Bought a $80 vacuum sealer for meal prep and it already paid for itself in 3 weeks

I was throwing away half a bag of spinach and a bunch of chicken thighs every week because they went bad before I could cook them. That vacuum sealer lets me buy in bulk and freeze stuff that stays fresh for months instead of days. Has anyone else found a kitchen gadget that actually saved them money instead of just taking up counter space?

4 comments

4 Comments

mileslane3d ago

My Instant Pot was supposed to save me money but instead it just made me buy a whole pork shoulder at 4am on a Tuesday because "it would be great for pulled pork." That hunk of meat sat in my fridge for two weeks before I threw it out. So basically I spent $80 on a machine that convinced me to waste $30 on a giant pork shoulder I was never gonna cook. At least your vacuum sealer actually works.

emma_wells833d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that pork shoulder story hit a little too close to home. I did the exact same thing with a brisket once, thought I was gonna be all meal prep and save money. What finally worked for me was setting a hard rule: if I buy a big cut of meat, it goes straight into the freezer the day I get it, not the fridge. That way I have to actually thaw it and commit to cooking it or it just stays frozen forever. I also found that planning one specific day to cook it, like Saturday afternoons, helped a ton. Now I only buy those big hunks if I know I've got a Sunday free to actually babysit the slow cooker or smoker.

the_miles2d ago

Oh man, I actually just read something about this! There was this study from some food science lab that said a big chunk of meat left in the fridge actually gets more tender over a few days because enzymes break down the connective tissue. But yeah, that only works if your life doesn't get in the way and you forget about it for two weeks. I feel your pain on the freezer trick though, that's a smart move. I do the same thing now with any bulk buy, it keeps me from impulse cooking at midnight or letting stuff rot.

eva_moore2d ago

Ugh, same thing happened to me with a slow cooker once - bought it thinking I'd be all organized and then just stared at it for like a year. The vacuum sealer trick is genius though, I might have to try that for my weekly salad stuff that always goes limp.