The answer is....too effin' bad! Sorry guys, but unless you can afford a private chef, you have to consider cooking the highest act of self-love and self-care. Don't hate me, but you can't possibly think that a restaurant is going to care about your health as much as you will. As my girl Kris Carr says, eating out all the time is the same thing as "outsourcing your health". The bottom line is that you make time for the things that are important to you. I've said this many times, but if I can find the time to watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians (this is your opportunity to practice non-judgment), then I can't really say I don't have time to meditate. Did you make it to this week's happy hour? Boom. You have time to cook. Are you guys pickin' up what I'm putting down?? You will spend time on what you value. If you aren't finding time in your schedule to cook, then health is not at the top of your priority list. You can either make peace with that or change it - I say CHANGE IT!

That being said, there are times we need to work smarter, not harder. Perhaps you’re not in the mood to bust out a cookbook, chop seventeen different vegetables, or clean up the kitchen. You don’t have to pretend you’re in a Giada-like culinary mood when you’re not.

It doesn’t have to be elaborate or time-consuming all the time. And if you’re an efficiency nerd like me, sometimes these life hacks bring as much pleasure as the delicious food you now have on your plate.

IT'S BATCH COOKING WEEK Y'ALL!

Visit our Facebook page to see our daily batch cooking posts. Share with us and your fellow wisdom seekers your ideas, recipes and pics! Let's get this convo started!

BATCH COOKING HOW-TO

Let's make this fun people!

We like to make two meals and one side with each batch. The side can easily be turned into an extra meal if you are desperate.

Challenge yourself. Set a timer and see how quickly you can get through the steps below, just be careful with the knife :)

Invite a friend over, double the ingredients and divvy up the steps.

Turn on some music or a movie, dance like no one is watching!

Get your significant other or roommate(s) involved, one of you cooks, the other cleans, everybody is happy.

Let's get started...

COOKWARE:

Crockpot
2 baking sheets or dishes
Knife
Slotted spoon
Spatula
Medium saucepan
Food processor
Vegetable spiralizer (Veggetti is our fave)
Cutting board
Glass storage containers (we love Pyrex)
iPod or radio (we know...it's not cookware, but it will make cooking much more fun!)

INGREDIENTS:

Whole turkey (3 lbs.)
Brussels sprouts (1 package)
Organic chicken broth
Zucchini (2)
1 lb. shrimp, wild caught, peeled and deveined
Avocado (2)
Limes (2)
Red onion (1)
Fresh cilantro (1 bunch)
Okra (1 package)
Radishes (1 bunch)
Lemons (2)
Yellow onion (1)
Garlic (1 bulb)
Fresh basil (1 bunch)
Fresh parsley (1 bunch)
Stewed tomatoes (from the olive bar at Whole Foods)
Extra virgin olive oil (aka "EVOO")
Grapeseed, coconut or other high heat oil
Ghee (clarified butter)
Walnuts
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

ON THE MENU:

Pesto Shrimp over Zucchini Noodles
Turkey with Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Okra
Guacamole (eat as a snack with sliced radishes or see below for an optional meal idea)

STEPS:

First and foremost, turn on some music and get this party started (fist pump!)

Preheat oven to 400F
Season turkey with sea salt and pepper and place in a crockpot with 1/2 cup of chicken broth; Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours and fuhgeddaboudit.
Grab a knife and cutting board and dice one yellow onion, half of a red onion and the bulb of garlic; slice the remaining half of the red onion and the radishes
Cut the tips off of the Brussels sprouts, remove outer leaves and chop in half (quarter larger sprouts). Place sliced red onion and sprouts in a baking dish, season with sea salt and pepper, drizzle with oil (just enough to lightly coat the sprouts) and toss to coat the sprouts.

Place the okra on a separate baking sheet. Drizzle with grapeseed oil (just enough to lightly coat the veggies) and season with sea salt and pepper. Toss to coat the okra. Place two lemon halves face down on the baking sheet.

Place the okra and sprouts in the oven (35-40 minutes for the sprouts, 25-30 minutes for the okra or until the veggies are tender and slightly browned). Remove from oven and set aside. Once cooled, stick in the fridge (squeeze the lemon over the okra) in a glass container.

Use the veggie spiralizer to process the zucchini into noodles; set aside in a glass container in the fridge

Prepare the pesto - place the following ingredients in a food processor and process until blended - 2 cups fresh basil leaves, 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, 1/3 cup EVOO, 1/3 cup walnuts, 3 cloves garlic (minced), 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1/8 tsp ground black pepper. Place in the fridge in a covered glass container for 30 minutes.

Prepare the guacamole - cut avocados in half and remove the pits; scoop the avocado out of the shells into a medium bowl. Mash with a fork. Roughly chop a handful of cilantro and add it to the bowl. Add diced red onion, sea salt and pepper. Squeeze half of a lime into the bowl and stir ingredients to combine (add more lime if necessary). Place in the fridge in a covered glass container.

Place one tablespoon of ghee in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the zucchini noodles and saute' until tender. Set aside.

Remove the shrimp and cook in the same pan for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from heat, toss with the pesto and allow to cool.

Assemble Meal #1:

Pesto Shrimp over Zucchini Noodles

Portion the zucchini noodles into four glass containers. Place 1/4 of the pesto shrimp into each container, top with stewed tomatoes and place in the fridge until meal time. Voila!

TAKE A BREAK!

You aren't needed in the kitchen again until the turkey is finished cooking (although you will want to check on it several times throughout the day to make sure that there is enough liquid and that the turkey isn't drying out; add chicken broth as needed).

Assemble Meal #2:

Turkey with Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Okra

Debone and shred the turkey and use a slotted spoon to remove from the crockpot. Place a portion of turkey (surface of the palm of your hand) into four glass containers and add a serving of Brussels sprouts and okra to each. Place in the fridge until meal time.

Snack:

Radishes & Guacamole

Optional Meal:

Turkey and Guacamole Salad

Place leftover turkey and guacamole over fresh spinach or arugula and add sliced radishes, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

All of these options travel and freeze well and make great lunches. And if you guys know me well, you know I'm slapping a fried egg on top of these MF-ers.

A round of batch cooking typically lasts around three days. If you get sick of the meal, freeze it for another time.