Why did I stop batch cooking on Sundays?

COVID turned all of our worlds upside down 10 months ago. For the first few months, it was actually a relief to suddenly have so many strains on our time removed. No more rushing the kids off to school. No more sprinting through a work week. No more weeknight soccer practices or church meetings. Just time.

Before COVID, spare time was elusive, especially once the week started roaring along. And so in order to navigate our busy weeks and stay *somewhat* sane, I usually did some batch prep on Sunday afternoons. This did not always happen nor did I do all the items I'll share below every week...but it did happen in some way. And though it took time and planning and a very specific grocery store run, it settled a lot of that Sunday evening anxiety. So it was worth it.

Life came to a screeching halt last year and so did Sunday batch prep. It just seemed unnecessary. We were home all day. All evening. All night. I had plenty of time to plan, prep and cook. So I abandoned my Sunday afternoon ritual without even realizing it.

For various reason, 2021 feels like it's time to wake up from this hibernation. Even though the road back to *normal* is long and still uncertain, I feel a desire to reclaim some past routines, and maybe create some new ones. Also, I've realized that just because I'm home alllllllllll the time, doesn't mean I'm not busy. Hello homeschooling my kids and the mountain of laundry and that home-based business that doesn't run itself and the dog that always needs food or a vet visit or a walk and the husband who needs/deserves some of my attention and energy too! Phew.

So I'm back to batch cooking on Sunday to help me navigate my busy week inside these walls. Right now, it all feels new again so I'm super jazzed about it....so much so that I'm writing.a blog post about it. Which, now that that fact sinks in, I realize it might not be as exciting as I had hoped to others. But I am pumped.

This doesn't mean it won't go back to being tedious in a few months, but it'll never stop being so worth the time and effort. And for now, I'll just enjoy being jazzed about it. I mean, I literally spent over three hours in the kitchen doing some of the items on the list below....and I was borderline giddy. Music going. Oats flying everywhere. Instapot humming in the background.

Batch Cooking Ideas

1. Make a sheet pan of granola - Delicious, protein-rich topping for your yogurt, oatmeal, trail mix or a snack by itself. Unfortunately, grocery store brands tend to have a lot of unsavory ingredients and added sugar, and if they don't, they're quite pricey. So I like to make a double batch of my favorite recipe and we eat it throughout the week. It takes a total of 20 minutes to prepare and bake. Message me through the website for my go to recipe.

2. Bake or Instapot 3-4 sweet potatoes - Bake several at one time (400 degrees for 1 hour) or if you're short on time, do it in the Instapot. I just figured out this is a thing and it's amazing (add one cup of water and cook for 15 minutes). Great for a dinner side item, chopped up on your lunch salad, stuffed with pickled cabbage and goat cheese, mashed and baked into muffins or pancakes. I usually cook 3-4 on Sunday.

3. Clean and prep kale - I love fresh kale but it can be a pain in the butt to clean and prep for just one salad or recipe. Thankfully it does hold very well in the fridge after it's been washed and chopped. So go ahead and buy a head or two on Sunday, wash, destem, chop and wrap it in a towel. It'll hold all week and is a great salad base, addition to soup, green option for green and grain bowls, smoothie ingredient....I could go on and on.

4. Boil a dozen eggs - Pro tip from my former Food Service professor, put a dozen eggs in a large pot of salted water (salt makes them easier to peel), bring to a boil, cut off heat but leave the pot on the burner, and let it sit for 10 minutes. That's how we do it and it works like a charm. Boiled eggs are great for breakfast, a snack, a salad topping or mixed into tuna fish. A dozen only lasts until Wednesday in my house TBH (acronym courtesy of my 13 yo).

5. Make a steamer full of brown rice - Let's be honest...brown rice, though nutritionally superior to white, takes for freaking-ever to cook. And if you haven't planned ahead, sometimes it's just too late. I love rice cooked in a rice steamer, but even if you don't have one, go ahead and make 2-3 cups or so on Sunday on the stove. You can use the cold rice throughout the week on green/grain bowls and/or throw the already cooked rice into stir fries, tacos or soup later in the week (without budgeting an hour for cook time).

