pasta

“My kids and hubby are meat lovers, but I prefer fish, tofu or beans with my meals.”  Sound familiar? It is really hard to enjoy family meals together?  I come across this situation many times with my clients, friends and peers. This situation is very common and often it is also complicated by the fact that many families are busy during the week and it is hard to eat together as a family.  When you do eat together as a family you want everyone to be happy and to enjoy a peaceful dinner.  How can you solve the dilemma of serving healthy meals that appeal to everyone?

Batch cooking.

photo credit: marcoverch Offener Kühlschrank voll von Nahrungsmitteln via photopin (license)

Batch cooking is the practice of cooking large quantities of foods ahead of time so that during the week you can easily assemble and reheat meals.  Once you get used to planning your meals in batches, the practice is really quite simple.  For my family, I set aside time on Sundays to batch cook grains, pasta, veggies and meats.  I also take time to make 1 or 2 bean salads as well.  I find that batch cooking saves me a lot of time during the week, and I feel good about serving my family healthy nutritious meals that meets everyone’s preferences. (more…)