Batch Cooking for Beginners: A Simple Weekly Meal Prep Method

Batch cooking means preparing the building blocks of your week's meals in a single session. Done well, it ends the daily "what's for dinner?" debate, cuts down on last-minute shopping and frees up your evenings. Here's a simple method to get started without losing your entire Sunday.

1. Plan a realistic menu

Start small: plan four or five dinners, not fourteen meals. Pick recipes that share ingredients, for example:

• a tray of roasted vegetables to serve as a side, in a quiche and in a salad;
• a grain (rice, quinoa, bulgur) cooked in one big batch;
• a versatile protein: chicken, chickpeas or lentils;
• a sauce or pesto to lift everything.

The idea isn't to cook finished dishes, but components you can put together in a few minutes each evening.

2. Write your shopping list by aisle

Once the menu is set, write the list grouped by aisle: fruit and veg, store cupboard, chilled. While you're at it, check your fridge and cupboards so you use up what's already there. You'll save time in the shop and avoid buying doubles.

3. Set up your workstation

Before you start, empty the sink and the dishwasher, then get out your boards, knives and containers. A large bamboo chopping board for vegetables and a smaller one for herbs and garlic means you won't need to wash up between steps. Keep a bowl for peelings within reach to save trips to the bin.

4. Start with the longest cooking times

Order is the key to an efficient session. Here's the sequence we recommend:

1. Preheat the oven and put the vegetables in to roast.
2. Get the grains and pulses going on the hob.
3. Meanwhile, start chopping the raw vegetables.
4. Finish with sauces, dressings and herbs.

When it comes to chopping, a multi-function vegetable chopper is a real time-saver: onions, carrots, courgettes and peppers diced evenly in minutes, straight into the collection container. Evenly sized pieces also cook more evenly.

5. Let it cool, then pack it up

Never seal a container over food that's still piping hot: let it cool a little, then get it into the fridge promptly. Airtight glass food storage containers are ideal for meal prep: they go from fridge to microwave or oven (without the lid), don't hold on to smells and let you see what's inside without opening them. With several sizes, you can match the container to the portion: 370 ml for a sauce, 1,040 ml for a bake.

A few storage habits worth adopting:

• label every container with the name of the dish and the date;
• eat cooked dishes within three to four days;
• freeze anything meant for the end of the week straight away;
• keep sauces and dressings separate so vegetables stay crisp.

6. Assemble in minutes each evening

When dinner time comes, all that's left is to combine: roasted vegetables and quinoa with a yoghurt sauce, chickpeas and raw veg in a salad, chicken and rice tossed in a pan with a drizzle of oil. Switch up the spices and herbs so it never feels like you're eating the same thing all week.

Mistakes to avoid

• Trying to prep everything at once in your very first week.
• Choosing recipes that don't reheat well, such as fried food.
• Forgetting fresh herbs and raw veg, which add crunch.
• Neglecting storage: a cluttered fridge makes batch cooking a chore.

With a little practice, your session will become a quick, almost automatic routine. Start with a simple version this weekend, then tweak your menu based on what your household enjoyed most.