A few months ago, I realised that our household was spending an absurd amount of money on food, mainly because we kept ordering takeaways and grabbing expensive meal deals during working hours. To get our budget under control, I decided to take up batch cooking and weekly meal preparation.
I officially started around last October, right after looking through my bank statements and getting a bit of a shock. The basic idea is that every Sunday afternoon, I plan our meals for the week, do one big supermarket shop, and spend about three hours in the kitchen cooking large portions of curries, pasta bakes, and stews that can be portioned out into reusable containers and frozen.
To be honest, it wasn't particularly difficult to learn how to cook the dishes, as I already had some basic culinary skills. The tricky part was the logistical side of things, working out exact quantities, keeping track of what was in the freezer, and resisting the temptation to abandon the plan when I felt exhausted after work. It took a couple of weeks to establish a proper routine and find recipes that reheat well without losing their flavour.
In terms of saving money, it has been remarkably effective. By cutting down on impulse purchases and virtually eliminating our mid-week takeaway orders, I reckon we've shaved at least a third off our monthly grocery bills. Beyond the financial benefits, it has actually reduced our food waste quite significantly and made weekday evenings far less stressful, so it's definitely something I intend to stick with.