Pre Planned/Pre Cooked Meals?

mlk_chocolate
mlk_chocolate Posts: 2 Member
edited September 27 in Food and Nutrition
Hi Everyone

I just wanted to know what your ideas are on pre cooked meals? So I have a very busy schedule and it leaves very little time for me to cook on a daily basis (I'm a full time student and work part time). And I find that this is where it is hardest for me to stay on track because I'll end up picking up some unhealthy meal on my way home because I am just too exhausted to think about cooking at that point.

But anyway, I recently found, on some body builder site, the idea of pre cooked meals that are packaged and ready to go for the week. Although I'm not interested in bulking up as in their case, I am very interested in the idea of making all my meals on the weekend and then packaging them up in the fridge to be ready when I need it.

But is it even good to have cooked food in the fridge for that long? Have any of you guys had experience with this? How did it go? I am very interested to find out


- J

Replies

  • javarushed
    javarushed Posts: 218 Member
    The grill and a crock pot are your friends! Grill/Crock Pot food for a couple days in advance, eat food, rinse and repeat :D
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    Most things won't last just in the fridge that long, but in the freezer part you can even get mac n cheese cooked on the weekend and it's fine a couple weeks later, I've had no problem up to about a month for freezing pasta like that. Goulash freezes well, and virtually any soup you care to make freezes splendidly.

    It IS a great way to make sure you're eating healthy even when the urge to cook isn't there, I cook BIG batches of pancakes and freeze them in serving size packages (4 pancakes to a bag) then use them as you would the store-bought eggo's, right in the toaster to heat from frozen.
  • sarah_boombah
    sarah_boombah Posts: 124 Member
    Perhaps if you made some meals on the weekend you could freeze them until you are ready to use them? That way they will last longer. Its a good idea me thinks!
  • koukla702
    koukla702 Posts: 171
    In agreement w/ the poster above... the crockpot is my BFF!!

    You can find some really good cookbooks out there too for meals.
  • alecta337
    alecta337 Posts: 622 Member
    This is a great idea, I do it all the time. I too am super busy being a student and working.

    Good stuff to have cooked is the main components of the meal: chicken, pasta, meat. Anything that takes more than minimal effort to make. I always keep steamfresh packets in the freezer so I can just grab some precooked chicken, and throw in a steamfresh thing of brown rice and one of corn/peas/broccoli and theres a meal in 10 min (just the time to stick everything in the microwave) with no effort!

    Chicken should stay good all week, and so should meat. Just avoid leaving seafood in the fridge for a long time (i am finicky about my seafood anyway).

    I usually don't cook a whole week in advance, but defiantly at least when I make dinner I cook enough for lunch the next day. You can also do stuff like make little salads in tupperwares already all mixed, just add salad dressing when you're ready to eat it.

    Hope I helped some =]
  • psilvetti
    psilvetti Posts: 1
    Dont forget your freezer...Ill make 10 gallons of soup, no joke, and freeze 9 of em...Keeps forever...When you want it just pull it down into your fridge a couple days in advance to thaw! This applies not only to soup but really anything, I have a whole pan of homemade lasagna in my freezer, freezer is best for meats, most fruits and vegs dont freeze well, keep those in the fridge.
  • Brandicaloriecountess
    Brandicaloriecountess Posts: 2,126 Member
    I am a single mom of three and I work. I was also a full time student until last week when I graduated. For me the key is to plan on the weekend for the week ahead. I use my slow cooker a lot and I often prep the night before. I find that when I have meals planned for the week, do my shopping so I have what I need I do much better. I rarely eat out anymore.
  • maremare312
    maremare312 Posts: 1,143 Member
    I like to do some things ahead of time. Big pots of bean soup and freeze in single portions or portions for two. I'll also cook up hamburger or ground turkey with onion and then freeze those in small portions (3-6 ounces) and also in 1 pound portions. I can easily defrost to make taco salads, tacos, enchiladas, spaghetti, whatever.

    Tomorrow I'm planning on cooking up and preparing some breakfast burritos to freeze ahead of time so I can grab and go. Sometimes if I don't have an easy go-to breakfast I'll either skip it or eat something crappy and sabotage the rest of the day. I'm going to cook up some eggs + egg whites, turkey breakfast sausage, and fold that into whole wheat tortillas with some 2% cheese. On the outside of the package I write the date I freeze it and how many calories/fat/protein per serving. Also when I make it I'll enter it into My Foods on here so I can easily add it to my food diary.
  • boobear00
    boobear00 Posts: 53 Member
    I am a mom and work full time. My shifts are 12 hours in length. So if I don't plan in advance, I plan to fail. One day a week I cook all my meats-ground turkey, chicken (usually several different types), whatever I want for the week. I then portion them out into individual containers or baggies and freeze. I either precook all my grains or I use these handy one cup minute rices that recently came out. I cut up all my fruits and veggies for the week, freeze what I can, refrigerate the rest, again all pre-portioned. And just like that my meal planning is done. Each morning I get up and go to the fridge and freezer, pull out what I need for the day, put it in my cooler bag and head out the door for work. It is time consuming on that day, but it helps me to know I have food and always know that what I'm going to eat.
  • kellyscomeback
    kellyscomeback Posts: 1,369 Member
    I do freezer ahead meals. I pick 3-4 recipes out of a cookbook, partially cook them so I don't over cook when I re-heat and freeze in my freezer. Then I pull out my dinners for the week to thaw in the fridge.

    Crockpot is a life saver too. This is my favorite CP website:
    http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

    Also Zip N Steam bags from Ziploc are great too! Their website lists a ton of recipes that save time and calories (vs the drive thru).
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