Meal Prep - does it last all week without going bad/soggy?

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Bekarington
Bekarington Posts: 85 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I'm really interested in meal prepping as I can be a bugger for forgetting to make my meals for the next day until I'm just about to go to bed. I current make overnight oats everynite and a small sandwich for lunch each nite at the moment, but I've seen some lovely weekly salad/chicken & rice/etc... weekly prep meals.

My question is, does the food really still taste ok by friday?? or does it go soggy/stale by then?
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  • LushFix
    LushFix Posts: 306 Member
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    Bump..... also interested.
  • upoffthemat
    upoffthemat Posts: 679 Member
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    It will depend on the dish, most casseroles and soups will last a week with no issue. Some things you may want to keep the parts separate and have more containers and assemble when you eat. If you have fresh food or crispy elements you will likely want to keep them separate and add them at the time you eat. But it is still much easier than cooking a whole meal every time.
  • angelexperiment
    angelexperiment Posts: 1,917 Member
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    I found for certain things like breakfast muffins ( flax quinoa bc I'm avoiding wheat and gluten) they got moldy in container so I freeze them in a Baggie for each day then I take out 1 and put in fridge for morning and that solved the problem. I found batch making foods they last pretty good all week ( but if in doubt I'll freeze my portions individual for each day say chili or something like patties for burgers) I do not prep ahead for week cucumber because it gets all liquids and mushy or tomato bc it gets mealy ( as in chopped) I'll just prep those the day of, quinoa seems to dry a bit but you can add some sprinkles of water when reheating. I don't really prep ahead salads either. As long as you have good air tight containers you should be ok, beans mixed in with noodles and veggies do not keep for more than a week I found ( maybe freeze?)

    I'm new to food prepping. I want to get a bunch of mason jars and try it with soups, salads, chia pudding, make ahead oats/muesli etc and see how it goes
  • Bekarington
    Bekarington Posts: 85 Member
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    I have a jar for my oats that I use every day, I've just bought 4 more of the same and plan on preping a full week at a time. I slice strawberries and have pomegranate in them as well as oats and coconut milk. I'm assuming these will last fine if I mix them all up.

    But I had wondered about veggies, how they would fair cooked for a week.

    Any UK peeps any recommendations on tupperware? I have some sistema boxes but find they leak in my bag (discovered this with beetroot unfortunately!)
  • kazminchu
    kazminchu Posts: 250 Member
    edited February 2016
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    spittingpink wrote: »
    Any UK peeps any recommendations on tupperware? I have some sistema boxes but find they leak in my bag (discovered this with beetroot unfortunately!)

    I use the Tesco Klipfresh boxes, normally for salads which can end up being fairly liquidy with the oil in. They've not leaked yet! For soups I just re-use the plastic pots you buy fresh soups in from supermarkets, if you're relatively careful with your bag they don't seem to fare too badly.

    http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=257810402

    Edit to add actual response to the thread: I make roasted veg and chicken breast for my lunches during the week, it seems to last fine without going off or mushy. If you make freezable foods you can always freeze a couple for the latter half of the week and defrost them when you need them.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    I freeze a lot of things. I cook fresh vegies every day just because I don't like reheating food (and we don't have a microwave anyway)... I chop them and portion them during prep.

    Soups, casseroles, stews, chili, baked goods, frittata, rice/Quinoa, cooked meat for times we eat it cold (salads, wraps, sandwiches etc) etc can all be frozen.

    I use glass containers. Don't like using plastic...
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    I freeze a lot of things. I cook fresh vegies every day just because I don't like reheating food (and we don't have a microwave anyway)... I chop them and portion them during prep.

    Soups, casseroles, stews, chili, baked goods, frittata, rice/Quinoa, cooked meat for times we eat it cold (salads, wraps, sandwiches etc) etc can all be frozen.

    I use glass containers. Don't like using plastic...

    Yep. I like variety so I freeze and I have months to eat my portions
  • stmokomoko
    stmokomoko Posts: 98 Member
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    How do you guys do it? It's never as good as the fresh, except maybe chili or stew.

    People who precook bulk chicken breasts. UGH. By the following day it's already weird, and reheating it just makes it dry. Same with eggs.
  • Bekarington
    Bekarington Posts: 85 Member
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    stmokomoko wrote: »
    People who precook bulk chicken breasts. UGH. By the following day it's already weird, and reheating it just makes it dry. Same with eggs.

    I've heard the same thing. I'm very interested as I want to use chicken.

  • SwimmyD
    SwimmyD Posts: 96 Member
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    Really it's experimentation to see how long things last. It all depends on what you are making. I wouldn't think you'd want to keep meat around for more than a few days though. I'm vegetarian and do a lot of freezing of my different types of vegetable stews, soups, fillings for enchiladas and chillies. Many of my fresh stews and soups etc last a good four or five days, but I often freeze large batches because I get tired of the same thing. Cooked tofu lasts a really long time. A good week or so.

