Batch cooking is basically cooking big portions of different foods that are intended to be mixed and matched for a whole week. Most people do this on a Sunday, for the week ahead.

While it will usually take a few hours on the weekend, it helps during the week when you do not have time to stand and cook. By batch cooking, you can just heat and eat, or add a few extras to the dish. It may be tiring on the weekend, but you will thank yourself during the week.

The great thing about cooking meals at home is the fact that you know exactly what is going into your food, unlike when you order takeout.

Here are a few simple steps that will save you loads of time during the week:

1. Cook grains in bulk and stores them for re-heating during the week.
2. Wash and chop up all the veggies you need for the week – be sure to dry them off well so that they do not spoil.
3. Roast some of your veggies, so that you can just heat them up later in the week.
4. Pre-make your dressings and store them well.

Guidelines to batch cooking

There are not many rules, but here are a few things that you may want to take note of.

Make sure that you pre-cook all the ingredients that take a long time to cook by themselves, such as roasted sweet potato, or brown rice. You can dress these up with sauces or add-ons during the week.

For example, if you make big batches of sweet potato, cauliflower, brown rice, black beans, and broccoli, you could add them to a curry one day, stirfry them on another, or add them to a Mexican-inspired dish on the third day.

Likewise, you can keep add-ons and dressings for different basics on different nights. One night you can have beets and beans, or swop them out the way you feel like it, depending on your mood.

The options are truly endless, but here are a couple of guidelines to keep you from becoming bored. You can either mix and match, or you can pre-plan full meals in advance.

Cook at least 4 different veggies and have 2-3 plant-based sources of protein.

You also need to include healthy fats in your diet, so make sure that you have Avocado on hand, healthy oils, seeds, and nuts to add to your weekly menu.