The Reset · Edition 11 · 6 August 2026
Batch Cooking Without the Theatre
How two simple components — a grain and a sauce — can quietly hold a whole week together.
Photo: Antonio Araujo / Unsplash
The least-effort way to make weeknights easier is to cook just two things at the weekend — a grain and a sauce — and let them do the work five different ways. No colour-coded containers, no four-hour Sunday kitchen session, no recipes that require a second read-through. Two components, made once with a little intention, and the week stops feeling like a daily scramble.
I say this as someone who has tried proper batch cooking and found it miserably joyless. The appeal is obvious — the reality is standing over a roasting tin at 4pm on a Sunday resenting the whole enterprise. This is not that.
The version that actually works looks like this: a big pot of farro or brown rice while you're already in the kitchen doing something else. A simple tomato sauce — proper one, nothing clever — made in about 20 minutes. That's it. The rest of the week, you're not cooking from scratch, you're just assembling. Different proteins, different vegetables, whatever's in the fridge. The two components hold it all together.
It works the same way a good Reformer session does, if I'm honest. You don't need the whole programme to change. You need one reliable thing that makes everything else easier. For anyone in Kensington & Chelsea juggling a full house and a full diary, that's usually the only kind of habit that actually sticks.
The move — 10 minutes, no kit
Sitting compresses the lumbar spine and tightens the hip flexors — this sequence gently reverses both, without needing to get down on the floor if that's not practical.
- 01Stand with your back against a wall, feet hip-width apart and about 30cm from the skirting board. Breathe in, then on the exhale gently press your lower back into the wall. Hold for 5 seconds, release. Repeat 8 times — slow.
- 02Step away from the wall. Take a wide stance, toes turned slightly out. Lower into a gentle squat — only as far as feels comfortable. Hold for a breath, rise. Do 10 of these. You're not going for depth; you're creating space.
- 03Stand tall. Step your right foot back into a low lunge, keeping the front knee over the ankle. Hands on your front thigh. Hold for 30 seconds, feeling the front of the right hip open. Swap sides. Repeat twice.
- 04Finish standing. Roll your shoulders back slowly 5 times. Then gently lower your right ear toward your right shoulder — no forcing — and hold for 20 seconds each side. The neck and lower back are more connected than they feel.
The plate
Farro and proper tomato sauce
Two things you make once and barely think about again. The farro is nutty and satisfying in a way white rice isn't — it holds up in the fridge for four days without going gluey. The tomato sauce is the kind your family will eat without asking what's in it.
- ·300g farro (pearled cooks faster)
- ·1 litre good-quality passata
- ·1 large white onion, finely diced
- ·4 cloves garlic, sliced
- ·Olive oil
- ·A sprig of fresh rosemary or a pinch of dried oregano
- ·Salt and black pepper
The shortcut: Make both on Sunday evening — not the afternoon, when it feels like a chore — while you're winding down anyway. Forty minutes, one load of washing up, and the week's structure is quietly in place.
Where we eat
Farm Girl, Exhibition Road
Farm Girl on Exhibition Road is the kind of place that makes a slow morning feel earned rather than indulgent. The menu is veg-forward without making a point of it — the sort of food that leaves you feeling well rather than virtuous, which is a meaningful distinction. It's relaxed in the way that good neighbourhood spots are: no one's rushing you out. Worth knowing about if you're the sort of person who can carve out an hour between drop-off and desk, and wants something more considered than a coffee-shop grab-and-go.
8 Exhibition Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 2HF, UK · View on map →
The note
The pressure of weeknight cooking rarely comes from the cooking itself — it comes from deciding what to cook while already tired and already late. Making one or two things ahead isn't about discipline. It's about removing a decision. Cook once when you have a quiet ten minutes, and you've quietly done yourself a kindness every day after that.
Train with Barone
Sessions are 60 minutes, one-to-one, at home or in-studio — no gym membership required. The 20-session block works out at £110 a session and is where most clients land.
Book a session →Good to know
- What's the easiest way to start batch cooking without it taking over the weekend?
- Start with just two components — a cooked grain and a simple sauce — rather than full meals. Twenty to thirty minutes of cooking gives you the building blocks for most of what you'll eat in the week, with almost no planning required.
- Is there a good personal trainer or Pilates studio in South Kensington (SW7) for busy parents?
- Barone Fitness is a one-to-one personal training and Reformer Pilates studio based in South Kensington, SW7, designed specifically for people with limited time who want sessions that fit around school runs and work commitments.
- How long does cooked farro keep in the fridge?
- Cooked farro keeps well in the fridge for up to four days in a sealed container. It reheats easily with a splash of water, or works well served at room temperature in salads.