The batch cooking It has two keys: planning the week and cooking for just one day. It is a method that is becoming more fashionable with the we will save time, cook healthier and avoid waste.
If you plan what you are going to eat, you avoid falling into “temptations” such as fast food that you think of when it is time for dinner and there is nothing in the refrigerator, so you end up eating better, running away from the ultra-processed and embracing so-called real food.
In my case, for more than two years the batch cooking has become the best and fastest formula for cooking at my place. I only use a couple of hours and have lunches and dinners planned for the whole week.
Before buying you have to plan, that is, think about the dishes that we are going to cook in the batch cooking and in those that we will cook at the last minute (such as a French omelette or a grilled steak).
Ideally, always use seasonal products because we will save money with them, and think of preparations that we can use for various recipes. For example, a Manchego ratatouille can be served as a garnish, as a dinner with a grilled egg or using it as a sauce for a pasta dish.
Cook in 2 hours for the whole week: The international bestseller of batch cooking (Planeta Cocina)
In the way of cooking food we can also save time. If we use a floor steamer like thisFor example, we can cook different vegetables and a fish at the same time and then use it in several preparations. Or take advantage of the heat of the oven to roast vegetables, meats, fish and snacks at the same time in different trays that we will later use in various recipes.
Russell Hobbs Cook @ Home Steamer – 3 Container, 9 L Capacity, Rice Cooker, BPA Free, Stainless Steel, 800 W – 19270-56
Take into account the shelf life of the food (a soup in the fridge does not hold the same as a stew or some legumes) and use glass tuppers and airtight jars to preserve everything.
Amazon Basics 14 Piece Lockable Glass Food Containers (7 Containers + 7 Lids), BPA Free
Gothika Joseph Maeser 925340 Canning Jars (Glass, 6 Units)
We can keep it in individual servings (an ideal method if we have to take the tupperware to the office) or save each preparation separately and assemble the plate just at mealtime if we are teleworking at home. For salads it is always advisable to keep the dressing apart, and we can try the vertical ones to keep them in the fridge.
You can prepare preparations not only for that week, but make more servings and freeze them, something especially practical for stews, stews or the like. We save time and take advantage of the elaborations for the following weeks.
How to buy for batch cooking
From Vitónica they give us several keys to make the purchase and that is varied:
- Choose a couple of cuts of lean meat, of good nutritional quality. It will serve us for sautéed, to cook or to grill at the last minute. They can be birds like chicken, for example.
- Buy two fish, if possible one of white meat and one blue, to vary the intake and avoid getting bored eating. The fish or seafood that we include does not have to be fresh, we can throw away canned goods.
- Using legumes. They are versatile and if we buy them already cooked, very quick to use in spreads, salads, stews … Always include a couple of them in your batch cooking, because they are full of nutrients and are vital in a healthy diet.
- The cereals you use (rice, pasta …), that are integral.
- Vegetables will be essential on all dishes. As a base in stir-fries, as garnishes or as complete dishes.
- Always have eggs. They are versatile in many dishes and a great source of protein. They also allow us to make last minute preparations like a French omelette quickly and easily.
In order to take advantage of batch cooking we propose you a complete weekly lunch and dinner menu. For breakfasts you can also take advantage of batch cooking and make, for example, an express wholemeal bread at home, a porridge and a few glasses of chia, for example. The same happens with the mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. In addition to pieces of fruit, you can include some of the ones that we propose here and also prepare it with batch cooking.
We are going to take advantage of the fact that we turn on the oven to roast different vegetables both to make a cream afterwards and to accompany a dinner and as part of a pasta dish. For desserts we choose seasonal fruit (apple, pear, pomegranate …), and the same with vegetables (pumpkin, spinach, cauliflower, zucchini …). As for proteins, we have eggs, salmon, cod, chicken and beef, but we can vary to taste. This is just an example of a weekly menu, you can modify it to your liking.
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Photos | Gareth hubbard and Ella Olsson on Unsplash, Directly to the PaladarMonday