If
batch cooking
It seems like a good idea to you because you prefer to do the bulk of the cooking work, but you need a more elastic system that adjusts to what you want to eat each day, the Comidista Formula can become your best friend.
You will only have to cook something on the grill at the last minute, make an omelette, open a can of preserves or prepare a quick salad: you will have the rest ready.
If batch cooking isn't your thing, you can also stick around - we have plenty of easy, healthy and tasty recipes that can also work on their own.
What does it consist of?
With this method you will get 10 complete meals that you can combine as you like, with most of the dishes already ready to eat.
Some require short preparation, which basically consists of cutting and dressing in the case of salads or cooking on the grill or pan in the case of fish, chicken, tortillas, etc.
We will also always have a spread and vegetable sticks ready to accompany it for those days when you are a little hungrier, for snacks or to turn it into a breakfast or snack with toast.
Neither breakfasts nor snacks are included in this formula, so add to the purchase your favorite seasonal fruit, whole wheat bread, fresh cheese, natural yogurt, oatmeal or more eggs to eat in the morning: the spreads that do fit on the menu - as an extra for those days when you are hungrier - can also help you with this daily meal.
How to organize to cook
The oven will allow us to prepare several of the vegetable accompaniments in one go and, if you want to take the opportunity to also prepare some of the dinner proteins, you can add a well-spiced strip of loin - or header - or a butterfly chicken (keeping a close eye on the times). of cooking in both cases so that there are no complications).
For the part of the menu that we will prepare in the kitchen, saving time and effort begins by preparing a good amount of sofrito at the start, and then dividing it between the different preparations.
More tricks?
Use inexpensive, whole ingredients that do not require too long cooking, such as oatmeal, which is usually eaten for breakfast, but is also very good in soups, stews and other savory dishes (perhaps they do not have the most attractive appearance in the world). world, but it is more than compensated by how good they are).
The quantities of this formula are designed for four people, if at home there are fewer of you, you can, depending on whether or not you care about repeating the menu, adapt the quantities or prepare less variety and freeze (here we give you some tips on how to manage the freezer well. , basically it's about labeling well and watching the rotation).
Also do not hesitate to use some frozen foods in your weekly menus: the peas, chard, shrimp and cuttlefish in this proposal can be perfectly in this format, economical, practical and with their nutritional properties intact.
Read all the preparation instructions first so you can fill the downtime with the shorter preparations, such as vinaigrettes, and wait a bit for the preparations to cool down a little before putting them in the refrigerator, since when preparing a lot of volume at At the same time we can lower its temperature.
If your kitchen is very hot, it is better for the appliances to work than for the microorganisms: lower the temperature of the refrigerator by two or three degrees for two or three hours, setting an alarm so that you don't forget to return it to its usual position.
We put legumes in the carbohydrate category, although they are also a very good source of protein, due to their high satiating capacity: you can buy them already cooked - refrigerated, in a jar or in a cooker, if there are any in your area - or make them at home.
Although the latter may seem very laborious, if you cook a kilo each week you will get about 14 servings, which you can freeze to alternate flavors and textures.
Test and adjust the seasoning of the dishes as you cook and, in addition to having tasty dishes, you will fine-tune the amounts of salt, herbs or spices that your recipes need each time you cook.
How to organize to eat
If you normally eat out of a container, the easiest thing to do will be to resort to stews, soups and already prepared dishes at midday, and leave plates and salads for the night.
Salads or cooked vegetables can be turned into a unique dish by adding a carbohydrate and a protein: below we will see some very simple examples of how to combine them (in case the free method doesn't work for someone).
Many of these dishes can be frozen if they are to be consumed at the end of the week: chicken stew and curries are perfect for this, as is quinoa.
We can also freeze the cream, as long as we then boil it or give it a shake with a mixer so that it recovers the texture.
If we prepare two or three times more fried garlic with paprika and vinegar, we can freeze it in ice cube trays and have it ready to liven up any grilled fish, leafy vegetables or potatoes.
Sardines or small sardines in oil are a great resource to easily add fish to any type of dish: legume or potato salads, toast with hummus or slices of tomato - if it's in season - or cucumber, pasta or rice.
If instead you have bonito, mackerel, marlin or tuna on hand, they are quite interchangeable in many dishes (taking into account that some preserves are juicier and more seasoned than others and compensating with the rest of the ingredients in the dish).
DISHES
3 stews (for 2 servings per person, 6 in total, one already with hydrate incorporated)
Stewed chicken with carrots, corn and oats
Vegetable curry with shrimp and coconut milk
Hake or cod with green sauce and peas
3 preparations of cooked or sautéed vegetables (5 servings in total)
Roasted artichokes with romesco vinaigrette
Broccoli with soy, honey and chili (for 2)
Swiss chard with fried garlic, vinegar, paprika and parsley (for 2)
4 sources of carbohydrates (for 2 servings per person, 8 in total)
Roasted sweet potato puree
Quinoa
cooked lentils
short pasta
4 vegetable creams or quick salads to prepare at the moment (5 servings in total)
Arugula, cherry tomatoes and black olive vinaigrette salad
Orange salad with cod and red onion
Creamed spinach, rice, roasted leek and yogurt with spiced chickpeas (for 2)
Endives with blue cheese, quince and walnuts
4 quick protein sources (4 servings total)
Hard-boiled eggs (cooked nine minutes)
Sardines -or little sardines- in oil
Grilled cuttlefish with garlic, parsley and lemon dressing
Turkey fillets with Moorish marinade
1 spread (and its crudités)
Bean spread with artichokes, dried tomatoes and oregano
The preparation
Upon arrival from the purchase, if it is fresh it will not be used within the next two days, freeze the clean cuttlefish (if they are frozen, store them quickly to avoid breaking the cold chain).
