Confessions of a Freezer Squirrel: Getting Food Scrappy

Today we’re closing out the series with my absolute favorite kitchen tactic: getting scrappy.

While it isn't strictly zero-waste cooking, it shares the same core philosophy. Think of your freezer as a pause button. Food in the freezer is like mosquitoes trapped in amber—we are preserving something today so we can extract it in the future to build an island of extinct dinosaurs.

Wait. No. That’s Jurassic Park.

We are preserving food that would otherwise go to waste so we can add instant flavor, delight, and whimsy to future meals! Here is how to embrace your scrappy side and turn kitchen leftovers into flavor gold.

Confessions of a Freezer Squirrel: Cooking Math is the Best Math

Grab your apron, it is time to talk about “cooking math.”

Now, before your eyes glaze over, this isn’t real math. It’s a time-saving strategy based on a simple truth; it only takes like 10% more time or effort to make 100% more food.

(Okay, I made those numbers for illustration purposes, which proves this is not real math. You can’t make up the numbers in real math! But the reasoning is sound, the logic holds).

Confessions of a Freezer Squirrel: The Costco Breakdown

You know how squirrels in the fall are constantly picking up treasures and burying them in special little hiding spots around the yard? They are stocking up for the cold winter ahead. Saving the abundance of now for later.

I am exactly like that with my freezer. I am constantly finding little culinary treasures and tucking them away.

Meal Planning Made Real: Why I’m Having a Summer of Sandwiches

I have found that having gentle parameters or themes can actually be incredibly helpful for fostering creativity, including when it comes to meal planning. Instead of restricting, it’s about focus. It means picking a food category or ingredient you’d like to explore more of and looking for fun ways to make that happen.

This summer, I am taking a focused approach to add interest, excitement, and creativity to the table. My summer meal planning theme is sandwiches.

Low-Friction Kitchen: Small-Space Tweaks That Make Cooking More Enjoyable

Once people learn that I am a professional recipe developer and nutritionist with a focus on meal planning, they often assume that I have a sprawling kitchen and walk-in pantry. In reality, I live in a small house with a small kitchen, and I don’t even have a dishwasher!

That’s right, I have developed over a thousand recipes and have hand-washed every single measuring cup, bowl, and pan along the way. Over the years, I’ve had to find ways to make my limited space work to reduce the friction of cooking and keep the joy in making and eating. Here is how I make it happen.

Mental Health, Meal PlanningAmber HansonApril 21, 2026meal planning

Meal Planning Made Real: Spring Refresh

Seasonal changes always tend to be a little bumpy. Be it what to wear or what to eat, it is hard to remember what worked last year. Spring, as we transition from long dark winter to brighter days, can feel particularly jarring.

From a diet-culture view this is also the time that “spring detoxes” start to gain steam. Diet culture is predictable; it capitalizes on these moments of uncertainty to make us collectively feel bad about our bodies and worried about our health.

But we aren't doing that here. Instead of a "cleanse," let's talk about a refresh.

Gentle Nutrition, Mental Health, Meal PlanningAmber HansonMarch 16, 2026meal planning

How to Meal Plan Without the Burnout: A Gentle Nutrition Guide

This post was first written in 2021, but my view on meal planning has evolved since then. Through my own recovery from rigid, orthorexic eating patterns and my work as a clinician, helping others find confidence in food without restriction, I’ve learned that a “perfect” plan is often the enemy of a sustainable one.

I still contend there are as many ways to meal plan as there are meals in a week. The key is finding what works for you.

The single biggest factor in long-term health isn't a specific diet but rather eating a wide variety of foods consistently. To do that without losing your mind, you need a system—not a set of rules.

Gentle Nutrition, Mental Health, Intuitive Eating, Meal PlanningAmber HansonMarch 10, 2026meal planning

How to End Daily Dinner Decision Fatigue with Flexible Meal Planning

Whether you are single and cooking feels like a hassle for just one person, or a parent fielding a million questions a day (why do we have eyebrows?) along with alllllll the household food opinions, we’ve all been there: staring into the fridge, too tired to think, too hungry to wait (bonus points for a toddler in meltdown).

And that is just dinner. It is easy to feel resentful of the fact that we need to eat so many damn times each day.

Gentle Nutrition, Mental Health, Meal PlanningAmber HansonFebruary 27, 2026meal planning

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