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Instead of preparing and cooking one or two meals a day, do all the work once a week only. The aim is to save time; while eating wholesome, homemade meals every day.
There are some obvious benefits to batch baking. For example, it can reduce meal costs, as you're going shopping with a definitive list in mind, so you're less likely to indulge in impulse food shopping. If you have your week's meals planned, you will be less likely to make nutritionally poor choices on the spur of the moment.
Buying in bulk for your big cooking session will mean fewer trips to the supermarket, better-planned purchases and hence less money spent. You can also save money by cutting down on food waste. Using leftovers and ingredients to make more meals is also a batch baking plus. Try not to throw anything away.
What kind of meals can be prepared for batch baking?
Your meals should include plenty of healthy basic ingredients including vegetables, proteins and good fats. One way to start is to decide what your favourite vegetables are and whether they're in season. Try to build some nutritious meals around them.
Determine what basic ingredients can be bulk-cooked and frozen. Aim to have some variety and balance. If you buy just whatever you feel like eating at the time, you'll soon get bored with your meals.
The secret is to use ingredients that can be turned into several different dishes. For example, making creamy chicken can produce different meals with ease. Turn it into a chicken and leek pasta bake, a creamy chicken and sweetcorn soup, or a chicken, broccoli and potato pie.
How can you get the best from batch baking?
Batch baking is all about being efficient, so your preparation work is important. Make sure you have the proper containers to store the food once it has been prepared. Airtight containers are ideal for storing food in the fridge until you're ready to cook it.
You will also need a good selection of plastic containers suitable for the freezer and some freezer bags. If you've never batch cooked before, it's a good idea to clean out the fridge and freezer before starting. Make sure there is no old food taking up valuable space!
How do you freeze food safely?
Since you’ll be cooking large amounts of food, you must ensure everything is properly stored to keep it fresh. Anything you put in the fridge will keep best in air-tight containers. If you won't be able to eat it within the next four days, it should be put in the freezer.
The time food spends in the freezer won’t affect its safety to eat, but it can affect the taste when it has been defrosted. That's why many pre-packed products carry information on optimum freezing times. Remember that some food might freeze, but it doesn't defrost as well taste-wise.
Examples of foods that don't freeze and defrost particularly well are potatoes; dressings and salads with mayonnaise; cream-based soups; or raw vegetable salads. The meals that freeze and defrost best include casseroles, stews, meatballs, meatloaves, bread, sauces, beans, pies and muffins.
Any food won't taste as good if it isn't stored properly and gets freezer burn. This tends to suck the taste out of it. If you freeze your food for longer than three months, it's more likely to get freezer burn. Sealing in air-tight containers is a good option for avoiding this.
Don't leave cooked meals at room temperature for too long. As soon as they are cool, store them in the fridge or freezer. Similarly, when defrosting, the safest ways to do so are in the fridge or microwave. Don't leave frozen meals on the kitchen counter to defrost at room temperature.
When starting to freeze your meals, think of how you'll defrost them. It's better to freeze the food in individual portions. This means it will take less time to defrost and you will have greater flexibility when it comes to eating them.
Another handy tip is to label all the food you're storing in the freezer, with the date you put it there. You can use masking tape on the side of the box and a permanent marker. The tape will remove easily and it won’t leave a sticky residue on the boxes.
Appliances and utensils
Finally, if you're serious about batch baking and intend to do it regularly, invest in some staple utensils and appliances.
Buy a food processor that slices, chops and grates, as this is an absolute must for many meals. You can grate carrots for a stew, cheese for a pizza, make hummus, chop onions, make peanut butter and do all kinds of different things.
A blender will whirl your ingredients into sauces and smoothies without any effort whatsoever. Get extra-smooth pasta sauce with no lumps and make great soups. Get a high-powered 700-watt one to do the best job.
Think about what you would like to make, but can't because you don't have the tools. This should then be your first purchase.