When we first married, I was employed full-time, and my husband was in graduate school full-time. Our time was at a premium, so we often neglected cooking. We ate too much ready-made food and went to restaurants two to four times a week. It was unhealthy for our budget and bodies. When we kicked the restaurant habit, we started cooking at home. However, we were still low on time, so we turned to batch cooking to save time and money.
The Results of Not Batch Cooking
A few months ago, we moved across the country, and we’ve been too busy to batch cook. Once again, our meals have been ready-made processed food, and neither of us is happy with this situation. Plus, in this time of high inflation, our grocery bill has climbed because we’re not cooking from scratch. So, we’ve resolved to go back to our batch cooking routine.
Easy Batch Cooking to Save Time and Money
Years ago, I used to cook for an entire day. Then we’d have enough meals in the freezer to last a whole month, sometimes longer. Unfortunately, the older I get, the less I have the patience or tolerance for spending all day in the kitchen. So now, I batch cook in an easier way that better fits our lifestyle.
Double the Meals You Make
My favorite way to batch cook is to double the meals I make. I’m already cooking, so why not make double the amount and give myself a reprieve from cooking one night in the future? For instance, last week, I made Paleo Chili. I doubled the recipe, so now I have four personal-size portions of the meal in the freezer. I’ll use these for a quick lunch for myself or take out two for dinner for both of us.
If you make five meals at home one week and double each recipe, you have ten dinners for future nights (assuming each meal makes four servings, and one meal doubled makes two dinners for two). Do this for two weeks, and you will have 20 dinners in the freezer. Then, on days when you know you’ll be busy, pull out a freezer meal and let it thaw in the refrigerator until you get home. So easy!
Make Meal Components
If you or your significant other doesn’t like freezer meals or you don’t have time to make many, try making meal components instead. For instance, I’ll brown two pounds of beef on the weekend and put it in the freezer. Then, if I want to make tacos one night, I pull out one pound of cooked meat and simply season it. This saves half of the prep time, and we get a fresh meal.
We also like to cook chicken and shred it. We keep it in the freezer and pull it out as needed for chicken fried rice, pot pie, tacos, etc.
Final Thoughts
Batch cooking to save time and money is easy if you double your meals when you make them or make meal components on the weekend. You’ll save money and eat healthier than if you relied on ready-made food or went out to eat. It’s one of our favorite ways to save.
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Melissa Batai
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her reading a good book, cooking, or traveling. She resides in New York where she loves the natural beauty of the area.
That chili looks really tasty. Gonna try the recipe for our Sunday football game. Thanks
I’m liking the chicken and onions…