When I sit down with a new client for the first time and try to get an understanding of how they eat, eventually I ask them what they have for lunch, and often the answer is something “convenient”. Something convenient is normally a sandwich or a meal deal containing a sandwich and a packet of crisps. In my experience this is the meal that is powering the majority of people after lunch and until dinner, but in my opinion the humble sandwich isn’t a particularly nutritious lunch. Often it contains blood spiking bread, poor quality salad veg’s (if any) and poor-quality meat.

It is possible to buy high quality convenience food such as fresh sushi, but this will hit your wallet to about the tune of £15 which most people are unwilling to pay every day and understandably so. What if, with just a little bit more effort and thought, we could make convenience really work for us? I want clients cooking meals that increase health reserves, providing the building blocks for muscle, stabilising their blood sugar levels, and enhancing their energy levels. I think we can achieve all the above by bulk cooking nutritious meals that will provide us with maximum convenience and maximum nutrient content of our food. Its what I do and try to encourage my clients to do.

Bulk cooking is simply cooking a few more portions to what you would normally cook so just multiply all your ingredients by 4 or 5 and you have lunch sorted for every day of the week. Normally I’ll bulk cook 2 meals at 4 portions each, one batch a Sunday and one batch on a Monday. That gives me some variety for lunch and some dinners for those days I work a bit later and have less time to cook.

In terms of storing my bulk cooked foods I put them in Pyrex containers, cool them down in cold water in the sink, and then pop them into the fridge. But you can also freeze your portions individually. When it comes to reheating meals, I find 3 mins in the microwave normally does the job and if frozen, adding an extra 1 min and 30 secs should to the trick. If I cook a casserole, or something similar, I’ll normally buy some microwave rice and green veg to go with it.

Batch cooking allows us to eat a superior quality of food at better price, while improving the nutrients we deliver for healthier bodies and best all its convenient. Below are three of my favourite batch cooked meals.

Beef casserole

(prep time- 20-30 mins, cooking time- 3 hours to 3 hours 30 mins)

Ingredients

• 2 celery sticks thickly sliced.

• 1 onion chopped.

• 2 really big carrots halved lengthways then very chunkily sliced.

• 5 bay leaves.

• 2 thyme sprigs 1 whole and leaves picked.

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil.

• 1 tbsp butter.

• 2 tbsp plain flour.

• 2 tbsp tomato purée.

• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce.

• Half a litre of beef stock.

• 850g stewing beef (feather blade or brisket works nicely), cut into nice large chunks.

• Sometimes ill use 600 grams of meat and replace rest with pulses like lentils or chickpeas.

Method

• STEP 1 Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and put the kettle on.

• STEP 2 Put 2 thickly sliced celery sticks, 1 chopped onion, 2 chunkily sliced carrots, 5 bay leaves and 1 whole thyme sprig in a flameproof casserole dish with 1 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 tbsp butter.

• STEP 3 Soften for 10 min, then stir in 2 tbsp plain flour until it doesn’t look dusty anymore, followed by 2 tbsp tomato purée, and 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce. (sometimes at the end ill add 200ml of red wine and let it bubble for another 10mins but its optional)

• STEP 4 Gradually stir in 500ml warmed stock, then tip in 850g stewing beef and bring to a gentle simmer.

• STEP 5 Cover and put in the oven for 2hrs 30 mins, then uncover and cook for 30mins – 1hr more until the meat is really tender and the sauce is thickened.

• STEP 6 Garnish with the picked leaves of the remaining thyme sprig. Remove from heat and empty carefully into storage container to be cooled in cold iced water in sink before refrigerating.

Chicken or Ginger Beef

(prep time- 15 mins, cooking time- 20 mins) (4 single person servings)

Ingredients

• 2 table spoons of corn flour.

• Salt and pepper.

• 800 grams of chicken or beef, sliced into 0.5 cm strips.

• 6 table spoons of ground nut oil (olive oil can be used too).

• 8 cm finger sized piece of fresh ginger peeled and finely chopped.

• 4 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped. • 6 spring onions chopped. • 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into match sticks. • 4 table spoons of light soya sauce.

• 2 teaspoons of sesame oil.

• 2-3 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar.

• Chilli flakes to garnish.

• 200 grams of preferred green veg (example broccoli, or green beans).

Method

1. Par boil veg for 3 mins, drain, and put in cold water.

2. Put cornflour into bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add beef or chicken strips, dust in flour, shake off any excess flour.

3. Heat oil in wok. When its hot, add the meat and cook until crisp on the outside, you might need to cook meat in tow batches. Set aside on plate with kitchen towel to drain oil. Clean wok.

4. Add a dash of oil to the wok. Add the ginger, garlic, spring onion and carrots to fry over a high heat for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add soya sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, a dash of pepper along with 6 table spoons of water and heat through for a couple of mins.

5. Drain veg and add to wok along with meat and gently mix into the sauce. Remove from heat and empty carefully into storage container to be cooled in cold iced water in sink before refrigerating.

Red Thai Curry

Ingredients

• 400ml of coconut milk.

• 600-800 grams of chicken.

• 2-4 teaspoons of fish sauce.

• 150-200 grams of green beans chopped.

• Fresh coriander or basil.

• Sliced bamboo shoots.

• 100 grams of red Thai curry paste.

• Optional sliced red chilli.

Method

1. Remove top tablespoon of coconut milk from the can and heat in a saucepan until the oil begins to split.

2. Stir red Thai paste, chicken, and green beans.

3. Add the remainder of the coconut milk, fish sauce, and bamboo shoots.

4. Simmer until the chicken is cooked (approx. 5 mins) or longer if you desire a thicker sauce.

5. Garnish with fresh coriander or bail, and chilli if desired.

6. Remove from heat and empty carefully into storage container to be cooled in cold iced water in sink before refrigerating.