Cooking is a great way to spend some quality time with the family and a great way to help get your child involved with the cooking and more familiar with all those lovely ingredients you want them to eat.
However, when you are juggling work, family responsibilities, and other obligations it can be difficult to find the time for meal preparation, never mind getting your child involved with the process.
But, it doesn't have to be this way!
There are lots of ways to make cooking a less time-consuming and more enjoyable experience for everyone.
One great option is batch cooking.
This technique lets you prepare meals in advance that can then be frozen or refrigerated for later use in order to save time during those busy days when you just don't have time (or motivation).
What are the benefits of batch cooking?
You no longer have to worry about "What's for dinner?"
And you'll save money on groceries because you're buying in bulk and using up everything before spoilage sets in.
Best of all, your family will love having a variety of healthy homemade meals ready to go at a moment's notice.
Here are just some of the many reasons that people enjoy their time spent batch cooking
1) Save Money - By making large batches of food at once, you won't have to worry about shopping as often. This saves both time and money!
2) Less Stress - there are times when we come home from a hard day and simply don't want to think about what's for dinner, especially if you know you are coming home to an empty fridge. With batch cooking there is always something healthy in the freezer you can slam in the oven with none of the guilt of feeding the kids another convenience meal.
3) More Free Time - when you batch cook you tend to be a little more prepared, you do all your shopping in one go and you do all the cooking in one afternoon. This leaves you plenty of time to do whatever interests you!
4) Eat Healthier & Eat a Better Balanced Diet - When you home cook large batches of food, you have a lot more control over what goes into your meals.
How Can I Get Started With Batch Cooking?
Start slow if this is your first time doing any sort of meal prep.
You can prepare a few things in advance to take off some time during your weekdays, like pre-chopping vegetables during the weekend when you have more free time.
But don't try to do anything too crazy like cooking an entire week's worth of meals all at once - it's just not realistic!
The best way to get started with batch cooking is to dedicate one afternoon or day where you can cook your meals for the week. Don't worry about how many batches of different recipes you're going to make - just focus on getting as much done at once as possible, it will be beneficial in the long run!
And if you haven't got one already, I would definitely advise getting a slow-cooker. Mine has been an absolute game-changer. You can literally through a bunch of ingredients inside and leave it to do it's thing while you do yours.
Here Are Some Simple Steps That Can Help Make Batch Cooking Easier For You:
1) Get all your ingredients ready!
There is nothing more time-consuming than running around looking for everything that you need in the middle of preparing a dinner.
This will help to ensure that there are no distractions during your batch cooking day, which could lead to overcooking if you're not careful.
2) Try out some new recipes! Batch cooking is an excellent time to try out new recipes that you're interested in.
Don't limit yourself - this is also a great opportunity to clear out the fridge and pantry of extra ingredients that may be taking up space or expiring soon.
3) Have a plan.
When you have a schedule to follow, it's easier to get through the cooking process - and you're less likely to burn something! Planning your meals out ahead of time is the best way to go about batch cooking. Save yourself some stress and make sure that you know what you are cooking for the week.
4) Don't Give Up!
If you're new to cooking or struggle with getting your recipes in order, batch cooking may not be something that you want to try right away.
Don't give up on the idea of meal prep though - it's definitely beneficial, but if you don't feel ready to dedicate a whole afternoon to the kitchen, there are still other options that you can use to take some of the stress out of mealtimes, like pre-made meal plans.
Planning meals ahead of time is not only a great way to reduce stress but also a great way to reduce teatime tantrums.
No matter what path you choose, remember that meal prepping is here to help! So don't give up - try out some different strategies and figure out which one works best for you!