6. Roast a huge pan of mixed veggies - So this one might be the most time consuming on Sunday because of all the washing and chopping, but again, so worth it and they can be repurposed in so many ways. So I'll throw a sheet pan (or two) of various diced veggies coated in EVOO/S&P in the oven for 20-30 minutes (depending on what you're using) on 425 degrees, and then use them throughout the week. You can put them in omelets, sprinkle them over a salad, put them in a wrap, dip them in hummus, reheat for 5 minutes as the main dinner veg...but the point is, they are done and ready to eat. Some veggies that I've found hold well throughout the week and are still tasty if reheated are..... beets, winter squash, sweet potatoes, cabbage, brussel sprouts, carrots and onions.....not so much for softer things like tomatoes and asparagus. These are best eaten as soon as they come out of the oven.

7. Marinate chicken - I'll get a big package of chicken breasts or thighs and throw them in a large glass casserole dish with lemon juice, EVOO, oregano, garlic powder and S & P and put them covered in the fridge. Then, they are ready to grill/bake/saute for dinner later in the week, or even be thrown in the air fryer at lunch. But again, the hard part is over.

8. Cook 3 Cups of dry black beans in the Instapot - COVID brought about our obsession with dry goods. It is SO comforting to have a pantry full of giant glass jars of beans, lentils and nuts. Seriously, I know I'm a food nerd... but again, the possibilities are endless....and you're set even if the food supply runs out...as we all thought it may last year. **Insert high pitched laughter.** But their use requires planning. You can't decide at 7:00pm that you want to include black beans on your tacos if all you've got is the aforementioned giant jar of dry black beans. So now that we've switched away from cans, we've learned the hard way that batch prepping these bad boys on Sunday is not only helpful, it's a must. Thankfully, the process is quite simple in the Instapot and only takes about 40 minutes total ((but they're even better if you have time to let them sit in the warm pot and soak a while after cooking)). But before we joined the Instapot club, we also loved them soaked overnight then simmered on the stovetop, but that does take more planning. We always add onions, garlic, cumin, chili powder and s & p....and we eat them wondering why we ever thought canned black beans were good. So don't try this unless you're committed. We use the black beans in tacos, soup, quesadillas, salads, or stuffed into a sweet potato. Again, endless, delicious options and a great meat alternative, as they are packed with protein.**You can also freeze the cooked beans for later use.**

9. Wash and prep raw, fresh fruit and veggies - Time consuming like the roasted veggie sheet pan but so worth it for the time saver later in the week. Go ahead and wash and cut up veggies like carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli and bell pepper strips so the are ready to go as a snack dipped in hummus or guacamole, a lunch veggie for the kids, or to be thrown into stir fry or soup. I also like to go ahead and wash things like grapes, apples and oranges and put them in a pretty bowl sitting prominently in the fridge so they are the first thing the fam sees when they open it.

10. Make some pickled cabbage - Wash and rough chop a full head of red or green cabbage, put it into Mason jars and fill each about 3/4 full with your favorite vinegar (I use apple cider) and a teaspoon of salt. Shake well. You can use this for up to a month on tacos, salads, wraps, burgers, etc. Great for gut health, regularity, fighting inflammation and to add some crunch and color to your favorite foods.

Batch prepping/cooking is a proactive way to not only take control of your week, but also to take control of your eating habits. If you're looking to cook more, incorporate more color or try new some recipes, making a plan and prepping things on Sunday is a great way to get started and ensure all that actually happens.

My estimation is that if I ever was industrious enough to do ALL of these items one Sunday, it would take 3-4 hours at least....BUT, I would have breakfast (granola, fruit and eggs), lunch (rice, salad, raw or roasted veggies) and dinner (marinated chicken, black beans, rice, roasted veggies) covered for most of the week in a variety of ways....and it would only be Sunday. My anxiety needle is falling just typing this out.

Why did I ever stop batch cooking on Sundays?