Southern Supper Club

Last fall I started seeing a lot of social media buzz regarding the release of a new cookbook, From Freezer to Table.  After looking it up, I learned that not only was this going to be an awesome cookbook to add to my collection, but that it was also written by two local Columbia women!  What?!  It didn't take much convincing for me to add it to my online shopping cart and buy it!  Less than a week later I held in my hands my new cookbook with 75+ simple, whole foods recipes! When I began to read the book, I learned more about the two fabulous women behind the concept.  As new moms they soon discovered that their families weren't eating well so they embarked on a journey to prepare food that would lead to a healthier lifestyle.  In the book they note, "it became a lifestyle that continues to be a time-saver, money-saver, waistline-saver, and sanity-saver during some intensely busy years," and as a young woman entering those busy years, this line definitely resonated with me (to read more about the authors, visit their blog here)!

You see, I'd recently begun living with my fiancé and our two fabulous boys.  And while I'd always been a decent cook, I definitely wasn't prepared for the amount of time and quantity of food that would be necessary to cook for four!  Talk about a learning curve.  As a side note, I swear boys are bottomless pits and will, if you allow them, eat anything and everything you put in front of them.  This can be great on those super busy ball game nights where you swing it through the drive through, but it's my job to help provide a healthy foundation for these boys, and that starts with a balanced diet.  Further into the book I learned of a concept called Freezer Club. Have you heard of it? Y'all, it's awesome, let me tell ya!  You're going to have to purchase the book for all the details, but the basic idea is to have an ongoing small group of friends who each cook a freezer-friendly meal and swap it for everyone else's meal each month.  I had this aha moment of, "Wait, what? You mean I make one meal for each of my friends and when I get together with my friends I go home with THEIR recipes also?"  Yeah.  Mind. Blown. 

Growing up I'd always watched my mom have other young women over for dinner (especially when all their husbands were deployed overseas).  She became a "den mom" so-to-speak for all the newly married and new moms in the squadron who were attempting to learn the ropes.  They would share in stories and pass wisdom to eachother that they'd learned from previous deployments. I always thought this was interesting and found their stories/experiences engaging.  Furthermore, I grew up in the south and I think we all know that back home in the lowcountry, it's a given belief that the heart of the home is found in the kitchen!  Whether we were hosting other friends or just gathered around the table as a family, I'd learned at a very young age that fellowship and happy memories were made sitting around the table.  You can imagine my excitement then when I digested (ha, see what I did there) this new Freezer Club concept.  And because of my upbringing I decided I'd reference my little club as The Southern Supper Club. 

I started by writing an email to some of my closest girlfriends explaining the concept and my idea to start our own club.  Within a matter of days I'd heard from all of them and we got started with by meeting in the cafe area of Schnucks with Freezer to Table cookbooks in hand.  Fast forward four months and we've found our little routine.  Each month we meet at a coffee shop and we pass our freezer meals, share stories, and ultimately just relax and enjoy each others company over a cup of coffee or tea (which is such a blessing in our busy season of work, school, sports, and multiple kids).  Then, before we leave we pick out a recipe to tackle for the next month and leave feeling a little lighter and more connected in our relationships with each other.  

Oh, and did I mention our husbands (and soon-to-be husbands) are also loving our freezer club adventure!  As an added bonus, I have come home on more than one occasion to my three handsome boys putting the finishing touches of dinner onto the table!  And once, I was even asked to go get comfortable by the fire place while they cook me dinner.  You see, when you have a handful of freezer meals on hand, even the littlest of cooks can contribute.  I appreciate that they enjoy cooking, helping out, and are learning to take pride in their work; but what I love even more is that their daddy is teaching them how to be young men with servant's hearts!  As Mark 10:45 reminds us, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve..." It's not always easy to put others needs before our own, but I am so blessed to have someone in my life who sees the importance of it and who makes every effort to take care of me. From where I sit, this Freezer club (ahem, Southern Supper Club) is impacting my family in more ways than just through a home cooked meal.  We're learning to take time for ourselves, enjoy in fellowship, enrich our relationships, maintain healthier lifestyles, and learn lessons that more closely align with the graceful lives we wake up each day trying to lead.  For that, I am thankful!