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I am trying to meal prep for the work week. I have come up with recipes that meet my calorie goals, and I am trying to make them in advance. I have tried this in the past, but what I noticed is that I got bored after about the 3rd day or the meat did not taste good after approximately 3 days (especially chicken and fish).

I tried making meals for only 3 days in advance vs 5 days, but the problem is that I have very little to no time to cook during the weekdays. I tried yesterday, and it took me over 2 hours and I still was not able to complete the meals.

My meals are as follows: brown rice with veggies and some meat, wholewheat pasta with some meat, wholewheat tortilla tacos with some meat, and a lean veggie soup base (veggies with broth). Each of the meals may be supplemented by some extra roasted potatoes. All of the meals also include some veggies (onion, bell pepper, spinach, etc)

I have time on sunday to cook but I want the meals that I am going to eat on Thursday/Friday to last if I cook them on Sunday. I am trying to figure out the best way of doing this.

I usually make the meals individually. So for example I'll make specifically 114g of pasta for a single meal and cook that separately from the rest of pasta meals I will cook, since I don't know how much 114g of raw pasta weighs when it is wet. The meats are usually done in batch. I'll cook the chicken around the same time as I cook my flank steak, shrimp, and chicken sausage. Here are my questions:

1) If I make the individual meals on Sunday, and the meals contain brown rice/wholewheat pasta with some meat like chicken/shrimp/flank steak and veggies, can i immediately freeze the meals in the tupperware? Will this taste good if I thaw them 4 days later and reheat them?

2) Let's say I don't freeze anything. Then can cooked pasta/brown rice last for 5-6 days? I read online that chicken/meats in general only last about 3 days before they spoil/taste bad. But it would save me a lot of time if I cooked the pasta/rice in advance and just cooked the meats/veggies on wednesdays.

3) how long can cooked veggies last in the fridge? I make veggie soup as part of my meals, so can that last for 5 days if needed?

Sorry for the long list of questions. Mainly I am trying to figure out what is the best way of prepping this stuff. An ideal solution for me would be cooking all 10 meals (5 days x 2 meals for lunch and dinner) in one day and then preserving the taste of the meals that will be eaten on thursday/friday.

Jeremy Fisher
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    Hi Jeremy. Welcome to the site. You should visit the help section to see how we like questions asked. Generally it is one specific question per post. Then, when you have a question, it is always best to check the search bar, to see if your question has been answered. Your questions have answers on the site. We look forward to your continuing participation. – moscafj Jan 23 '20 at 20:01
  • Hi, we no longer answer individual questions about "how long is it safe" for specific foods, as this would dwarf all other questions on the site in quantity. You would have to read the background information on food safety we have compiled in the duplicate target linked in the closing message, and make your conclusions from there. As for the "best way", it is up to you to decide what ffits best your schedule once you know how long food stays safe. – rumtscho Jan 24 '20 at 09:33

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