If you've ever heard of batch cooking and don't know what it is or what it's for, here are all the answers. With this new trend, you do not spend so much time cooking, you waste less food and it is easier for you to eat a healthy and balanced diet, something essential if you want to lose weight. Her secret: cook a lot one day and hardly anything the rest of the week.
What is batch cooking and how does it work?
- Cook big. The term means "block cooking" or "big time." You cook in advance and at once to save time, money and not having to think about what to eat every day.
- Make extra food. Its main key is to take advantage of the time and resources used in a cooking or preparation to cook more, and that it serves you for several days and combinations.
- Save with your head . Another of its essential points is to cook food that you can store and preserve in the fridge or freezer, and in portions to make them more versatile.
- Plan the menus. For it to work, you have to plan the weekly menu so that you take advantage of the same preparation for several recipes and, rebound, control your diet.
How to plan batch cooking
If you don't know where to start, here are all the keys to get started
- Plan and choose a good day. The first step is to plan a menu for the whole week and, depending on your schedules and your needs, choose the day that best suits you to dedicate yourself to cooking without pressure or distractions. It can be Sunday afternoon or that day that you know no one distracts you.
- Optimize time and resources. To be able to cook more, use all the stoves at the same time and vertically, that is, when you boil, you can steam another meal on top. While something is cooking, prepare the ingredients for another preparation. Or when baking, use large trays and take advantage of all the oven racks with different recipes at once. These gadgets will help you a lot in your batch cooking process.
- Get cooking big. Cooking a whole chicken, broccoli, or lots of roasted vegetables saves time and money. Whole pieces are better priced than portions or rations; And it is also more sustainable, since you invest the same energy to make one meal as several and, by leaving no residue, you do not waste.
- Keep it in small servings. One of the infallible tricks of batch cooking is to store food in individual portions or servings - so you can easily use or defrost them - and in containers that facilitate their storage. Square or rectangular tuppers and lunch boxes are more versatile than round ones.
- Bet on "saveable" food. Pasta, rice and legumes can be cooked all at once and stored or even frozen in individual servings. Broths, creams and vegetable purees can also be frozen in portions or in ice buckets to add flavor to other dishes. And you can even freeze ready-made sandwiches, cakes, muffins …
- Sign up for save food. It is equivalent to the kitchen of use of a lifetime, based on taking advantage of the leftovers and not wasting anything. Hamburgers, meatballs, croquettes, stuffed vegetables, lasagna, cannelloni, quiches, omelettes and scrambled eggs serve to take advantage of or give a twist to the extra food you have cooked.
- Magic allies : Tortillas, quiches, lasagna … and all the preparations that can be cut into portions will be great for you.
The batch cooking shopping list
- Vegetables. With zucchini, aubergines and peppers, make purees, pistos and stuffed vegetables.
- Hydrates Pasta, rice, quinoa, and legumes can be cooked beforehand and frozen.
- Proteins Eggs, minced meat, a whole chicken, and fish fillets serve several meals.
- And do not forget. Bagged vegetables and canned vegetables help you fill out weekly menus.
