We have all had those days where we simply do not want to cook. This could be due to not having the time, being caught up in other activities and hobbies, or simply being bamboozled by having too much ideas and not knowing where to start. Not to worry, though, that’s where batch cooking can help!
Batch cooking can be a great way to save time and money whilst still creating home cooked, hearty, and healthy meals. It can be adopted by households of all sizes - from families right through to individuals - and can be a really fun way to spend time in the kitchen!
At its core, batch cooking is about making more food than you need for a meal, giving you extra portions to save for later consumption. By planning and cooking your meals this way, this can benefit your health, time, and money!
If you have read our previous blog - Cooking On A Budget - Part 1 - you will know that to hack your time in the kitchen, meal planning is the way! But is batch cooking just the same as meal planning? The simple answer to this is, no! Batch cooking can be a part of meal planning, if that’s what works for you but it is not the only way to go about your meal planning.
There are a couple of ways to do it….
1) Batch cook an ingredient or components: batch cooking ingredients such as mince or
sofrito that you will use in multiple meals.
Don’t want to cook whole meals? Just batch cook ingredients.
Ingredients such as mince and vegetables are highly versatile which can be used in a multitude of meals. For example, once browned, mince can be cooked up with sofrito (a mix of carrots, onions, and celery) and passata or chopped tomatoes to make a luxurious ragu. Whilst that is cooking away, why not prep some mince into burger patties, or add some kidney beans and spices to make a delicious chili! Each batch of mince can be personalized to each meal and is easily bulked out further with veggies and pulses.
And the options do not end with mince; you can also bulk cook sofrito, prep pasta sauces, honestly whatever you want. There are a few ways to do it so play around and find out what suits you and your family!
2) Batch cook a meal: doubling or tripling the ingredients of a meal to have again later in
the week.
This can be particularly useful for those with the freezer space as you can have these meals weeks later. Soups, casseroles, curries, and stews are some of the easiest dishes to bulk cook but there is a plethora of resources available for planning your batch cooking. Here are some of our favourites:
NHS Grampian Confidence 2 Cook: https://www.confidence2cook.co.uk/recipes
Delicious Magazine https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/collections/batch-cooking-recipes/
The Batch Lady https://thebatchlady.com/
Don’t have time to cook everything now? Prepare meals with dump bags!
If you have a slow cooker, you could employ dump bags. Dump bags are a way of preparing meals in advance by packing prepped meal ingredients into bags. These bags can be frozen for convenience and are taken out and ‘dumped’ into the slow cooker when in need. This can be particularly useful when you don’t have time to cook, simply leave it in the slow cooker during the day and it’ll be done by teatime!
Hint: Remember to defrost your dinner in the fridge beforehand, as all meals should be defrosted before being put in the cooker.
Interested in getting started?
Here are our top tips for batch cooking:
1. Label your food!
- Labelling your food with what it is, and date of freezing/cooking helps make sure you use up your meals in plenty of time.
2. Freeze in portions sizes that make sense to you
- If you’re a large family you might want to freeze up to 2 or 3 portions at a time, or if you’re single just the one!
3. Cook dishes that are easily adaptable
- Have fun and experiment! You can switch up meals by adding different grains or veggies. You don’t have to stick to the exact same recipe every time!
4. Cool your meals before freezing
- If you put warm meals in your fridge or freezer, the entire unit temperature could change! Instead, leave your food out on the counter to cool for max 2 hours, then pop it in the fridge to cool further before popping it in the freezer.
5. Use an appropriately sized pan/s
- Make sure to read the method before you start in case you need more than one
6. Have fun!
Taking some time to batch cook one day a week can help you save money, time, health, and effort down the road. It can be as simple as chopping ingredients for later use, all the way to cooking full meals. Take the time to work out what works best for you and your family and get stuck in and give it a go!
Happy cooking!
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