Do you consider “Batch Cooking” a dirty word? Do you break out in a cold sweat thinking about spending a whole Sunday in the kitchen? Me too!
I mean, it’s a nice thought to have meals done for the week, but the stress of standing on my feet all day, the pain my fingers would be in after all that chopping, and the loss of a great opportunity to spend the day with my family just doesn’t seem worth it to me. Cooking simple meals that need just a few minutes of my time each night seems like the better option for my situation.
However, there are some things I do to sneak in some prepping that sure makes life a whole lot easier. So if you’re like me and don’t have four hours on a Sunday to devote to chopping and baking, here are some tips I use to prep in just a few minutes at a time:
1. Make breakfast hash on Sunday when you don’t have to rush out the door to work or get the kids to school. It’s usually enough to feed me for 3 meals, especially if I pack it full of veggies! It reheats really well, so it will make breakfast time during the week super easy. Here’s my recipe: https://simplyaip.com/aip-breakfast-hash/.
2. Especially in the wintertime, it’s a great idea to make a big pot of soup on Sunday night. That takes care of a few lunches and another dinner during the week. Plus, soup always tastes better the second time you heat it up. This is a great soup recipe: https://simplyaip.com/aip-pumpkin-hamburger-soup/.
3. While you’re cutting up veggies for a salad or roasted veggie dish, cut up enough for an extra meal or two. You can roast them all right away, or it’s almost as easy to put some oil and seasonings on another batch later and pop them in the oven. Once the hard part (chopping) is over, it’s no big deal.
4. Speaking of chopping–I always buy pre-chopped veggies as much as possible, and occasionally frozen as well. Pre-chopped sweet potato and butternut squash are often in the produce section, and you can find compliant cauliflower rice in the freezer section. The cost is a little more, but since chopping is often difficult on my joints, the time and energy saved are worth it to me.
5. Almost every evening I add extra protein to whatever I am cooking. If we are grilling or roasting, I cook 6 chicken thighs instead of the 4 my family needs, or if I’m browning ground beef, I cook two pounds instead of one. I can use the extra meat to put on top of salads for the rest of the week or freeze it for when I need a quick meal or I’m too tired to cook.
7. I take advantage of AIP convenience foods whenever I can. There are great options now for snacks, dressings, bbq sauce, bone broth, spice mixes, coconut wraps, and so much more! I know I could make my own, and at times I have made (or attempted) all of the above items, but for me, I choose to spend my time and energy in other areas.
