• About
  • Run Faster
  • Podcast
  • Recipes
  • Contact
    • Email
    • Instagram

Carolyn Coffin Coaching

Improve your fitness. Preserve your health.

3 Reasons Why I Love Batch Cooking (And so should you)

January 23, 2015 by Carolyn Coffin

IMG_6281
Spaghetti squash “lasagna”

I never used to like leftovers. It started in childhood and carried on through to my early years of living on my own. I preferred a fresh meal that I had just created from scratch.

Then I had children and from a time saving standpoint, it became much more appealing to cook up extra food for a future meal.

And then I started eating real food…

When people ask me for my best piece of advice to help make their transition to eating real food easier, hands down it’s batch cooking real food in advance. Unless you want to be in your kitchen all the time, I highly recommend getting acquainted with this key habit.

Picture
Top: Cauliflower rice, spaghetti squash Bottom: Brussels sprout slaw, Wayner bread, Primal Poppers

 

Just to give you an idea, I recently made all this food in only two hours:

  • Brussels Sprout Slaw
  • Cauliflower Rice
  • Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
  • Wayner Bread
  • Hamburgers
  • Primal Poppers
  • Cooked one spaghetti squash

Picture
Baba ghanoush, crackers and mayo

Then in a separate two-hour session, I made:

  • Sweet Potato Soufflé
  • Sunflower Sesame Crackers
  • Baba Ghanoush
  • Mayonnaise
  • Cut up loads of veggies, fruit, and cheese
  • Ten pre-made salads
  • Made school lunches for two kids

This four hour time investment will ensure that my family can eat real food for the remainder of the week, despite our busy schedules.Besides the fact that it’s an incredibly efficient use of time to make more than one thing at a time in the kitchen, here are the top three things I love most about batch cooking.1. Fewer dishes
I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. I virtually never give my pots, pans or food processor a thorough cleaning in the middle of batch cooking. Ever. A quick rinse before moving onto the next dish is a-okay by me.

If doing a bunch of dishes stands between you and eating real food, then get ready to fall in love with batch cooking. Make tons of food and only have one clean up to do? Now that’s a good return on investment.

Picture
Make your salad ahead by layering ingredients upside-down. Then shake before serving.

 

2. Less time
Think about it: If you haul all the ingredients out of the fridge to make your lunch time salad, how much extra time does it take to make a second, third or forth salad for another meal later on in the week? I always make at least four (and up to ten!) salads at once. Especially since I learned the ingenious trick of making salads upside down — dressing first, then veggies and protein, then nuts and seeds, and finally spinach. That way you don’t have to bring a separate container for the dressing, yet it doesn’t make the salad soggy. Just shake it all up prior to eating and enjoy.

3. Energy efficiency
It’s quite inefficient to run your oven to cook just one thing. Especially when you consider that it takes at least ten minutes just to preheat! If you’re going to invest the time getting your oven hot, why not make it work for you?Cook the Wayner bread, asparagus, spaghetti squash, soufflé, crackers and eggplant while the oven is on. I’ve gotten into the great habit of asking, “What else can I cook?” There is always something, even if it just gets another meal started.So there you have it, batch cooking can save on dishes, time and electricity. What’s not to love about that?

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Tweet

Filed Under: Cook Better Food In Less Time

“Food no longer controls me”
Want to save your own life?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Want to Run Faster 5ks to Half Marathons?

Subscribe for free insider tips to train smart, set personal bests, and fuel your body right.

Resources

What our Graduates are Saying

  • ShawnShawn

    Carolyn helped me improve my 5k from 23-mins to 20:51 in less than one year! I'm not only faster, but I'm much more mentally strong thanks to her coaching.

  • MelanieMelanie

    Receiving my weekly running program is almost as fun as opening my stocking on Christmas morning!

  • GarryGarry

    With Carolyn’s easy-to-follow approach, I’m finally running without pain in my joints for the first time in years, and the bonus is that I’ve lost weight!

  • CandaceCandace

    Carolyn's style of coaching has real density. The changes I made to improve my health and fitness are meaningful and sustainable, thanks to her process. Working with Carolyn has significantly changed my life for the better.

© 2023 Carolyn Coffin Coaching · Website by Format Creative