The Ultimate Batch Cooking Cookbook

Are you tired of grabbing an unhealthy breakfast on the go because you don’t have time to eat at home? Sick of spending money at lunch because you haven’t prepped anything? Fed up of getting home late and having to think of something to cook? Then, look no further. The Ultimate Batch Cooking Recipe Book is packed full of tips and tricks to help you get ahead in the kitchen, plus over 100 recipes to get you started. Spend a bit of time planning and meal prepping and you’ll not have to cook from scratch every meal. Batch cooking will not only save you time, money and tidying up, but it’ll help you eat more healthily, waste less and be inspired to make mouth-watering food. Plus, you’ll always have something…

There’s no disappointment quite like returning home in need of a super-speedy, midweek dinner and discovering an empty fridge. But there is a simple way to avoid these crushing moments – and it involves batch cooking a few recipes. WHAT IS BATCH COOKING? Batch cooking, sometimes referred to as cooking in bulk, means preparing larger amounts of food so you can store some for later. If you don’t have time to cook every day, it’s a great way to make sure you have healthy, nutritious meals ready when you need them. The process doesn’t have to be complicated. Simply increase the amount of ingredients when you're cooking, and put the extra two or three meals in airtight containers before storing in the fridge or freezer, ready to be eaten at…

Start by chopping your veg. The likes of cauliflower and broccoli can be cut into florets, while courgettes can be chopped into rounds. Carrots and potatoes go strangely spongy when defrosted, so they need to be chopped or sliced into finer sections. It’s then time to boil the vegetables in a saucepan of boiling water for about 60 seconds until they are al dente. This stops them going brown when frozen. Next up, put the vegetables into a bowl of heavily-iced water – this is called blanching. Once they are chilled, drain and scatter onto a tray lined with kitchen paper. This tray then goes in the freezer. When frozen, the vegetables can be transferred to a freezer bag. When it comes to cooking the vegetables from frozen, do so…

CHELSEA BUNS Indulgent maybe, but these buns are bursting with health-promoting fruit SERVES 10 PREPARATION TIME 30 minutes, plus proving READY IN 1 hour, plus proving 500g (1lb 2oz) strong white bread flour1tsp salt15g (½oz) butter7g (¼oz) sachet fast-action dried yeast200ml (7fl oz) semi-skimmed milk2 eggs50g (2oz) golden caster sugar2tsp cinnamon150g (5oz) raisins and/or sultanas25g (1oz) melted butter YOU WILL NEED A large baking tray lined with baking paper 1 Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and rub in the butter until it becomes crumbs. Stir in the yeast. Warm the milk until it is just hand-hot, and add to the flour with the eggs. Beat well until it comes to a soft dough. Turn out on to the worktop and knead for 10 minutes by hand…

TRY THIS Instead of the cinnamon and caraway seeds, add a couple of large red chillies and toss the vegetables in 1tsp garam masala for a spicy kick. CARROT AND PUMPKIN SOUP Antioxidant-rich pumpkin is lovely and sweet and also provides vitamin E SERVES 4 PREPARATION TIME 20 minutes READY IN 1 hour 20 minutes 800g (1lb 12oz) pumpkin or squash400g (14oz) carrots, peeled and quartered1 large red onion, peeled and roughly chopped1 cinnamon stick, halved1tsp caraway seeds, roughly crushed2tsp coriander seeds, roughly crushed3 garlic cloves, halved4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only2tbsp olive oil850ml (29fl oz) hot vegetable stock Natural yoghurt YOU WILL NEED A large baking sheet lined with baking paper 1 Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Peel the pumpkin or squash and discard any seeds. Cut into…

TRY THIS Frozen sliced peppers make a great time-saver if you don’t have any fresh. THAI PRAWN CURRY NOODLES A fragrant, warming and satisfying meal in a bowl SERVES 4 PREPARATION TIME 5 minutes READY IN 15 minutes 125g (4½oz) Thai rice noodles2tbsp Thai red curry paste2 x 400ml (14fl oz) tins reducedfat coconut milk200g (7oz) large cooked prawns1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and chopped1 red pepper, deseeded and slicedFinely grated zest and juice of 1 limeDash of fish saucePinch of caster sugarCoriander leaves, to garnish 1 Put the noodles in a bowl and pour over boiling water to cover. Leave for 4 minutes to soften. 2 Meanwhile, put the Thai curry paste in a pan with the coconut milk and heat gently, stirring. 3 Add the prawns, spring onions, red…