How to Safely Store Your Meals for the Week
Have you tried cooking all your meals for the week on Sunday yet?
I can’t recommend this tactic enough. It makes it so much easier to be consistent and stay on track. Plus “grab-n-go” meals make your mornings stress-free!
If you’re worried about spoilage, don’t be. Plant foods hold up much longer than meat and dairy (plus reheating should kill off anything anyway). I also find most meals, especially soups and stews, only become more flavorful after a few days of “marinating.” I’ve eaten my meals right at the 7-day mark and even occasionally a few days after without problems.
Image via meal plan member Jennille S
“I was concerned food would spoil if I made it all just once a week, but it hasn’t at all. I cook on Sunday and cut up raw veggies for snacks. Once you get in the rhythm of doing all this, it won’t seem like a big deal. Plus it really is so great to have the meals there during the week.” - Rona K.
Let’s Talk Storage
Unsure if it belongs in the freezer, pantry, fridge, or on the counter? Free cheat sheet.
Cooked grains like rice are best kept in the freezer. I cook a huge bag of rice once a month and freeze off one-cup portions to use as needed with the meal plans or as a side or snack.
Plus frozen rice thaws by lunch while also acting as a cooling pack! You can also heat frozen rice in a microwave for a minute and it looks and tastes like it was freshly made.
Here’s a video comparing frozen to freshly cooked rice. You really can’t tell the difference!
What else can you freeze?
Soups and stews generally lend themselves well to freezing, but I generally discourage freezing any of your meal plan meals. It’s all too easy to forget them if they’re out of sight, and frozen foods take longer to thaw or reheat, which makes it all too tempting to go for something less healthy but “faster” when you’re tired, stressed, hungry, and not feeling it after a long day.
Any breads, tortillas, or buns you don’t use during the week, however, should be frozen immediately so they stay fresh for future use.
If you must freeze your meals, keep these tips in mind:
-Fruits and vegetables with a high water content like citrus fruits, watermelon, lettuce, mushrooms, whole tomatoes, radishes, cucumber, celery, and potatoes, generally don’t freeze well, but might be okay if they’re in a soup.
-Tofu will freeze, but the texture and consistency completely changes.
-Non-dairy milk (i.e. almond milk) separates and gets gnarly, don’t freeze it!
-Tomato-based sauces (i.e. marinara) do well, but other sauces (i.e. gravy) do not.
-Most spices and extracts don’t freeze well and develop a bitter taste. Herbs are okay.
-Nuts, seeds, and flours should be kept in the freezer for maximum freshness.
Curious about the “shelf life” of dry ingredients and pantry staples like flour or beans? Click here.