How to Meal Prep Like a Champ by Batch Cooking
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Nobody has enough time to do everything — we have jobs, families and social obligations on top of the basic things we need to do to take care of ourselves. It’s no wonder that people tend to lean so heavily on fast food, even though we know it’s bad for us!
In this blog post, we’ll look at a few different methods of batch cooking, a meal prep method that helps you save time while preparing tasty meals that also happen to be healthy. Are you ready?
TYPES OF BATCH COOKING
There are a few different methods you can use, but I’ll focus on the easiest: roasting, slow cooking, boiling, and grilling (and broiling). You’ll use different methods for different types of foods. The best restaurants use batch cooking all the time to prepare some of the tastiest meals you’ve ever eaten. and guess what? It saves time and money!
Roasting - there’s nothing quite as delicious as roasted vegetables, especially when the ends get a little crispy! Roasting works by heating the air in the oven, which then cooks the food. You can roast vegetables, potatoes and meat while you do something else. It’s a very versatile and easy method.
Slow cooking — using slow cooking is a great way to save time and have a hot meal ready at the end of the day. A slow cooker uses a low heat over a long period to make meat fall off the bone, delicious curries, soft beans, and hearty stews.
Boiling — this method is great for rice and pasta, beets and potatoes, but not so ideal for things like meat and veggies.
Grilling and/broiling - this technique works especially well for meat, but it’s also great for vegetables like eggplant, zucchini, and asparagus. A broiler is an inverted grill in your oven. Most people aren’t even aware of it, let alone know how to use one. Grilling and broiling need a little more attention than the other methods, but can be quite satisfying. We’ll explore grilling and broiling in a bit.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
Take a few minutes to do a quick kitchen inventory. You’ll want to see if you have the following items. If you don’t, you can make the necessary adjustments or follow the affiliate links provided to get them on Amazon.
Stainless steel mixing bowl — you’ll be using this for way more than you think. Every cook needs at least one stainless steel mixing bowl in their kitchen.
Sheet pan — These are for more than just making cookies. You can use them to roast veggies like broccoli, squash and carrots, as well as diced sweet potatoes. Avoid PFAS-laden nonstick and opt for a naturally non-stick surface like aluminum or ceramic.
Casserole dish — using a casserole dish as a roasting pan for meat can help keep it from drying out in the oven. Plus, they come in handy for healthy breakfast egg bakes.
Large pot with pasta strainer insert — using a pasta drainer insert is a safer way to make pasta and avoid making a mess. It’s a win/win!
Slow cooker — you can start with a basic slow cooker like this, or upgrade to a top-of-the-line one with more features like this one. These options are free of PFAS coatings and the forever chemicals that they leech into your food, so you can be sure you’re doing a good thing for your health by using them.
Broiler pan — most ovens come with one, but if you don’t have one, this is a good option.
Cast-iron grill pan or charcoal grill, chimney starter, and all-natural charcoal — nothing beats the taste of charcoal-grilled food. Avoid the carcinogens in lighter fluid by using this chimney starter and untreated briquets.
Strainer — this is a handy tool for making rice using the pasta method, or for straining broths.
Spatula — from roasting to grilling, a good stainless-steel spatula is a must-have.
Tongs — sometimes nothing else will do the trick, so just think of them as a small fireproof metal hand.
Glass storage containers — Use microwave-safe glass containers like these to avoid exposure to the xenoestrogens in plastic that are released when reheating food.
HOW TO ROAST MEAT, VEGETABLES AND POTATOES
Let’s go over three recipes for roasting - meat, vegetables and potatoes. In fact, if you time everything right, you can make an entire well-balanced meal in your oven!
Roasted Chicken Thighs
Ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp olive oil
Black pepper (or a spice blend) to taste
Unrefined salt to taste
Instructions:
heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
Pat the chicken dry
Coat in olive oil on both sides
Place in a roasting pan
Sprinkle with salt and pepper (or spices)
Roast for 35-45 minutes until clear juice comes out when you slice the thickest part of the chicken
Roasted Broccoli
Ingredients:
1 pound broccoli
1 tbsp olive oil
Black pepper to taste
Garlc powder to taste
Unrefined salt to taste
Instructions:
heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
Cut the broccoli florets into 1.5-inch pieces
Coat in olive oil
Place in a roasting pan
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder
Roast for 20-25 minutes until a little crispy on the edges
Roasted Potatoes
FYI — you can use this exact method to roast sweet potatoes as well as regular potatoes.
Ingredients:
4 medium-sized organic russet potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
Black pepper to taste
Unrefined salt to taste
Instructions:
heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
Poke holes all over the potatoes with the tines of a fork
Coat in olive oil on both sides
Sprinkle with salt and pepper (or spices)
Place on middle or top oven rack with a pan on the rack below for drips and roast for 45-60 minutes until it gives a little when you squeeze it (you should feel the starch moving when you do this)
HOW TO SLOW COOK
Slow cookers usually have two settings — high and low. The high setting is better for getting things going, while the slow setting is what I usually use when I don’t want to keep checking on things. It may take a little longer, but I like the odds better. Generally, recipes in the slow cooker take between 4 and 10 hours to be ready, which makes this a perfect overnight or away-at-work method. You can even adapt many stovetop recipes for the slow cooker, which gives you lots of options!
