A Helpful Guide to Batch Cooking
With COVID-19 going on, everyone is forced to self-isolate to keep themselves and others safe. This has certainly changed how we have our daily meals. Eating out has become a lot less frequent, and trips to the grocery store for small pantry top-ups of which we've taken for granted have become risk-laden.
Many have opted to purchase groceries online and have it delivered home, but with an ever increasing waiting period between deliveries, some have switched to expensive food deliveries. Instead of ordering in, buying take-outs, or cooking everyday, why not batch cook a versatile dish that will last you and your family for the week?
What is Batch Cooking?
Batch cooking is essentially cooking a large portion that will last you for days, a week, or even more. It is then divided into daily portions and stashed into your refrigerator or freezer for days where cooking is adamantly NOT on your to-do list.
It makes it simple to whip up meals with limited effort as all the prep work has been done, saving you time to prepare meals without the need to start from scratch.
What is the Easiest Way to Batch Cook?
Cooking large portions may sound difficult, but it’s actually incredibly simple! The trick is to break it down to a few points as you will see below:
Back to the Basics
Basic dishes like pasta, rice, grains, soups, and roasted veggies great to batch cook and freeze. These store for a long period in the freezer while retaining its flavour and versatility as these basic items pair well with almost any dish. Having leftover burger patties for dinner? Just heat up the frozen veggies in your freezer and pair it with rice for a comforting
burger bowl!
Get Creative with Meal Planning
Planning is important - decide on what you’re going to batch cook while taking into account the versatility of the dish. If you’re a person who easily gets bored of the same dish two days in a row, this is your chance to get creative. For instance, you can marinate large portions of chicken or meat that you can then cook on the fly - be it for a family dinner, a quick stir-fry for lunch, a healthy salad or wrap.
Buy in Bulk
Buying ingredients in bulk is essential when it comes to batch cooking. For example, if you’re planning to cook a week’s worth of
pumpkin soup, you’ll certainly need more than 1 pumpkin and its accompanying ingredients to do so! It’s also usually cheaper to buy ingredients in bulk so this is where batch cooking can save you heaps of money (and time!) in the long run.
Keep it to One Pot
The most effective way to batch cook is to use a single large pot. The best usual suspects for batch cooking are:
What is the Best Way to Store Food in Batches?
Batch cooking is great for a few days. However, dishes like rice, pasta, and meat will only last a few days in the refrigerator. It's best to freeze them if you'd like to store it for a longer duration. Here are some examples on how you can store them in the freezer:
Glass Containers
The most common way would be to use glass containers that are freezer, microwave, and oven safe. You can easily identify your dishes AND remove the hassle of washing multiple dishes as the glass container can also act as a bowl.
Pyrex’s glass containers are certainly one of the best around as they don’t absorb odours and have the durability to resist high heat and freezing temperatures.
If you struggle with little space in your freezer, then
Stasher bags will be an absolute lifesaver. These food bags are specially made from food-grade silicone to withstand heat and freezing temperatures while taking up little space in your freezer with its slim design. You can pack soups, stews, rice, veggies, and even raw meat, then sous vide them to cook or heat up your meal!
These handy pods are the perfect solution to freeze both small and large portions of soups, stews, and broths. It works just like your usual ice tray, but it comes with a silicone lid to keep liquid food secured and to prevent any freezer odours from permeating into your food. As the pods come in fixed volumes, the
Progressive Portion Pods will also help you store accurate amounts of food, perfect for batch cooking!
Batch Cooking Recipes to get You Started
Not too sure what to batch cook? Here are some delicious and easy one-pot wonders to get you started on your batch cooking journey! You can easily portion these recipes out to mix and match with other dishes you're having for the day. Simply remove a portion from the freezer and reheat to enjoy!
Soups:
Lunch & Dinner:
Snacks:
