‘Buy, Cook, Save’: How to easily nail cooking meals from scratch all week

Gaby Chapman and Jen Petrovic’s method is simple: 4+2+1. Here they explain how to cook seven meals, ranging from speedy meals to utilising batch cooking and your freezer

The secret is to double up on two meals, so you’ll always have something in the freezer (iStock)

7 nights of dinner done = 4+2+1: The formula explained

4+2+1 is not a diet, nor is it designed to make you quit anything except worrying about the evening meal. It is simply a way to incorporate better planning, buying and cooking-from scratch habits for a fuss‑free life. It can be adapted to any diet or recipes with ease.

Cook 4 meals from scratch each week:

2 double-up meals and 2 fast & fresh

Double-up two meals each week. Eat two this week and freeze the rest. The remaining two meals should be fast & fresh. These are meals that you can make in under an hour.

Take 2 foodbanked meals from the freezer:

Simply toss together a salad, or cook some pasta, rice, or vegetables to accompany your defrosted foodbanked meal on the night as required.

Have 1 super simple meal:

Leftovers, takeaway or something easy like toasted sandwiches or eggs on toast will round out your week.

Having a formula doesn’t mean you are tied to set meals on set nights; you can vary your plan as long as you have the ingredients. You can also either choose to use some of our fabulous and varied meals, or substitute some with your own recipes. It will work either way.

The secret

The key is to “double-up” two recipes – cook twice as much as you need – to make two freezable meals each week. Plan to eat one of each of these meals this week and freeze the other meals for eating two weeks down the track. We call this “foodbanking”.

This chicken and chorizo braise recipe is one to double up (Bec Hudson)

Double-up meals might be substantial one-pot meals like our chicken an chorizo braise (see the recipe here), or pasta sauces that go into the freezer as nearly complete meals, or basics like hamburgers, lamb kibbeh or any of our marinated meat recipes that can be frozen uncooked. Or they might be pantry meals or soups. You need to put two meals in the freezer each week to achieve freedom from the daily dinner grind.

The other two meals you make from scratch during the week should be “fast and fresh”: meals that don’t take a lot of preparation and cooking time. The key to these meals is having the ingredients on hand, ready to go.

Importantly, you also need to plan to eat two foodbanked meals each week to save you cooking time. You should use your previously foodbanked meals within two weeks to keep everything on high rotation. This way, you are not stockpiling food that takes up freezer space, and you are still keeping variety in your cooking by having meals from two weeks before.

And because we are all about simplicity, we also include what we call a “super simple” meal in the mix. This might be leftovers, takeaway or something like eggs on toast, toasted sandwiches, jacket potatoes or flatbread pizzas. Plan to make one super simple meal each week that anyone in the family can cook.

With this, you should be able to do all your cooking in about two hours when time is really tight during the working week, instead of the countless hours you now spend thinking about, shopping for and cooking meals each week.

‘The Plan Buy Cook Book‘ by Gaby Chapman & Jen Petrovic (Hardie Grant, EBook available) Photography: Bec Hudson