We all know that the “witching hour” is not an urban legend. It is a very real thing! It seems like every night about the time you need to fix dinner, everyone loses it. It’s like meltdown central and any hope of having a home cooked meal on the table has gone out the window. You‘re throwing a frozen pizza in the oven or serving up some random crackers you found in the back of the pantry. I experienced this brink of hell EVERY night until I discovered batching!!! Some of you may be familiar with the concept already or some may be thinking “what is that?!?”. In any case, I’m going to show you how I batch and some tricks I’ve learned how to make it easier and less time consuming.
For those of you who are not familiar with it; batching is simply making most of your dinners ahead of time in one day. Sound overwhelming? Trust me....it’s not, and I’ll show you how.
1. I start by having a clear menu for the week. I can already hear you saying “I don’t have time to plan.” Here‘s what I do so it’s not a chore: Throughout the week I add menu ideas to the notes in my phone when I see them on Pinterest, Instagram or in a magazine. When I add that menu item, I also add the ingredients to my grocery list. This keeps a running grocery list for the week so you don’t have to make one out the day of shopping.
2. As you make your list think of the common imgredients. For example:
The common ingredients in these dishes are quinoa, chicken, tortillas, slaw mix and cilantro. Try to have some dishes that use similar items so you’re not cooking a hundred things. You can just cook a few things and use them for different dishes throughout the week.
3. Wash and cut all your fruits and vegetables. Not only is it easier to assemble meals when they’re washed and ready, you will also make healthier eating choices if you can quickly throw together a salad or grab a clean piece of fruit as you’re running out the door.
4. Cook all your grains in bulk. Like I mentioned in #2, you should only have to cook a few to spread out between meals for the week. These would be your rice, barley, quinoa, oats, etc.
5. Cook all your proteins at once. Brown your taco meat, grill your chicken, put your roast in the crockpot, and cook your eggs. With the exception of fish, shellfish and steak most meats reheat really well, so they can be cooked ahead of time.
6. Make up all your lunches for school/work and have them stacked in the fridge. You can read my blog “Simple Ways to Make School Mornings Smoother” for details on how to do this.
7. If you are cooking vegetables for your dinners like roasted asparagus, have it washed and trimmed but don’t cook until the night you need it. Many cooked vegetables don’t taste great reheated, and it’s really not considered cooking if you throw it on a foil lined pan and stick it in the oven😉.
It may take a few weeks to get the hang of batching, but once you do you will never go back to cooking dinner every night!!! When you batch, you’re cooking everything at once so it cuts your total cooking time down dramatically. You also are only washing pots and pans once. No more kitchen clean up the rest of the week. 🙌🏻 Now, I can get excited about that!! When you are running here and there or having a rough night, it’s one less thing you have to think about. Just grab one of your dinners out and heat it up or eat it cold like I often do 😆.
*Leave a comment here or email me with any questions you have about batching. And as always, tell me your experience with it! I always love hearing from you!!!💕
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