillets and drumsticks
💚 15 meal-sized portions for five people
💚 $3.17 meat cost per meal
💚 Just 63 cents per portion
I'm very happy with that.
My meat allowance is $5 per meal, so having 15 chicken meals sitting well below that amount gives me room in the budget for the occasional more expensive roast, steak or other cut of meat.
That's how I like to look at the grocery budget — not every meal has to cost exactly the same. The cheaper meals balance the more expensive ones so the overall budget stays where I need it to be.
And yes, technically I've just added 12 kilos back into freezers I'm trying to empty!
But the purpose of the Ditch the Freezer Challenge isn't to refuse good value. It's to become much more deliberate about what we keep frozen, how much it costs us, how quickly we use it and whether it genuinely benefits our household.
When I can buy food we regularly eat at at least 50% less than the price I'd normally expect to pay, I'm prepared to make room for it.
Especially now.
When food inflation is high and household food security feels less certain than it once did, having good food bought at excellent prices gives us options.
It means I don't have to buy chicken next week because we "need" it.
I can wait.
I can shop my freezer.
I can build meals around what we already have.
And I can protect the grocery budget from whatever the price happens to be on the day.
So the freezer tally may have gone backwards by 12 kilos this week…
…but the grocery budget and future meal plan have taken a very nice step forward.
That's a trade I'm happy to make. 💚
Ditch the Freezer doesn't mean never putting food back in. It means making every bit of freezer space earn its keep.
I'm supposed to be emptying the freezers, not filling them back up. But sometimes a bargain comes along that is simply too good to ignore — especially when it means saving at least 50% on food we regularly eat.
And with food prices continuing to rise, I wasn't going to walk past these chicken prices:
🐔 Chicken wings — 89c/kg
🐔 Chicken breast fillets — $4.89/kg
🐔 Chicken drumsticks — $3.48/kg
I hadn't planned a chicken stock-up at all. But when I was told about these prices, and realised I had to pass the butcher on my way home anyway, it was an opportunity too good to pass up.
Apparently quite a few other people thought the same thing!
The butcher shop was packed. It was very much a take a number and wait patiently situation, so that's exactly what we did.
There was a 2kg limit on the wings and breast fillets, which was a little disappointing — but Hannah was with me, so she was able to buy 2kg of each as well.
Home we came with 12 kilos of chicken, and then the work began.
Everything was portioned, packed and labelled ready for the freezer.
And the result?
💚 $47.64 spent on chicken
💚 12kg of wings, breast fillets and drumsticks
💚 15 meal-sized portions for five people
💚 $3.17 meat cost per meal
💚 Just 63 cents per portion
I'm very happy with that.
My meat allowance is $5 per meal, so having 15 chicken meals sitting well below that amount gives me room in the budget for the occasional more expensive roast, steak or other cut of meat.
That's how I like to look at the grocery budget — not every meal has to cost exactly the same. The cheaper meals balance the more expensive ones so the overall budget stays where I need it to be.
And yes, technically I've just added 12 kilos back into freezers I'm trying to empty!
But the purpose of the Ditch the Freezer Challenge isn't to refuse good value. It's to become much more deliberate about what we keep frozen, how much it costs us, how quickly we use it and whether it genuinely benefits our household.
When I can buy food we regularly eat at at least 50% less than the price I'd normally expect to pay, I'm prepared to make room for it.
Especially now.
When food inflation is high and household food security feels less certain than it once did, having good food bought at excellent prices gives us options.
It means I don't have to buy chicken next week because we "need" it.
I can wait.
I can shop my freezer.
I can build meals around what we already have.
And I can protect the grocery budget from whatever the price happens to be on the day.
So the freezer tally may have gone backwards by 12 kilos this week…
…but the grocery budget and future meal plan have taken a very nice step forward.
That's a trade I'm happy to make. 💚
Ditch the Freezer doesn't mean never putting food back in. It means making every bit of freezer space earn its keep.