Season the turkey fillets with Moorish skewer spices or paprika and garlic powder and a little oil and, if they are not going to be used within the next two days, freeze.
Cut two medium-sized broccolis into florets, and the stem into slices - approximately 1.4 kilos in total - and put in a small tray with 80 milliliters of soy sauce, 40 milliliters of water, two tablespoons of honey and chili to taste.
Put on a tray or oven-safe container and stir well.
Put 500 grams of cooked, washed and drained chickpeas in another tray.
Turn on the oven to 190 degrees.
Distribute eight whole artichokes on their two trays - removing the stem so that they can stand upright, between four and six sweet potatoes (about 1.2 kilos in total), three leeks without the greenest part and the root - save these parts for a broth- and the two little trays with the chickpeas and broccoli.
Meanwhile, prepare the spread by crushing 800 grams of cooked white beans, a can or jar of well-drained canned artichoke hearts, a medium clove of garlic, about 12 halves of dried tomato in oil, oil from its dressing and oregano to taste. (If it is very thick, thin it with a little cold water).
Taste and adjust seasoning: the spread is now ready.
Cut two cucumbers, four carrots and a red pepper into sticks to accompany: these crudités in a jar or tightly closed silicone bag will last well for three days in the refrigerator;
At that time, the process will have to be repeated to accompany the spread for the rest of the week.
Turn the leeks and stir in the broccoli after 15 minutes in the oven.
At the same time, take out the chickpeas, stir them and season with olive oil, a little salt and a tablespoon of spice mix to taste (from paprika to Cajun or chicken spices).
Stir well again so that they are coated and return to the oven.
In three jars, prepare a vinaigrette with 120 milliliters of olive oil for the orange and endive salad, another with 60 milliliters of oil and two tablespoons of olive oil and another with 60 milliliters of oil for the arugula salad and another with 60 milliliters of oil and two tablespoons of romesco for the artichokes (all with salt, pepper and vinegar to taste).
Store in the refrigerator until ready to consume.
If we have free spaces, slice 10 cloves of garlic and peel and chop eight onions not too finely.
Start a sauce in a pot with a base of oil and a little salt.
Turn the leeks and stir in the chickpeas after 15 more minutes.
Test if the broccoli is done, keeping in mind that the residual heat will cook it a little more (if not, stir, return to the oven and check every five minutes).
Leeks and chickpeas will be ready in about 40 minutes, sweet potatoes in 40 to 50, and artichokes can take up to an hour.
When the artichokes no longer burn, remove the outer leaves that are hard and, if you want, cut the leaves a little.
When serving, open them like a flower or cut them in half lengthwise, heat them and dress them with the romesco vinaigrette.
When the sweet potatoes no longer burn, transfer them to a bowl and mix - with a potato masher, a potato masher, a fork and patience or an arm blender - with about 200 milliliters of evaporated milk, butter to taste, salt and pepper until you get a puree. .
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and, when it boils, carefully add eight eggs and cook them for nine minutes over low heat.
Cool well and reserve in the refrigerator.
When the onion is golden, remove ⅔ of it and add six sliced carrots to the same pot.
When they have a little color, add 700 grams of shredded chicken thigh with salt and pepper and brown.
Add about 800 milliliters of chicken, vegetable or meat broth, 300 grams of shelled corn and aromatic herbs to taste (it works very well with a Provençal mixture).
Bring to a boil, add 100 grams of oat flakes and let it boil over very low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring a couple of times in the process.
Prepare another pot with salted water and cook the whole wheat pasta following the manufacturer's instructions.
When the pasta is ready, drain, stir to help it cool and add a little oil, since we are not going to butter it with sauce.
When the chicken stew is ready, transfer to one or more containers, clean the pot and return half of the remaining onion.
Add six sliced carrots, three parsnips and three medium-sized turnips and let them brown for a few minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Add curry paste to taste - or curry powder - and stir a few times to awaken the aromas.
Add 400 milliliters of coconut milk for cooking and a splash of soy sauce, cover and let it cook over low-medium heat for five minutes.
After this time, add about 300 grams of white cabbage cut into thin strips and when it boils again, cover for two more minutes.
Add 400 grams of raw peeled shrimp and repeat the process for another two or three minutes.
The curry is ready (serve with lime and chopped peanuts, if we have any aromatics such as mint, basil, parsley or cilantro it will also be great).