Slow-Cooker Creole Red Beans
This might be my favorite recipe to meal prep because it is so delicious. You can adapt it and make it easier by putting everything in the pot uncooked, and let the slow cooker do its magic on low over the next 9-10 hours.
Slow-Cooker Chicken Thighs
This recipe works really well with a simmer sauce like this one. You would just omit the broth or water and use the simmer sauce in its place, according to the directions on the package.
Ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp olive oil
4 oz chicken broth or water (or use your simmer sauce)
Black pepper (or a spice blend) to taste
Unrefined salt to taste
Instructions:
Pat the chicken dry
Coat in olive oil on both sides
Place in the slow cooker
Sprinkle with salt and pepper (or spices)
pour broth or water in the bottom of the slow cooker
Cook for 4 hours on low until the chicken pulls apart with a fork
HOW TO BOIL RICE, PASTA, POTATOES AND BEETS
All boiling is not the same. Lots of factors are involved — the salinity of the water, the time that you add the food to be boiled, and how long you boil it for are all factors. Let’s explore.
Boiled Rice - The Pasta Method
Most people make rice wrong and it comes out a gummy, mushy mess. When you use what I like to call the pasta method, you get perfect rice every time. It’s a little more involved, but the payoff is worth it.
Ingredients:
2 cups Jasmine rice
1/2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions:
Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes, then drain it.
Bring about 6 cups of water to a boil in a deep pot.
Add drained rice to the water.
Add olive oil to the water.
Cook for 6 minutes, then check for desired texture. It should be soft but not mushy.
Boiled Pasta
Depending on whether your pasta is fresh or dried, wheat or rice (or lentil, quinoa, corn, etc.), cooking times can vary quite a bit. The goal with pasta is to cook it al dente, which is Italian for “to the teeth” and basically means soft enough to chew, but a tiny bit firm. You’ll notice there is quite a lot of salt in the water. The rule of thumb is that the less time the food spends in the water, the saltier it should be, because less time in the water means less salt will be absorbed. So, for fresh pasta (which usually only cooks for 1-3 minutes), you would want more than for something that cooks longer.
Ingredients:
A pot of water
1-2 tbsp unrefined salt
Pasta
Instructions:
Salt the water (it should be very salty)
Bring the water to a boil
Add the pasta and stir a few ties to ensure nothing sticks together
If you are cooking fresh pasta, the pasta is done when it floats to the surface. If you are cooking dried pasta, follow the instructions on the package.
Boiled Potatoes and Boiled Beets
Potatoes and beets are both very dense root vegetables, so you can use a similar method for cooking them. Boiled potatoes can be used to make mashed potatoes or potato salad, while boiled beets can be used on salads or to make borscht, a nutritious eastern European dish.
Ingredients:
2 pounds potatoes (or beets)
Instructions:
Peel the potatoes
Cut in half lengthwise, then cut in half again.
Cut the quarters into 2/4 inch thick slices and add to a an empty pot.
Cover the potatoes with cold water.
Bring the contents of the bot to a boil, then cook for an additional 15-20 minutes.
Check the potatoes by stabbing them with a fork, if the piece breaks apart, the potatoes are done. If you are cooking beets, the fork should easily slide through the beet without hitting any crunchy bits.
HOW TO GRILL (OR BROIL) VEGGIES AND MEAT
Grilling is one of life’s great pleasures — it’s a chance to reduce cooking down to its simplest form. You can grill lots of things (including pizza), but for starters, let’s just focus on the basics — vegetables and meat.
Grilled Eggplant, Zucchini and Summer Squash
These are great starter veggies to grill, and so simple and delicious. I’m getting hungry as I write this!
Ingredients:
2 pounds Eggplant, zucchini or summer squash
1-2 tbsp olive oil
Unrefined salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Cut the ends off your veggies.
Slice lengthwise into 1/2-inch strips.
Toss them in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper and coat evenly.
Grill for about 2 minutes per side over a medium flame, flipping with tongs or a spatula.
Grilled Chicken Thighs
Chicken is probably the most nerve-wracking thing to cook, because if you’re anything like me, you’re constantly paranoid about eating undercooked chicken. But the good news is — if you can cook chicken, you can cook anything.
Ingredients:
1 pound chicken thighs
1-2 tbsp olive oil
Unrefined salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Any extra seasonings that you’d like (garlic powder, rosemary, and herbes de Provence are all great options)
Instructions:
Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
In a bowl, toss until evenly coated with olive oil,
Add salt, pepper and any extra seasoning you like and toss again until evenly coated.
Grill for 3-4 minutes per side over a medium flame, flipping with tongs or a spatula. It is done when you can see clear juice seeping out the top.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
Give these strategies a try next time you are planning your meals for the week. You’ll be surprised how much time you save and how much better you feel eating healthy home-cooked food all week.