Experiment #2: We Need Batches! (Day 1: Foodstuffs)

The Challenge: Plan, Shop, Cook...in batches


The months of May and December are typically the busiest months of the year for me, as far as work is concerned. With many longs days and nights ahead, cooking and eating well can be a challenge. We've all been there: at the end of a full day, you come home and have no interest in cooking full, healthy meals, and yet, what better reason is there to eat well than to feel your best during the hectic periods of the year? If you're anything like me, you probably start raiding the pantry for convenient munchies in lieu of an actual meal, or at worst, you spend more time and money eating out or ordering in than you'd like to admit. All of these moments of exhaustion/laziness come at the expense of both your wallet and your waistline. (I have to confess, my breakfast this morning was coffee and leftover Easter candy. Mmmmmm, healthy!)

In the interest of saving time, money, and muscle, I thought that it would be a good idea to start my first batching challenge with a focus on food. As a pescetarian (mostly ovo-lacto vegetarian, plus --preferably sustainable-- fish, I prefer to eat fresh, rather than frozen, and I have little expertise when it comes to either freezing or canning foods in large batches. Shopping for a month and doing large-scale cooking isn't really my aim, here. Right now, I'd be satisfied with shopping and batch prep. on a weekly basis. Busy times demand simplification, and since I'm only cooking for one, I'd rather rotate and repeat meals during the week, and treat myself to a not-so-healthy day out once per week. This is similar to "slow-carb" eating plans, with an emphasis on veggies, legumes, and protein at each meal.

Here is my batching schedule, so far:

• Wednesday night: Meal planning and recipe gathering for the following week.
  
• Saturday morning: Fridge and pantry check, and then AM grocery shopping.
  
• Sunday morning/early afternoon: Batch prep. and cook for the next six days.

Since I'm starting a day late, I'll be doing both my shopping and cooking this afternoon. (I already planned my meals for the week on Wednesday.)

Here is the menu for this week:
(I know that it lacks variety, but remember, I'm trying to simplify everything, this month.)

• Breakfast: egg whites, spinach, cuban-style black beans, avocado, salsa, coffee
  
• Lunch: hummus and veggies, plus a protein (grilled soy chick'n strips/seasoned tofu)
  
• Dinner: grilled/baked fish (3 days) or tempeh (3 days), veggie, curried lentils
  
• Snack: cottage cheese, acai puree; and fresh, organic oranges
  
• Other: one glass of red wine with dinner, afternoon tea

In addition to purchasing these basic supplies, I'm going to pick up some extra single-serving containers in which to pack and store my meals for the week. (Note: this will also help me to monitor portion sizes, which is always a plus.)

Tonight, I'll be batch prepping/cooking the following things:

• cook black beans
  
• cook lentils
  
• wilt spinach
  
• make huge batch of hummus...this is vastly better than the store-bought varieties
  
• marinate and cook proteins, if necessary
  
• chop or otherwise pre-prep all veggies, and then store

Oh right...and then I should probably wash the dishes.

Estimated time and money saved:

Even if I ate out/ordered in for every meal, I should still save 5-7 hours each week using this alternate plan. How much time do you spend each week on cooking, leaving work to eat, or sitting in restaurants? How many extra calories do you end up wasting on ordering in, for the sake of freeing up extra time? All of this time and health could be saved with batch cooking, and you could still splurge, during one day off each week. Even if I spend $100 on groceries for the week (which is an extremely high estimate for one person), consider the amount of money that you spend each day, on everything from coffee to takeout. I would save $10-$30 on coffee, alone. In general, I expect to save about $30-75/week, without sacrificing meals.