Today I am sharing with you what I believe to be an essential process of healthy eating.. How to Batch Cook. Over the years I have learned from my own trial and errors with batch cooking. I have decided to let you in on some techniques I use to make the process seamless.
What is Batch Cooking?
Batch cooking, component cooking and meal preparation, or as some call it “meal prep” are all processes of preparing and cooking foods in advance that will allow for meals to come together effortlessly later in the week. Preparing food in advance evades the stress of day-to-day cooking, meal decision fatigue and opting for something less than ideal to eat like take out.
One particular method of batch cooking that has really helped me cut back on food waste and simplify the food preparation is cooking components. Component cooking is when you prepare a bulk food item in advance (i.e.: quinoa) and use it in many different ways (quinoa in oatmeal, tacos & nourish bowl) throughout the week to create diversity in menu, lower food waste and still enjoy delicious foods. Component cooking will save you time surpassing an extra lengthy cooking step when you need a meal in an instant.
Perks of Batch Cooking
- Less Guess – Planning ahead gives some structure to your meals and leaves out the guess work
- Consistency- being able to consistency enjoy nourishing foods.
- Reach your wellness goals- with consistency comes, results!
- It is made by you! It is something to be proud of to create meals all made by you! And you will have say over the ingredient list.
How it goes down.
Step 1: PLAN
Planning for me happens on Fridays’, usually right when I’ve mentally thrown in the towel. It is a nice distraction and still makes me feel productive. But find a time that works for you. Look ahead to the next 7 days and map out the upcoming week and weekend. Account for any events, dining occasions (brunch, dinner with friends etc.) to estimate what you will and will not need. Be specific and write it all out breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, beverages. Collect recipes if needed and create a shopping list to guide you.
Step 2: SHOP
Farmer’s markets -community sourced agriculture and even some grocers will deliver goods right to your door, take advantage of this if shopping is your list favorite thing to do. Pick a good time to shop peak times like mid-day on weekends can be overwhelming keep that in mind to avoid less aggravation go earlier or later in the day.
Step 3: PREP
This is the fun part now that you have everything you need. You can make recipes in batches, cook up some component foods*, wash and clean produce. Anything you can do to make the process easier for you later in the week, do it. Cutting and chopping vegetables, portioning out pasta and rice etc.
*Component Foods to make: salad dressing, bean dip, granola, green leafy veggies, roasted sweet potatoes and grains like rice, quinoa & bread. Smoothies, nut milks and/or vegetable juices Bake something sweet.
Step 4: COOK
Now that you have a bunch of different foods prepped and ready to go you can easily put together meals for the week. It is your preference, for how you go about doing the actual prep/cook. If you need to have all your meals completely done (which will take a lot longer) you can do so and store them in fridge or freeze. Or you can have the ingredients on call and ready to just complete the final recipe steps. This all depends on your time
One key point about batch cooking. Unless you have experience with cooking/preparing foods, are a professional cook or chef it is going to be a learning process. BE PATIENT with yourself. Its okay to make mistakes, not know how to do certain things (hey google). We learn and grow from doing, just diving right in.
A few tips to guide you..
Tip #1 : DO PLAN AHEAD – It is easy to skip this step but it is essential to avoid frustration later on when it comes to the prep. It helps to identify major events and plan accordingly; do you have a early morning on Monday? Make a loaded breakfast smoothie to take on the go! Know that Wednesday is Pizza day and don’t want to feel tempted? Bring a dish (and chocolate treat) that is way more delicious. I choose to spread out my meal planning process over the course of 3 days into Plan, Shop, and Prep. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, respectively. You can schedule it any way you like. Splitting up the tasks involved works best for my schedule and is more enjoyable.
TIP #2: KEEP IT SIMPLE: Simply prepared dishes can be just as delicious. You do not have to go over the top creating an extravagant meal every time you dine. But if you can make that work, I hope I get an invite.
Tip #3: FIRST VEGGIES- We all could use a bit more veggies. Most people are likely falling short on their fiber intake and a great way get more fiber is by eating more veggies. This is why prepping vegetables is a high priority. Wash, cut, slice, dice and store them to have a variety of veggies more accessible during the week. This way they will be in eye’s sight to snack on, add soups, stir frys, eggs, smoothies or sandwiches. (Make sure you have plenty of storage containers)
TIP #4: FREEZE: The freezer is your friend when it comes to preparing and saving fresh foods. The shelf life tends to be much shorter when food is fresh. Freezing is a sure way to have items ready when you need them. Keep frozen grains, zucchini, bananas, berries, cauliflower, broccoli and beets to add to smoothies, soups or stir frys.
Tip #5: BE RESOURCEFUL: Component cooking is something I touched on briefly but it is a hero. Choosing to batch cook food items that can be used in different ways throughout the week is a convenient time saver. Get creative with how you use your food try new foods and in different ways.
Tip #6: CHILL: Keep it fun. Experiment with new recipes, listen to music while dicing carrots, open a window and let in some sunshine. Whatever you like.
The Challenge: This coming week go through the meal prep process. Start small with one or two dishes. Maybe overnight oats breakfast and a vegetable based soup. Just by preparing those two meals you will have a ready made breakfast and vegetable source for your week ahead. Eventually you will develop your own flow, become better at planning and with practice it will become second nature.
Hope these suggestions helped! If you give them a try, share! #SidebarNutrition I would love to see!
Be Well Friends.
J
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