Batch cooking only sounds like a lot of work. But it’s not! Future you will thank you for thinking ahead of time and making more than what you need the next time you meal prep!
Meal prepping is awesome. It frees up our time so we have more time to do the things we love. It means we can spend less time in the kitchen. Because regardless of whether or not you like to cook, sometimes we just don’t have a lot of time for it. Meal prepping already helps us in this area.
Essentially, meal preps are batch cooking in and of themselves. If you’re here, you’re already doing that, so congrats! Batch cooking takes meal prepping a step further. It’s like meal prepping on steroids.
All we’re talking about here is just taking a few extra steps that can really set you up for success. You may even be doing some of this already!
Double Batch Your Favorite Freezer-Friendly Preps
If you’re prepping for the week, and you’ve got a groove of some of your faves, why not add some freezer-friendly choices in if they’re not already part of your repertoire? And then make a double batch of those faves and freeze what you’re not going to eat immediately that week?
Granted, some will freeze better than others, but in general, you can freeze all sorts of things you might love to double batch, such as meatballs, soups, chilis, casseroles, trays of stuffed shells, mac and cheese and so on.
Cook once, and eat many, many times over.
We love these recipes for double batches
Plan to Freeze for the Future
Maybe you’ve got a week where you know you’ll be eating out once or twice, and you might be tempted to skip or reduce prep. We get it! Don’t, though! Keep your routine and send some of your prep to the freezer. So, while making those easy meal preps preps, prep to freeze! And freeze some leftovers, too! This way, you keep your awesome prepping habits up and running, and the freezer doesn’t get lonely!
Try these for awesome and easy preps you can freeze and reheat easily!
- The Best Slow Cooked Beef Chili Recipe
- Cozy Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
- Easy Freezer-Friendly White Bean Veggie Burgers
Batch Cook the Basics
Beans. Meats. Rice. Veggies. These are the mainstays of your meals. The ingredients that form the backbone of recipe prep, or just cooking on the fly without recipes (we all do it!) If you cook up the basics, such as dried beans, rice, roasted veggies, or meats, for example, you have the building blocks for great meals. (If you’ve already prepped some DIY marinades and sauces, you’re ahead of the game; you can easily integrate them into your preps!).
If you are already cooking some rice for a meal, why not cook more and make it a whole batch? Put aside what you need for that week’s prep, but then freeze the rest! Similarly, if you’ve been meaning to cook up a whole bag of dried beans that’s been lurking in your pantry, go for it. You can pressure cook or slow cook them. (We know canned beans are awesome; we use them a LOT!). Or what about roasting up a bunch of veggies and then putting them in the fridge (and some in the freezer if you like?) These are the moves that will save you when you’ve got a crazy busy week and you haven’t prepped entire meals for the entire week. You can just implement the formula of protein plus starch plus veggies equals lunch or dinner!
We love to grill up a lot of steak, chicken, shrimp, or pork, so you can pop them over salads (like this Mediterranean Chicken Salad) or serve alongside a starch, tossed with pasta, or with roasted veggies. We especially love this easy lunch meal prep: Roasted Salmon and Veggies. Steal the technique; it works for almost any veg + protein combo!
Leave a Reply