Have you ever tried meal prepping? In theory it’s super useful. You already have food ready, so you no longer have to cook during your busy evenings. Ideal, right? Not quite. There is an alternative: ‘component cooking’. This is what you need to know about it.
What is component cooking?
Competent cooking is a cooking method that is somewhat similar to meal prepping. With meal prepping you prepare several different meals that you can eat during the week. This is very useful but also has disadvantages. This makes your fried vegetables less crispy and you may feel like you are eating the same thing over and over again. Component cooking gives you the benefits of meal prep, but without the disadvantages. The idea is that you make sure you have several ingredients on hand that you can use in many different ways and that you make sure that they are prepped for your next meal. For example, you can have everything already cut so that all you have to do is bake it. Component cooking is therefore not only convenient, but also a bit more creative. You can also give yourself different options so that you can create meals that really excite you.
You can do component cooking with all kinds of different ingredients. We recommend always having a number of options at home from different food groups. Think of vegetables, protein sources and carbohydrates. For example, you can also make sauces that you can use in different ways. We have listed a number of useful ingredients for you.
Pesto
Pesto is a sauce that you can use in many ways. You can add it to your pasta but also to salads, over roasted vegetables or on a sandwich. You can of course buy it in the store, but making it yourself is also very tasty. This same principle also works with other sauces.
Rice
You can make anything with rice. It is a super handy ingredient to have at home because you can build an entire meal around it. For example, choose a tasty protein source such as tofu or fish and combine it with tasty roasted vegetables. Throw in your favorite stir-fry sauce and you’re done! Ideal for component cooking.
Hard-boiled eggs
Eggs are an easy source of protein to add to your diet. You can boil some eggs at the beginning of the week and save them to add to meals. Think of sandwiches, salads or ramen. It doesn’t get more convenient than this for component cooking.
Pre-cut vegetables
Finally, we always recommend cutting your vegetables at the start of the week. This way you no longer have to spend time on this when you start cooking. Now all you have to do is throw them in the pan! You can also do this with garlic. Chop this finely and put it in the freezer. This way you quickly have a portion of garlic to throw into a meal whenever you feel like it.
