Best Health – August-September 2019

GET ON THE BATCH-COOKING

BANDWAGON

Cooking for the week has a number of advantages:

It saves precious minutes at time-crunched meal-

times, takes the guesswork out of menu planning

and ensures that you have no excuse to bail on a

healthy meal.

You can get creative and whip up a homemade

tomato sauce to use in a variety of ways, such as

over vegetable “noodles,” a meatball sandwich or

even a homemade pizza. You could also roast a

large chicken, steam a pot of quinoa or grill a big

batch of vegetables to use in lunches and dinners

throughout the week. “I encourage people to start

with whatever they find most challenging, either

protein, starch or vegetables,” says Meghawache.

Then you can use that as the base for your mea ls. If

you’ve made more tha n enough for the week, freeze

it. It’s helpful to have frozen leftovers that you can

reach for when life gets really busy.

If a lack of cook ing k now-how or creativ it y in t he

kitchen is holding you back, you probably just need

a little guidance. Remmer recommends compiling

some simple recipes you can call on regularly. “Have

a list of 10 easy, go-to meals that you can make in 30

minutes,” says Remmer. One-pot burrito bowls,

roasted squash mac and cheese and clean-out-the-

fridge fried rice are a few of her faves.

When it comes to making changes to your meal

planning and cooking, the key to success is baby

steps – or bites, says Meghawache. “Start with just

two small changes that you’re more than confident

you can achieve, or try one or two new recipes,” she

says. “Keeping things simple when you’re starting

a new habit is very important.” bh

“Have a list of 10

easy, go-to meals

that you can make

in 30 minutes.”

• Sarah Remmer

68 AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2019 best health besthealthmag.ca

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