Boost your health by batch cooking
As well as helping you to save money, batch cooking gives you fast access to cheap healthy meals as there are less artificial ingredients, toxins and additives in food you cook at home from scratch. One study found that 25% of people who batch cook do so to ensure they eat more healthily – yet despite this, some people think that freezing food means they’ll lose nutrients from ingredients. We can bust this myth however, as studies have found that freezing doesn’t change the nutrient value of your meals – though blanching (aka boiling them) first can do so. As you’d have to cook them regardless, there’s not much you can do about this, but you can at least rest assured that by freezing, you’ll still be retaining all of the nutritive power of your food.
In fact, by batch cooking, you’ll be doing your health a favour, as you’ll be less tempted to order junk food. Why would you need pizza when you can pull out a delicious spaghetti bolognese or a tasty chicken casserole that you only have to warm up?
As batch cooking involves meal planning, you’re able to have far more control over you and your family’s diet and you become more aware of the food you’re actually eating. If there’s too much salt or sugar in a lot of your dishes, you can cut this back and can also swap out nutrient-poor ingredients like white flour, for healthier wholemeal options.
Instead of having to spend time each day brainstorming what you’re going to cook, you’ll know in advance and have it all ready to go! If you spend some time batch cooking, you’ll find you naturally cut down on the amount of unhealthy junk food you consume, while enjoying meals that don’t leave you feeling like you’re going without a treat.
Many ready-prepared meals and ingredients are made with trans fats and are laced with chemicals like the flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate. Research has demonstrated a link between this additive and obesity – but it’s far from the only bad guy out there, as plenty of store-bought pre-prepared foods are often laden with harmful toxins.
This also includes some rather innocent-seeming culprits, such as bolognese and curry sauce – making your own at home and batch cooking, you can avoid feeding your family these health-harming toxins.
