Batch cooking ideas please

lambanana

Something to remember is that buying food for one isn't half the cost of a budget for two people. I'm sure you can easily cut to £30 a week though, especially if you're trying to lose weight as you shouldn't be buying crisps/chocolate and such

I write down a list of meals we like then share them out across the month, we have one day a week where we'll eat something on toast (eggs, beans and fried up mushrooms is a popular choice) and one day a week we'll have baked potato with beans/coleslaw/tuna. We have pasta at least once a week as it's cheap and cheerful and cooks quickly! This means three days are sorted with easy and quick meals (if you do the baked potato in the microwave but even if not it can be put in the oven and ignored) and I fill in the rest with things like shepherds pie, stews cooked in the slow cooker, toad in the hole, sausage and mash, lasagne and curries. Having a plan does help with the food budgeting as I buy for the meals on the plan but it's not set in stone and sometimes I switch the days around depending on how I feel and how much effort I want to put into a meal.

Youdontseeme

Thanks for all the hints and tips. This week I will certainly try to sit down and get my head around it all.

YDSM

Magpie.

I plan of giving the meal planning another go from next week. It really used to work for me, I'm pretty terrible at eating of an evening but if I planned and shopped then it would make me cook and eat.

I also cook for one (my daughter eats her main meal at school so just has something light in the evening)

maman

My meal planning is pretty basic ( seven meals written in the corner of my shopping list) but it works for me. I think the secret is to write your list around what you have in to save waste and try to always have the basics in your storecupboard (prefereably bought when on offer). I keep ongoing supply of breakfast stuff and(sardines/beans/cheese/soup etc) covers lunches. I do cook for the freezer every few weeks so we have plenty of HM ready-meals.

My main reason for posting was to say that meal planning makes things easier when you have a busy life. I often read posts when people give work/getting in late/tiredness etc as the reason for not saving/meal planning. What I'm suggesting is that it's so much more effective to spend a short time each week on your plan/shopping list then a quick whizz around the supermarket (or online if you prefer). It will be quick because you know exactly what you want. And then, what could be easier than getting home and just reheating something from the fridge or freezer. Save the 'bit of effort' meals for weekends (and cook extra to freeze!).

JulieGeorgiana

Winter Soup for 20p a portion!

In September while most winter veg is in season, I buy a Max of £10 worth of veg:

Potatoes (2.5kg)
Carrots (1kg)
Leeks (4 Large)
Onions (4-6)
Swede (1)
Turnip (2 Large OR 3-4 Small)

Optional:

Celery
Parsnip

My husband and I spend a few hours and we chop and dice everything into small chunks...

We normally separate this into 20 small freezer bags = 50p a bag!!!

Then Freeze.

If you want soup, put the content of 1 bag into boiling water (DO NOT DEFROST), add yellow split peas, barley, green peas, lentils and add salt, pepper and for a lovely taste add bouillon powder (dried vegetable powder).

Cook for an hour or more... Wizz with a blender and serve hot!

This feeds 2 Adults and a child for 2 nights... that's 5 ADULT portions!

I can make 1 pot of soup for £1, which is 20p per portion!!!!!

I don't know about you... but that's a cost I like to see!

Add leftover chicken, beef, pork, or even some cooking bacon for a little something extra!

Jx

Ps. 20 Packs will get us through the whole winter :laugh:

Pps. It's very thick (without adding cream), therefore very HEALTHY!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

I have really lapsed since my business has taken off, and find when i get home, i am too pooped to cook, so we end up having takeaways more and more:cool:

I have batched cooked and frozen in individual portions but i would like to eat it fresh so to speak.

My gran used to cook all day on the weekends, one day for savoury and one day for cakes etc, and this was more or less for the week.

I was thinking of doing this, maybe spend either sat or sunday making maybe a casserole, spag ball, curry etc then keep them in the fridge to use during the week.

was just wondering how long would you keep these things in the fridge for?

by doing our meals this way, I can prep veg etc the night before, and when i get home i can just put everything on to boil, or cook in the oven while i am doing other things, or having my bath

BitterAndTwisted

Well, if you think how long the use by dates for cooked and chilled ready-meals are in the supermarket I'd say that home pre-cooked dishes could be kept in the fridge for at least a week. Of course, your fridge temp would need to be cool enough to do this but I expect most are. The only other caveat would be to ensure that the food is piping-hot but I expect you knew that any way.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Well, if you think how long the use by dates for cooked and chilled ready-meals are in the supermarket I'd say that home pre-cooked dishes could be kept in the fridge for at least a week. Of course, your fridge temp would need to be cool enough to do this but I expect most are. The only other caveat would be to ensure that the food is piping-hot but I expect you knew that any way.

I thought shop bought prepared meals had the air 'sucked' out of them, when they put the film over the top of them, slowing down the bacteria.

The silly thing is i love cooking, but by the time we all get home from work, see to the chickens and ducks etc if i were to start cooking then, we wouldnt eat until 9pm:eek:...lol..

zippychick

Hi Cooltrikerchick

Personally i would keep dishes like you have mentioned for around the three day mark but that's my own personal threshold.

Do you notice a difference in frozen and reheated? Might make more sense to batch cook at two weekly intervals, so if you could manage a wednesday you would have stuff to keep you going until the weekend. Do you use a SC? Do you want some links ? I know you know your way around this board , so I don't want to teach you to suck eggs!

Zip x

Fruball

I have a 4 day rule for all homecooked foods. If i think I will not use it in 4 days, it gets frozen and taken out the night before and defrosted