10/20/2017
No time to cook dinner during the week? Try Batch Cooking for easy heat up meals that are healthy and taste good!
3 Step System for Batch Cooking by Louise Hendon -
1. COOK A BATCH OF MEAT IN THE SLOW COOKER
This is the key step you shouldn't miss.
Think about how long it takes to cook raw meat (unless it’s seafood)...
It takes ages!
Now think about how quickly you can reheat cooked meat...
Even if you don’t like using the microwave, you can still reheat meat in under 10 minutes in a pan!
Here's how to batch cook your meat:
a. Buy a large amount of meat (choose fattier cuts).
In the US, US Wellness Meats and ButcherBox are excellent for delivering quality meats to you.
I like to budget for around 1/3-1/2 lb of meat per adult per meal.
It can be any meat (my favorites are beef rounds, pork butts or shoulders, chicken breasts or drumsticks (with the skin on!), and beef boneless short ribs).
b. Place the meat in a slow cooker and add salt.
If you’re not that hectic, feel free to add other seasoning.
There's no need to add any liquids to the meat for the most basic dishes.
c. Cook the meat overnight or during the day while you’re away.
I usually put it on low heat for 8-10 hours.
Buy a slow cooker (like this one) that has an automatic timer in case you can’t get home in time.
d. When the meat is ready, put it into containers and store in the fridge or freezer
I have a ton of glass pyrex containers that I use for this purpose.
Feel free to eat some of the meat for dinner while it’s warm too.
2. STOCK UP ON FROZEN VEGETABLES
Frozen vegetables sometimes get bad rap for not being as healthy as fresh veggies.
But:
The fruit and veg you find in large supermarkets has usually been sitting on the shelf for weeks, meaning they've lost nutrients.
While frozen vegetables keep more of their nutrients, as they're frozen a couple of hours after harvest.
Ideas for frozen veggies to keep in your freezer:
Kale
Swiss chard
Spinach
Green beans
Broccoli
Of course, if you do have time to buy fresh vegetables and to use them before they go bad in your fridge, then please buy them – I am not against fresh produce in any way!
Extra Tip: O ther healthy foods to keep in your freezer are bone broth, seafood and calf liver.
3. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Imagine if you cooked 2 types of meat and had some frozen fish and fruits/vegetables in the freezer...
When it's mealtime, you'll find you have a lot of easy choices:
(1) Just reheat the meat with some healthy fats and eat it with some vegetables (add some olive oil and vinegar on top).
(2) Saute the meat. Add some coconut oil into a pan, shred the meat, and saute the shredded meat with your vegetable or fruit of choice . You can even add some spices or tamari sauce for extra flavor!
(3) Make a Stew. Heat some water (or ready-made meat broth, if you have any) in a pot, add in the shredded meat, add in some vegetables of your choice, add salt/spices to taste. And you have a delicious stew!
(4) Make a Salad. Shred the meat without reheating it, buy some salad greens or a prepared salad from the store and add the shredded meat with some olive oil and lemon juice. Toss and eat.
Extra tip: Stock up on healthy snacks, so you'll have something to eat if you get hungry on the go. A few good choices: 100% chocolate, beef or turkey jerky, salami, coconut butter. More snack ideas here:
Get this list of 48 amazing keto snacks here - some can be purchased online and some you can make yourself. Make your ketogenic life easy with this list.
