to think batch cooking is a bit soulless?

[iCod]

I get the logistics practicality, time saving etc ...
but apart from that (!) when you see the sad plastic boxes it seems to reduce food to fuel rather than joy

I prob am unreasonable, obseity prob etc but YANNOW

Yeah but it means I get a delicious calorie counted dinner on nights there's no time or will to cook ... so overall a win.

My lunchtime at work is about satiating hunger and not joy.

This too.
My meal preps are often healthier than the convenience food I’d reach for because of tiredness.

Ah this is just now how some of our brains approach food!

yes i agree about shit tired food choices.
I don't have takeaways more than twice a year as I always prefer egg and chips LOL

Maybe its the TUBS

OP I deal with this by just making too much of meals, so there’s always leftovers.

Reduces overall cooking, healthy meal for lunch the next day, not too much repetition.

Reframe it OP - see it has a delicious dinner waiting for you and more time in the evening after work.

I can't eat gluten. Batch cooking is essential for me - if I don't batch cook, the available choices for a quick meal when out and about/busy/at work are pretty dire (and often insanely pricey)...whereas if I batch cook, I always have something I actually enjoy eating available!

I just think they look SAD

haha @MidnightPatrol same

No tubs

I don’t batch cook as I don’t have the time to and I hate cooking to begin with so so the thought of standing doing it for hours while 2 toddlers scream and smash kitchen cupboard doors n drawers off my legs so I can enjoy a week of reheats doesn’t really inspire me

Im not getting you op, sorry.
When my little box comes out of the freezer and once heated up all I have to do is add cheese or avocado slices or something and some salad and that gives me joy!

Present it nicely, and that disappears 😋
I'm about to have something I cooked a month ago. It'll be presented properly, on a plate, with loads of fresh veg.
Eat it out of the tub, and yeah, it's soulless 👍

When I used to work in an office I batch cooked lunches and saw it the opposite way, I invested time in advance so I knew I’d have something really nice, well made, healthy, filling and available quickly when I had time to eat it.

I think we see foods in different ways!

I’m with you OP. Nothing tastes anywhere near as nice once it’s been defrosted and reheated. The vegetables are always soggy. My freezer is crammed full of tubs of stuff that I’d have to be starving to take out and eat.

I’ve learned that I don’t enjoy batching anything. It makes a massive overwhelming task out of an overwhelming small amount of tasks. I can’t win.

I'm with you ! (i'm not stalking you promise 🤣)

Its the plastic tubs. No steamy saucepans to get the juices flowing.

It's just personal preference, sad to some and healthy and convenient to others.

I'm abit of a weird one in that I love batch cooking but hate eating frozen meals. Luckily I have no problems with eating the same thing 5 days in a row though so it works out!

I very rarely freeze so batch cook for 6 days. Use glass containers and cook meals that are versatile so can have a different flavour profile on different days. When I get home from work I’m always pleased to see the meal just needs reheating!!

Don’t eat it out of the tubs, that’s just for keeping it ready. It looks fine again when back on the plate with salad or freshly cooked veggies.
Leftovers go in tubs too to keep them fresh in the fridge, and are regenerated into food back on our plates.

I don't batch cook as an event in itself, but I over cook say a curry or chilli and either freeze enough for a whole meal, or set some aside for DS2's lunch.
It's easy because there's just 2 of us. DS1 came home for a few days and I don't have vats pans large enough to feed 2 giants and me AND have left overs. But DS1 cooks when he's home anyway so the whole 'eugh...dinner....again....' isn't an issue.

I do know what you mean about the pots looking a bit industrial, but when they thaw out and get heated up they turn into a delicious meal. Chuck a bit of fresh coriander on and bingo!

Some things freeze well, others don't. I love batch cooked food, but only the dishes that freeze well!

Yep, there are parts of a dish that freeze well, and parts that don't. It isn't all or nothing!

We don’t batch cook everything because some meals just don’t suit it. But whenever we make a curry/chilli/bolognese we’ll always do enough for at least 3 meals through the month.
We reusable bags to save freezer space and heat it up on the hob with extra liquid etc

It stops us having too much snack food and takeaways on a work night when we’re tired.

We’ve been out all day and have nothing in the freezer/fridge ready to go so ordered a takeaway which could have been avoided.