To wonder how people find the time and money to cook from scratch

[Mummyof287]

We sometimes have a roast, cooked from scratch or Jacket potatoes with toppings and salad.Everything else tends to involve something from a box/packet/jar.
That's not to say every meal is total 'junk food' and the meals are always balanced (protein, carb, fibre) but usually include something processed.
Here are some examples of what we eat;

-Salmon/smoked basa, rice (microwave packet rice) veg
-Quiche (good quality boxed) new potatoes, veg
-Sausages (butchers or supermarket good quality butchers style)
-Old el Paso Fajita kit using quorn chicken

• Burgers (from butchers) in buns with salad

-Pizza with corn on cob/salad

• Breaded/battered fish portions, homemade chips/wedges and beans
• Lasagne (using jar sauces) & veg
• Tortellini (packet) and sauce (ready made in pot/packet)
• Stit fry using quorn chicken

I find cooking really stressful and am not very good at it 🙈 My DH likes cooking and used to do more recipies from scratch, but since having our two daughters time is stretched especially on the days we both work, and when he has done recipes they don't eat it as they are really picky eaters, so feels like a waste of effort, half of it goes in the bin.

I want to stop using so many processed foods as know its not ideal health wise, but time and especially money are fairly short, and most recipies seem to have so many ingredients, it all gets so expensive!

Any ideas of recipies that are very quick, cheap and easy please??

Really? All you do is measure by volume, double the water to rice (I use a mug as a measure for 2 adults so 1 mug rice 2 mugs cold water), place in pan, put lid on, heat up, once boiling set timer for ten mins, then turn off. Do not stir/drain/mess with it. Couldn't be simpler. Then once it's cooked it'll keep hot for ages so I often cook it first and then it's done leaving the hob free for the stir fry or salmon or whatever.

It's definitely easier than cooking boiled potatoes or pasta as no need to drain, and the timing is more forgiving too, if you boil it an extra 5 minutes it won't make much difference, or if it boils over and you lose a bit of water, again it doesn't matter.

But cooking rice in a pan is easier than cooking pasta in a pan....why spend £30 on an extra gadget to do something that's already about the easiest thing to cook?

I have a rice cooker. The rice is vastly superior to cooked on the hob. It is sealed in so can’t tip. It is kept warm till we eat and can be set on a timer. It has a removable bowl so you can serve straight from it and it’s super non stick so it rust rinses/washes in seconds. It’s a bit like saying why buy a toaster when you can use the grill.

*Questions for the batch cookers

What do you store the food in in the freezer? Trays, lunchboxes??*

I use those plastic type containers that you get from the takeaways, you can buy them from various shops, to freeze curry, chilli, spaghetti bol and just defrost in the fridge overnight then transfer to a microwaveable glass bowl or saucepan.

If I'm making a lasagne or cottage pie I use foil dishes as it's easier to reheat and serve from although I never add the mash to the cottage pie before freezing as I prefer that freshly made.

Quiche types I allow to cool cut into portion sizes, and wrap in greaseproof then tin foil, always make in a square tin/dish for ease of wrapping.

I would recommend this book 'Nosh for Busy Mums and Dads' by Joy May. I make double portions and freeze for those evenings I work in the office, just defrost and reheat.

The other books from this author are also very good.

https://www.google.com/search?q=nosh+for+busy+mums+and+dads&oq=nosh+for+busy&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCggAEAAY4wIYgAQyCggAEAAY4wIYgAQyBwgBEC4YgAQyBggCEEUYOTIICAMQABgWGB4yCggEEAAYhgMYigUyCggFEAAYhgMYigUyCggGEAAYhgMYigXSAQgzMTQ0ajBqOagCALACAA&client=ms-android-samsung-ss&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8&chrome_dse_attribution=1

An Instant pot is my solution. 35 minutes to prepare and cook pasta bolognese. And that allows plenty of time to clear up to because you can do it whilst you're waiting for it to reach pressure and cook. And only one pan to clean too.
https://hotcooking.co.uk/recipes/instant-pot-bolognese-pasta#recipe
Risotto is similarly easy. I make burrito filling in it using leftover chicken from a roast. I can cook the mince for a cottage pie at the same time and in the same pot as the potatoes for the topping.
I can use the slow cooker function for days when I won't have time in the evening to cook.
I can cook rice in it and I don't need to drain it.
It's made my life much easier and it's cheap to run.

I don't actually mind it with some music or a podcast on
Living alone I would never eat anything like a beef stew, cottage pie, lasagne etc if I didn't batch cook, I wouldn't make one portion of lasagne!
My diet would be a lot more boring and I would probably rely on cereal and toast

Think Tom kerridge is doing a series of affordable simple recipes on Instagram at the mo, but could be wrong

If I do end up cooking something like a lasagne I do end up making two, put one uncooked one in the freezer. I have plastic boxes you mention but I love my Pyrex cook and freeze: https://pyrex.co.uk/products/cook-freeze-set-of-3-glass-square-dish-with-plastic-lids

Good as they can be frozen, cooked, then stored in the fridge with the lid if you have leftovers.

I think you do what you need to do in the season you’re in! I cooked more from scratch when I was at home all day, but recently went back to uni, and along with a chronic illness I’m often tired by teatime. I do a mix of cook from scratch / meal prep on my day off / ds cooks / cook once eat twice (eg last night’s macaroni cheese will also be tomorrow’s dinner) / Friday night takeaway / and yes, a few more prepackaged short cuts. I’m definitely not going to feel guilty for that. It’s great if you want to change things up, but don’t feel pressured to be an Instagram kitchen goddess!

We batch cook here! Go to Costco and buy loads of stuff then fill the (big) freezer with say fish pies, chicken curries, drumsticks already in the marinade, breadcrumbed chicken cutlets, Italian sausage pasta sauce. Then all you need is to cook some rice and make a green salad.

