Cooking from scratch is a great way to make sure you are getting a healthy and balanced diet, but it can take a lot of time and effort to do every day — and this is where batch cooking comes in.
Batch cooking basically means preparing meals in large batches, then portioning them out, to store for later. It really can take the stress out of cooking healthy meals.
Autumn and winter are the perfect time for batch cooking, because it works best with warm and comforting, big-pot meals like curry, bolognese, stew or soup.
Save time and money
Not only can batch cooking help you stay in control of what you’re eating, it can also help save a few quid — as well as taking the time and effort out of meal times.
Buying bigger packs of ingredients is often cheaper, and shopping will be more simple if you’re not trying to plan seven or more meals in your head as you wander around the supermarket.
But the real saving is in not having to think about what to cook for dinner each night, especially when you’ve had a hectic day. You can just get something out of the freezer the night before.
It can also remove the temptation to just order a takeaway — and end up spending more for a less-healthy dinner.
How to batch cook
Batch cooking is basically just like normal cooking, but on a bigger scale.
You’ll need a large saucepan or casserole dish, and you can simply get two or three times the ingredients you would usually use.
When you’ve finished cooking, just portion the food out into containers — in amounts suitable for one, two or more people.
These can then be stored in the fridge for eating in the coming days, or in the freezer for the months ahead.
An added benefit here is that you can control your portion sizes really well, with less temptation to go back for seconds.
Batch cooking ideas
Some of the most -popular dishes for batch cooking include:
Stews – such as chicken, lamb, sausage or beef, all with root vegetables — and maybe a glass of wine for flavour.
Bolognese – or other pasta sauce-style meals, using tomatoes as a base and including finely chopped vegetables such as peppers and courgettes.
Curries – meat or vegetarian, with tomatoes rather than cream — and plenty of vegetables.
Soups – of any variety, from hearty and simple butternut squash to a minestrone which is a complete meal in a bowl.
Macaroni cheese – is an ever popular comfort food for kids or grown-ups — and can be frozen and baked later with some freshly grated cheese on top. Mix some cauliflower or broccoli in for extra nutrition.
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