Does anyone on here cook a week's worth of meals in one day?

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

I know that some people do it and I'd be interested to know how it works out.

Also I find this system helps me eat up loads of fruit and veg

' I can make lasagne (with half Pasta, half, courgette layers),'

Great idea, donkey

Do people use the tinfoil trays to freeze, or Tupperware/freezer bags?

I need to get back into batch cooking! Lots of lovely ideas here.

I do massive batches of apple sauce, it's great as a dessert with yogurt, in smoothies, muffins instead of butter, on roast pork, with granola etc. I make it really thick and then add water if necessary.

old Depends on what the dish is. I don't have a microwave so lasagne/pies go in tinfoil containers. Soups/stews etc go in Tupperware old takeaway containers or if I'm struggling for freezer space they go in a freezer bag.
Baked potatoes/fish cakes/breaded chicken etc get open froze and bunged in a freezer bag.

Another thing I batch cook and freeze is cake. It takes no more effort to make four lemon drizzle cakes than just one, so I freeze three of them for another week. This is also handy if you get hit by an unexpected school bake sale.

I use Tupperware. Lock & Lock is very good, I buy it from John Lewis.

fevertree that fab book I gave link to said to store lettuce washed in a tub with kitchen roll or dish towel. My mum used to do it too and it did work well. So I think that there are some things you can prep as they come in and loss of nutrients etc not too bad.

oldlaund you can freeze the bags flat so they are stackable! (I am excited by that, I've wasted freezer space for years by freezing standing up and then the liquid piles into a sort of hard to store triangle)

This book www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00I616LMQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1471952707&sr=1-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=freeze+justine+pattison&dpPl=1&dpID=416rLi5ImYL&ref=plSrch is fab for freezer recipes and gives lots of guidance on how to freeze pretty much anything

I spend my day off in the week doing a month of meals, mainly in winter. I find it helps with quick post work dinners and budgeting - I usually do:

Chicken casserole X 3 (can be turned into soup with extra veg / cream; pie or casserole with with dumplings)
Beef stew X 3 (as above)
Bolognaise X 4 (for spaghetti or lasagna)
Chilli x 2 (with rice or wraps)
Cottage pie X 2 or 3
Vege chilli X 2
Vege fajita mix X 2
Tomato based pasta sauce or macaroni cheese sauce X 4
Shredded beef X 2
Mashed potato X infinite tubs!!

That's our winter staples - over 20 meals for a month and takes a full day.

Like another poster we have 2 freezers, small one in the kitchen for storing what's being eaten through the week. And a massive drawer one in the garage that's off half the year, Autumn / winter use only for batch cooking and Christmas puddings

I work as a nanny and I always bulk cook and keep meals in the freezer for either after school clubs or for the family to use at weekends-its brilliant and saves so much time. I also bulk freeze grated carrots, chopped mushrooms and onions and blitz peppers and add oil ready to add to bolognese/casseroles etc. Especially illy if the veg are near turning point in the fridge.

I used to make double every meal to freeze half, until my kids started eating so much that making double wouldn't fit in a pan. And it's a pain to cook that much at a time so not time saving either. But I have worked out that you don't need to cook the meat or sauce to freeze it in a meal. So in Jan I spent 2 days prepping meals ie putting raw veg, raw meat, tinned beans spices/herbs and a liquid (stock, coconut milk, tins of tomatoes etc) in freezer bags and managed to make 1 whole term's worth of meals (eating them 3 days a week). I just defrosted them overnight and chucked them in the slow cooker in the morning, or took them out the freezer in the morning and put them in the oven on a timer to cook in the evening. Must do this again soon.

Other than the odd bolognaise sauce I don't really do this. I struggle coz my hubby is really fussy tho not so much the kids. I do make 2 lots of Sunday lunch because it's a quick tea after work on a Monday

Inspired by this thread, I have decided to really get ahead for the new term by filling my freezer with a batch cooking session at the weekend. I plan to make:

Bolognese x 4
Chicken Tagine x 2
Beef in ale casserole x 2
Beef chilli x 2
Banana bread x 2
Lemon drizzle loaf x 2
Carrot cake loaf x 2

Old grill the courgette or it gets a bit wet. If I have a lot of courgette, I freeze grilled slices in a bit of oil. DH wouldn't eat grilled courgette but loves my lasagne.

As well as grating (in processor) and freezing blocks of cheese, I keep a box in the freezer with frozen cheese from the end of blocks. I use this mixture for mac cheese and tops of bakes. Pinched from a Jamie Oliver program.

Inspired by this post, in the past few days I've bought a bunch of meat to make into stews, and for the freezer I've made 6 mini frittata, chicken soup, and for our packed lunches - mini pizzas and low sugar carrot muffins. Thanks for the inspiration!