Question about Meal Planning?

cutebe4r

I notice a lot of people do these neat little weekly meal plans where they find recipes and make up their lunch for a week and store them in containers in the fridge. That sounds like a great idea but my question is, for those of you that do meal plan, is How long does your food really stay good in the fridge? I know cooked chicken is only 3 days in the fridge (according to Google) so how can you prepare a weeks worth of lunches?

PeachyCarol

I couldn't do that (cook for a whole week and leave it sit in the fridge). What I do usually (I eat a different diet than the rest of my family and cook separate meals for myself and them) is 3-4 days and have something in the freezer because I cook everything in either 6 or 8 serving sizes and freeze half.

So you could get a start and cook twice for the first week, freezing the second recipe in two batches. Make it something that you could fill out with a side salad or a veggie dish that's easily prepared NEXT weekend or one night during the week. Then cook another dish. Save half in the fridge, and freeze another half.

At that point, you'd have 2 half-weeks worth of meals in the freezer. The next weekend, cook just one meal, eat it, freeze half. Mid-week, pull out one of the first weeks' freezer meals.

Keep going like this on rotation.

jgnatca

I'm not that neat and tidy. I need variety. What I do is take a portion of dinner for lunch the next day. When I make a big batch I portion the leftovers and put them in the freezer.

PeachyPlum

Honestly, I take my chances with five day old chicken. I marinade it before I cook it and I imagine the salt in the marinade helps keep it from spoiling as quickly but I don't know if that's true.
I came from a family that pushed leftovers to the limit, so I might have an immunity to food poisoning

daniebanks

I like to just cook up a batch of vegetables and meat and then portion them out each day for lunch or dinner. I find I lose interest in them if they are sitting there for too long or it's all the same lol

MysticRealm

I cook big things (aka. full sized lasagnas, casseroles, multiple enchiladas, etc) even though I'm just cooking for myself. Then I freeze everything in lunch or dinner sized portions. I usually try to take out what I want the night before and put it in the fridge so it is thawed so it's easier to reheat, but I don't always remember.
I try to have 2-3 options in the freezer so it's not always the same thing.

ShandaLeaS

I do leftovers for lunch most days but if it's too much to be eaten in 2 or 3 days I portion and freeze.

arditarose

Sounds like a nightmare to me

littlebee55

I don't worry much about having chicken or cooked veggies for 5 days. My refrigerator is so cold, if I keep it on the top shelf, it's been known to freeze a little.

copermen1

5 day old chicken wont hurt if kept cold and was cooked well. I do preplan and cook some breakfast meals for the week. Eat left overs for lunch but most every day unless im bored with it. Dinner is cooked fresh that night every night but I do sometimes prepare sauces and savory thing in advance so the flavors have more time to meld

literique

I cook enough to last me around 3 days then repeat. I tend to eat the same thing those 3 days. But with a crazy work schedule, it's this or grab quick (junk) food. Making 3 different meals EVERYDAY, just for the sake of variety.... I'd rather spend my time doing something else.

If I make more than 3 days worth, I freeze it for use later. More than 3 days of the same thing for lunch sounds horrible.

quilt938

I work 12 hour rotating shifts and often have overtime so my 'planning' varies - I try to keep leftovers in the freezer as well as frozen meals for convenience and 'emergencies', canned soup (not my fave but stores well in my locker at work) and then I cook when I have time and freeze leftovers or keep eating the same meal for a while. I usually keep eggs, 2% shredded cheese, liquid egg whites in the fridge along with either carb balance tortillas or nature's own light wheat, fruit, chunky baby carrots in the fridge...freezer I have some turkey meatballs, perdue lightly breaded chicken strips/fillets/nuggets whatever I happen to have bought at the time. I just do a 'loose' menu to make sure I have enough fruit and overall meals for the stretch of shifts I'm working

ASKyle

I usually make a batch of a high protein soup (Pinterest!), eat what I can in a few days and freeze the rest in individual containers to take to work at another time.

Even the "healthiest" options for going out to eat at lunch are much higher calorie than what I make at home.