Pour water into the pasta pot and cook the quinoa, also following the manufacturer's instructions.
Drain, cool and store.
Clean the curry pot and mark the loins or slices of hake or cod with salt and pepper, with a little oil.
Add the rest of the browned onion, cover with a mixture of fish broth and white wine and cook for five minutes over low heat, uncovered.
After this time, add two generous tablespoons of chopped parsley and the peas, and let it cook for four or five more minutes once it comes to a boil again.
Remove from the heat and remove from the container quickly so that it does not become overcooked with residual heat.
Pour water into the quinoa pot and return it to the heat with two and a half liters of vegetable or chicken broth, a kilo of spinach - it can be thawed - and 200 grams of white rice.
Remove the outer layer of the leeks, chop them and add them to the pot.
Bring to a boil over low heat for about 16 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
Remove from the heat, add two level tablespoons of za'atar - or a mixture of thyme, rosemary and sesame -, four yogurts and blend.
Taste and adjust the salt and seasoning if necessary.
Clean the pot we have available and put it over medium heat with a good splash of oil, a little salt and between six and eight sliced cloves of garlic.
When they begin to brown, remove from the heat, add a tablespoon of paprika and stir.
Add vinegar to taste, return to heat and let it reduce a little.
Add a kilo of fresh or thawed chard, mix well, increase the heat and cover.
After four minutes, uncover and stir, continue cooking uncovered - so that the water from the vegetables evaporates - until the chard is cooked.
For the orange salad with cod and red onion, peel the onion, chop it and mix with the vinaigrette for ten minutes so that it loses strength.
Meanwhile, peel the oranges and cut them into slices, plate them and top with the onion, the dressing, the desalted cod crumbs and low-salt green olives.
For the arugula and cherry tomato salad with olive vinaigrette, cut the tomatoes in half and mix with the rest of the ingredients, season and eat.
For the endives with blue cheese, quince and walnuts, cut the endives in half lengthwise and each half into three or four pieces.
Arrange on a plate or salad bowl and top with the chopped walnuts, blue cheese and diced quince and the vinaigrette.
Defrost the Moorish turkey fillets and cuttlefish in the refrigerator the day before.
Dress the cuttlefish with a little chopped garlic, parsley and lemon juice or zest.
Cook both on the grill or frying pan over high heat with a little oil and salt.
Three examples for a daily menu
Menu 1
Lunch (in a container):
Stewed chicken with carrots, corn and oats + roasted artichokes with romesco vinaigrette
Dinner (at home):
Grilled cuttlefish with garlic, parsley and lemon dressing + endives with blue cheese, quince and walnuts + quinoa
Menu 2
Lunch (in a container and hungry):
Cream of spinach, potato, leek and yogurt with croutons + hake or cod with green sauce and peas + roasted sweet potato puree
Dinner (at home, but in a hurry):
Arugula, cherry tomatoes and black olives salad with olive vinaigrette + short pasta + hard-boiled egg + sardines in oil
Menu 3
Food (in a container):
Creamed spinach, potato, leek and yogurt + vegetable curry with shrimp and coconut milk + cooked lentils
Dinner (at home and very hungry):
Orange salad with cod and red onion + turkey fillets with Moorish marinade + roasted sweet potato puree + bean spread with artichokes, tomato and oregano with crudités
Shopping list
Fruit and vegetables
4 heads of garlic, 2 medium broccoli, 8 artichokes, 1.2 kilos of sweet potatoes, 4 cucumbers, 14 carrots, 2 red peppers, 8 onions, 3 parsnips, 3 turnips, 300 g of white cabbage, 2 limes, 1 kg of spinach (can be thawed), 800 g of peas (can be thawed), 1 kg of chard (can be thawed), 1 red onion, 2 or 3 oranges, 100 g of arugula, 400 g of cherry tomatoes, 600 g endives, 1 or 2 lemons.
Fish
4 servings of cuttlefish (about 175 g each, cleaned), 400 g of peeled shrimp (can be thawed), 800 g of hake or cod loins (or 1 kg of slices), 300 g of desalted cod crumbs.
Eggs and poultry
700 g of turkey breast, 8 eggs, 700 g of boneless, skinless chicken breast.
Dairy
200 ml of evaporated milk, butter, 4 natural yogurts, 100 g of blue cheese to taste.
Additionally
Spices for Moorish skewer, soy sauce, honey, chili, 500 g of cooked chickpeas, 800 g of cooked white beans, 1 can or jar of artichoke hearts, 1 jar of dried tomato in oil, spices to taste for the chickpeas , virgin olive oil, black olive oil, vinegar to taste, romesco, salt, pepper, 2.5 liters of vegetable or chicken broth, 300 g of shelled corn, aromatic herbs to taste, 100 g of oat flakes, 700 g short whole wheat pasta, curry paste (or curry powder), 400 ml coconut milk for cooking, peanuts, 500 g quinoa, 200 g white rice, fresh parsley, za'atar (or a mixture of thyme, rosemary and sesame), 60 g of low-salt green olives or similar, 60 g of black olives from Aragon or similar, 50 g of peeled walnuts, 80 g of quince.
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