How batch cooking helps save time in the kitchen for your busy schedule
A friend, with no kids, at our Crossfit gym questioned why I spent so much time in the kitchen each night making meals. I stared at her with great confusion, “Isn’t that what everyone does?”
“Nope”, she said, I make everything on the weekends and microwave during the week.
Now I get it, this doesn’t work for everyone, and I’ll be honest I modified it. Here’s what’s worked for us, since 2021 when starting this for our family when the boys were 3 and 5.
I started making sure our meats were thawed and cooked once a week.
Here is how that helped us and will help you too:
1. This helped us develop a loose plan for meals for the week.
We don’t plan what we’ll eat each night, but we do have 3-4 meals thought out, meat thawed & cooked, & ingredients on hand.
We can then make it when we want it.
This has led to less food waste & less time answering the famous, “What’s for dinner tonight” question.
2. We spend less time in the kitchen on weeknights.
By the time we’re home from school & after-school activities, bedtime is lurking around the corner. I want more time with the boys and less in the kitchen.
With our meat pre-cooked, dinner normally takes 30 minutes to make each night or less.
3. Creates room for changes in your plans.
Has something come up at the last minute? Change the homemade hamburger helper plan to tacos for the night for a quick meal.
4. Easily feed multiple meals for those watching their diets or picky eaters.
We’ll make pork roast, and the boys will eat pulled pork sandwiches while we eat pulled pork over cauliflower rice.
If the weekends don’t work for you, no worries. Pick a different day. Maybe it’s an evening your home, or you’re placing the meat in the crockpot to cook overnight, and you’ll put it away in the morning before work.
Don’t get stuck on having to do it on Sundays. Flex it to fit your life. Save yourself some time on the weeknights to enjoy more of what you like to do and spend time with who you love!
Here’s some of the meal ideas we do for our batch cooking:
Ground beef- we cook 3-5 pounds at a time for:
o Tacos
o Burrito bowls
o Spaghetti
Beef Roast
o Burrito bowls
o Pulled beef sandwiches
o Tacos
o Salad
Pork Roast
o Pulled pork sandwiches
o Burrito bowls
o Salad
o Stir fry veggie & stir fry sauce