Before getting a costco card, I used to try and make one dish at the weekend that could be stashed in the freezer. Over the course of 3-4 weeks you can then build up quite a good variety of dishes.

We’ll use one of the freezer options a couple of nights a week and make fresh stuff on the other nights.

Have a look at Dinner: A Love Story (book, insta, and blog) by Jenny Rosenstrach for some good ideas.

Cook once, eat twice is definitely the way to go.

I was back late after a social event ast night and we had a tasty homecooked meal that took 12 mins. Pasta with courgette, olive and tomato sauce with pancetta.

The sauce was taken out the the freezer in the morning, so all I needed to do was boil the pasta and fry the pancetta pieces.

The trouble with rice cookers, if you don’t have a big kitchen, is the worktop space they take up. All very well if you’re going to eat rice virtually every day (like my Singaporean Chinese SiL) but otherwise…

Whatever rice we’re having (bog standard supermarket, basmati, Jasmine) I just sling it in a pan of boiling salted water, stir once, simmer until cooked, drain.

When it was my turn I was once cooking for 18 at a BiL’s huge place in France - there was a rice cooker but it only did 10 portions. So for the first (and last!) time in my life I used Uncle Ben’s, followed the instructions exactly, and yes, it came out fine. Too much though, but the leftovers made v nice fried rice for lunch the next day.

I do eat rice daily!

Try The Batch Lady, she has a book and her videos on YouTube are great. You can have a big cook day, where you make loads of meals from the freezer or you double up when cooking, one to eat, one for the freezer. I find her recipes v straightforward although I do add a bit more (frozen) veg (from a mixed bag) to them.

We eat a lot of rice. I’ve never heard of anyone boiling it in salt water. That’s totally alien to me. There would be a lot of leftovers if I served Uncle Bens though. It’s a very odd taste if you are used to a more fragrant eastern rice.

If you get really good at making excellent tomato sauce, you can freeze it for different quick, cheap pasta dishes, baked chicken etc.

For those who have an instant pot, are they worth it? Do you use on a regular basis? I already have an air fryer and slow cooker (use both on a regular basis) and the reviews of instant pot look good - I just don't want to pay out if I won't use that often

Starting out with cooking from scratch can be expensive but once you have built up your staples it is cheaper week by week. Now i have been batching for ages I have a ton of spices, vinegars, grains, nuts and seeds and sauces and so I only need a few each week as they run out.

if I can I prep food on a Sunday so in the week it is much quicker to pull meals together especially if there are a few elements. When shirt of time I make things on the night but either way make 4 portions for 2 of us so we eat most things twice that week.

Batch cooking can take hours but could also be just cooking rice/ grains and dressings or sauces for the week. I do enjoy cooking though which I know makes it easier and we are vegan so you need to try a bit harder to get really tasty food!

This week we have had:

Tacos with tofu scramble, ranchero saucee and sour cream. We had shop bought guacamole as there we no avocados in stock for my shop.
Chimichangas with texas caviar, cashew cheese and enchilada sauce
Wraps with whatever was left from the above two meals and dortitos to dip in the leftover guacamole.
Veggie paprikash with brown rice (we had this twice).

Tonight I am making pasta sause with mushrooms, tomatoes, onion, garlic and pesto. There will be enough leftover for dinner tomorrow too.

i also made taboulleh, baked tofu and more texas caviar this week as wekll as a dressing to have on salads for lunch throughout the week.

This was a good week though, I don’t always manage to make almost everything from scratch.

Once you get a handful of things you’re good at, and everyone likes, you just become on point with them, the more you make them. Then add more to your repertoire gradually. I tend to be doing other stuff around in the kitchen, and it’s more tending to things than slaving over a hot stove. It’s like anything, the more you do something, the quicker and easier it gets

This was us a few years ago but we found a free website called slimming eats and it honestly transformed how we eat. Everything tastes better, the recipes are simple but amazing. The lady who owns the website and creates all the recipes did bring out a couple of books but the website is free for all to use (not affiliated in any way - I think she’s based in Canada). Always recommend to family and friends because it was such a game changer for us

Get a slow cooker, best invention ever

https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/dinner/chicken-parma-schnitzel?fbclid=IwAR2n1NA9urMgS5C6DDkZN5IP7TtlFVYkts6od2gGJshs7ApLqeUO0ehr10s

I made this recently and it was quick and easy.

I also made bruscetta chicken which was just some grilled chicken topped with a mixture of a diced tomato, some basil, some diced buffalo mozarella and diced red onion with a store bought balsamic glaze on top which was really tasty. Served it with some roasted potatoes on the side.

Beef rissoles is also a favourite in my house with some mash and veg.

I also buy lamb steaks marinated with a mix of olive oil, mixed herbs and crushed garlic and serve it with a salad of spinach, roasted pumpkin, toasted pinenuts and some marinated greek fetta. Sometimes instead i buy lamb mince and make lamb koftas and serve with the same salad and some warmed pita bread.

I make creamy lemon risoni with baked or pan fried salmon. Nice and easy, lots of recipes online.

I make homemade fried rice, just cook your rice the night before and put it in the fridge then the next day you just get the wok out, dice up your vegies and cook either some chinese sausage or bacon and flavour it (check out marion grasbys fried rice recipe for list of what to add for flavour)

I work 50 hours a week so weekdays need to be quick and easy because i don't have the energy for anything more.

Batch cook and freeze, cook one meal but enough for four portions for the family. Then you are only cooking for one week of the month.

I can convert you on rice.
1/3 cup per person in a bowl. Add equal amount of water. Put the bowl in a steamer over a pan of boiling water for 20mins. Perfect every time and no risk of burning. And 1/50 the price of packet microwave rice.