It’s September! I can smell the new erasers and school bus exhaust already.

Back to school is here. And if you have kids that you are sending off to school, it’s probably a pretty hectic time. A couple of weeks ago I shared some tips for healthy school lunches. If you didn’t see it, click here!

But the kids aren’t the only ones that need healthy food- you deserve it too!

When things get extra busy, batch cooking becomes a priority for me.

Rather than spending 30-60 minutes each night cooking, I rely on batch cooking a couple of big meals/foods one day a week so that I will have food all week long. Doing it all at once can be done in under an hour, for the whole week!

Not only does it save me a ton of time, I also feel less stressed because I’m not thinking about what I’m going to eat on top of all the other things on my mind.

I know what you might be thinking- “When I get really busy, we just get takeout. I can’t handle batch cooking.”

Well, you will be missing out on healthy, nourishing food. No matter how you slice it, takeout is never as healthy as a home cooked, real food meal.

And as kids are going back to school, being exposed to all kinds of new germs, it is the most important time to have real food on hand. Real food supports our immune system, whereas processed food hurts it. You want real food during this time, trust me.

Ok, so what do you batch cook?

If you don’t have the bandwidth to batch cook everything for the week, start with just these three things~

1. Batch of Soup
2. Wash and Chop Veggies
3. Make a Sauce

Batch of Soup

Soup is the easiest thing to batch cook. I basically just throw what I have in the crockpot and in half a day or less I have meals for most of the week. Soup is great to get in a bunch of veggies, a healthy protein, and even beans (ahhhh, beans), and is known to be incredibly filling. You can also keep things exciting throughout the week, or for picky eaters, by having a variety of toppings on hand-cheese, tortilla chips, nuts, seeds, avocado, herbs, and croutons.

Here are a couple of yummy soup recipe options:

• Chicken Fajita Soup– I like to add beans at the end!
• Beef Stew

Wash and Chop Veggies

I find that if you wash and chop your veggies at the beginning of the week, they are more likely to be used up by the end of the week. If you are coming home from a long day of work and have to not only make dinner, but you have to wash and chop the veggies, the chances of it happening are slimmer. If you have produce prepped and waiting to be used at home, your chances of eating them are higher as you don’t want them to go to waste!

Grab a few veggies that you love and want to eat during the week along with dinner or for lunch and prep them. If you are worried about them going bad, take a peek at this free guide- How to Store Prepped Produce:

Make a Sauce

No one likes a boring meal. Sauces keep things exciting and spruce things up a bit. But sauces and dressings from the store are usually filled with preservatives and sugar.

Take an extra 5 minutes to make a sauce. You will be able to use the sauce with your veggies or to compliment most meals. Need some sauce ideas? Checkout my post the Ultimate Sauce Collection.

Now, if you have a batch of soup, prepped veggies, and a sauce, all you need to do each night is cook up a protein and your veggies! You have lunch covered with your soup and dinner can be stir fried protein + veggies w/ the sauce!

There you go! Take 60 minutes out of your week to set yourself up to have healthy food all week long. It’s the best way to continue working toward your health goals during the busiest times of the year.

Want more batch cooking tips? The Batch Cooking Framework Course will be opening back up soon! Make sure you are subscribed at northwesthealthcoaching.com to get info about when enrollment is open!

XO,

Kelsey