    I will make a salad and not add dressing to make it last a few days. Kale salads last longer with dressing in them. I cut a lot of veggies ahead of time to have them ready for quick snacks or steaming/roasting. I'll keep quinoa and rice up to about five days. Old rice becomes fried rice very quickly. Quinoa, barley, wheat berries and bulgur go in my salads. Tofu gets cut up and put in salads, wraps, and main dishes. Over time you learn how long you can keep things.
  • MommyMeggo
    MommyMeggo Posts: 1,222 Member
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    spittingpink wrote: »
    stmokomoko wrote: »
    People who precook bulk chicken breasts. UGH. By the following day it's already weird, and reheating it just makes it dry. Same with eggs.

    I've heard the same thing. I'm very interested as I want to use chicken.

    I cant precook and store chicken then reheat and eat. Now, if its cooked smothered in onions and mushrooms with lots of moisture or some other flavor/component to mask that it is left over- I can do "next day chicken". I have found that shredded chicken works better over multiple days. Like my chicken salad will get about 4 days. But, again, is masked by greek yogurt and lite mayo, seasoning and almonds served on spinach. Chili. meatloaf muffins and pinto beans freeze well. Now, beef roast I can eat all week. Over rice, lots of veggies or as a sandwich. SkinnyTaste Potato and broccoli soup kept for a work week as well.

    Ground beef/turkey taco meat keeps well for a week in the fridge too. (Im thinking work week) - good for cold salads or tacos.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    I like my meat fresh cooked too. I usually prep about 3 to 4 days ahead but cook my meat the day I will eat it. For vegetables, I cut them up and have them ready to go in baggies in the fridge but not cooked. I have a multipurpose cooker with timer so I can throw my meat and veg in and come home to a ready dinner.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    I need my food to be fresh too. I just buy single frozen, or portion and freeze, raw meat and fish, and transfer meat and vegetables to fridge for defrosting the night before. And add some starch. The cooking doesn't take long.
  • CasperNaegle
    CasperNaegle Posts: 936 Member
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    When we cook meats they last all week easily without problems. Grilling veggies they tend to last a few days before getting kind of soggy or limp to the point of being unappetizing.
  • Nuke_64
    Nuke_64 Posts: 406 Member
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    Like others said, it depends on the dish.

    For dishes that really aren't good reheat, I prep the ingredients. For instance, I made dish that started by sauteing a mix of onions, peppers, and spices. I had that mix already chopped up and in a container in the fridge. When it was time to cook, it was very little effort on my part.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    spittingpink wrote: »
    stmokomoko wrote: »
    People who precook bulk chicken breasts. UGH. By the following day it's already weird, and reheating it just makes it dry. Same with eggs.

    I've heard the same thing. I'm very interested as I want to use chicken.

    The only chicken we cook in advance is the stuff we're going to eat cold. It gets frozen....

    I portion out other meat and freeze it in individual bags so all I need to do is grab out a bag ready to cook for the meal...
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,966 Member
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    stmokomoko wrote: »
    How do you guys do it? It's never as good as the fresh, except maybe chili or stew.

    People who precook bulk chicken breasts. UGH. By the following day it's already weird, and reheating it just makes it dry. Same with eggs.

    How are you cooking the chicken breasts? If plain with dry heat, yes, that would be a problem. Properly poached chicken breasts retain moisture, just to toss out a simple technique.
  • 20likenow
    20likenow Posts: 40 Member
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    I meal prep every Saturday or Sunday for the week. I've done it for years because my son has food allergies. Can't order pizza if mom doesn't feel like cooking. My salad lasts all week, if I add chicken I keep it in a separate bowl.
  • jessicarae0307
    jessicarae0307 Posts: 16 Member
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    Here's what we've been doing, and it's cut down on the amount of going out for lunches that me and my husband used to do drastically.

    Things we make extra of for dinner:
    Roasted veggies - sweet potatoes cut into chunks, brussel sprouts, broccoli
    Brown Rice
    Chicken (use brown rice add sauted peppers and onions for burrito bowls, or chicken salad)
    Pork Chops or whatever other meat we have
    Turkey Meatballs
    Cauliflower mash (trying this tonight)
    Chili

    Prep when we buy:
    Almonds, cashews, pistachios
    Veggie Straws
    Grapes
    Baby Carrots

    Prep once a week:
    Hard boiled eggs
    Protein balls

    Pre-packaged:
    String cheese
    Hummus

    We do most of our shopping at Costco, so we will make a big batch of whatever we are having for dinner from above, then portion it out into individual containers. The nuts, grapes, carrots get measured and put into ziplock baggies. Then it's all about grabbing a variety of things and go.



  • iecreamheadaches
    iecreamheadaches Posts: 441 Member
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    I like to just do it day by day. While I'm making dinner I'll work out what I'm taking for breakfast and lunch the next day and just get it all prepped while dinner is cooking. Clean up everything afterwards and bam, dinner on the table, breakfast and lunch ready to go for the next day, and a clean kitchen. I generally am not the planner of dinner at my house so I just wait til i know what's being made and I weigh out and separate my portions while i'm getting (or helping someone else) everyone else's dinner started.

    I am one of those, I don't really eat leftovers and if I do eat them I'm SUPER picky. So no way would you catch me prepping an entire weeks worth of meals. I'd just waste them. Some kind of weird mental block, we all have our things. I generally just put my stuff in a plastic square container I found at the grocery store, it has 2 good sized, completely separated rectangle sides on teh bottom of the container, then the "lid" is a separate container for like a sandwich or what have you. Works pretty good for me.

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