Meal planning2 min read
Meal prep for beginners: a 90-minute Sunday routine
What to cook, what to leave raw, and how to store it all so weekday meals take ten minutes or less.
Meal prep isn't about eating the same chicken and rice from plastic boxes five days in a row. Done well, it means doing the slow, fiddly parts of cooking once, so every weekday meal is mostly assembly.
Prep components, not complete meals
Fully cooked meals get boring by Wednesday. Instead, prepare building blocks you can combine in different ways:
- A grain: rice, quinoa, farro or pasta
- One or two proteins: roast chicken thighs, baked tofu, a pot of lentils, hard-boiled eggs
- A tray of roasted vegetables
- Something fresh: washed salad leaves, chopped cucumber and peppers
- A sauce or dressing to tie it all together
Monday's grain bowl, Tuesday's wrap and Wednesday's stir-fry can all come from the same prep session.
The 90-minute plan
- 0:00 – Heat the oven. Put the grain on the hob.
- 0:10 – Toss vegetables and protein with oil and seasoning and get them into the oven on separate trays.
- 0:20 – Boil eggs. Chop fresh vegetables while everything cooks.
- 0:40 – Whisk a dressing or blend a sauce. Make overnight oats or chia pudding for breakfasts.
- 1:00 – Take trays out and let everything cool.
- 1:15 – Portion into containers, label and refrigerate.
How long does it keep?
As a general guide, most cooked dishes are best eaten within three to four days when stored in the fridge. Cooked rice should be cooled quickly and eaten within a day or two. Anything you won't get to by Thursday can go in the freezer straight away. Soups, curries, chilli and cooked grains all freeze well.
What not to prep
- Dressed salads: keep dressing separate until you eat
- Avocado and cut apple: they brown quickly
- Crispy things like fried food or toasted bread: they go soft
- Fish: it's best cooked fresh and eaten the same day
Start small
If 90 minutes sounds like a lot, prep just lunches for the first week. Once that sticks, add breakfasts. Small habits that last beat big ones that don't.
Mealful's plans make prep easier because you can see every meal for the week in one place, adjust servings so one recipe covers several days, and get a single grocery list for all of it.
This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have a health condition or specific dietary needs, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian.
