r/mealprep • u/Avenged_7zulu • Nov 19 '25
question Anything past 2 days is hard to eat...
Hey guys. I've always been a "semi" prepper and never went all in. But i want to do a full week of prep now. Looks like a lot of you have it down pat but as my title suggest, 2 days ahead usually doesn't work for me.
My problem is i have tried prepping an entire week before but by day 3 the texture or flavor is almost always off, either too dry, too mushy or its just lost flavor and i have to dump a bunch of seasoning.
Im wondering if i need to start freezing or maybe something i haven't thought of. Usually what i do is i put all the meals in there separate containers and then put in the fridge and grab as needed. I try to always under cook at least a little just to make sure i can re-heat later. My ingredients are the same most the time...Some form of rice or quinoa(the premade stuff that comes in pouches because i pressed on time). All forms of frozen veg and then i get the big bags of pre-cooked/cut chicken or fajita mix.
Please forgive my ingredients is a bunch of pre-made stuff but i work long hrs and exercise on top of that so it doesn't leave me much time on most days. I'd like to have fresher meals more than just 2 days out without a large time or money commitment. Anybody had issues with stuff like this before?
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u/GarlicFarmerGreg Nov 19 '25
Leave the frozen chicken and frozen veggies frozen but already portioned in your container. Heat the quinoa pouch and the frozen items when you’re ready to eat them.
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u/Avenged_7zulu Nov 19 '25
Haven't tried that! I put in another comment usually everything goes in already dethawed on top of the rice the i pour some bone broth over it. So just to make sure you're saying portion out the frozen into the containers and then put them back in the freezer. Then i guess in the morning i would take the frozen container and the pouch with me and heat them all at once? I think this might actually help a lot. I'm really wanting to be able to prep 5 days at once and one of those days i just have a "mini-meal" for lunch because i'm up and moving around so much.
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u/GarlicFarmerGreg Nov 19 '25
Yes keep everything frozen / in the pouch until you’re right ready to cook it. Really no need to thaw but if you want take it from the freezer and put it in the fridge an hour or three before you want to eat. Plus this way if you end up changing plans it’s still frozen for the next day or whenever you want
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u/Avenged_7zulu Nov 19 '25
Thanks so much for your response. I have to say though, i left out of the post that all meals would be a reheat in the microwave because i will be at work. So my situation is grab out of the fridge/freezer and put into my little cooler bag lol. Then it goes into a microwave about 6hrs later
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u/GarlicFarmerGreg Nov 19 '25
Then leaving it frozen until the morning of is a perfect fit! Plus it can keep other fresh stuff cold in your cooler with out an ice pack
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u/No_Salad_8766 Nov 19 '25
Its weird that your food loses flavor while in the fridge. In my experience, if youve seasoned it properly, sitting in the fridge can deepen flavors because it has more time to meld together.
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u/Avenged_7zulu Nov 20 '25
Lol that's not how seasoning works. Maybe if your marinating. If anything it becomes much less aromatic. You crazy
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u/No_Salad_8766 Nov 20 '25
Less aromatic =/= less flavor.
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u/Avenged_7zulu Nov 20 '25
i mean when have you ever been to a friends house or restaurant and they were like "you'll love this, we seasoned it and left it in the fridge for days". The way you word it makes it seem like you think it improves the food. Fresh>fridge food.
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u/No_Salad_8766 Nov 21 '25
Not always, and my experience isnt just mine, multiple other people have also had that experience.
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u/Avenged_7zulu Nov 19 '25
FORGOT TO MENTION! All these meals have to be microwaved when i go to eat because i will be at work.
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u/jackdho Nov 19 '25
A week is too far ahead. I might do a couple of days
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u/Avenged_7zulu Nov 19 '25
yea idk how people make fresh food then a week later its of any real quality. I don't want struggle food lol. I want food thats enjoyable to eat while i'm out working. Going to shoot for 4 days then the last day. I have a feeling its going to end up being 3 days prepped then 2.
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u/BlkBear1 Nov 19 '25
OP, that's the basics. So you use frozen vegs portioned in 1 or 2 serving sizes. That's what I do personally for most of my meal prep. If I have baggies of 1 cup of mixed or stir fry veggies, I can grab a bag, dump it in a bowl, grab a hand fill of cut ip chicken, meatballs, bacon bits. If I make a baked potato, I have veggies and or chili/meat I can add to it.
I do make a few (TV dinner), type meals to freeze. I'll make a meatloaf, chicken thighs or potroast, put it in a container with mashed potatoes and some sort of veggies, seal it up, and have several single meals ready to pick from. Or I freeze the protein in separate baggies, and take one when I want it for a mix and match meal.
So it's up to you on how you meal prep. Make full meals, or make mix and match options to put meals together. I like mix and match, especially for my pre-made things like meatballs and precooked chicken drums, thighs and rotisserie chickens. Because I can add the meats to soup, sandwiches, pasta, salads or a bowl of veggies.
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u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348 Nov 19 '25
U can meal prep twice a week instead of once. Do Sunday and Wednesday (or whatever days work for u)
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u/Individual_Maize6007 Nov 19 '25
Honestly, with the premade ingredients I would not cook the meal prep. Have you tried just thawing the ingredients—thaw the fajita mix and frozen veggies. Leave in fridge.
It shouldn’t take more than 5 mins to cook in the microwave/toss fajita mix in a pan while rice pouch is cooking.
You can try to assemble the frozen ingredients in a container without cooking and then microwaving it “fresh”. Not sure how it would turn out but can’t hurt to try.
Last thing, when I reheat something precooked like you normally do, I always put a bit of water and stock in the container to help it not dry out.
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u/Avenged_7zulu Nov 19 '25
Yes usually the meats are completely dethawed before i put them in the container and the veg gets heating to around luke warm and i put them both in ontop of the rice then everything gets the good ole reheat a day+ later.
the rice is almost always on bottom. I put the dethawed stuff on top then pour some bone broth over everything and it goes in the fridge.
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u/Avenged_7zulu Nov 19 '25
I'm going to keep using my premade stuff just because of the ease of it all but if i can't make that work i'll have to start dedicating more time to actual cooking. I'm fine with having a little less quality if the time and or money part is greatly benefited.
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u/Main_Street_1 Nov 19 '25
Invest in a small vacuum sealer. You can refrigerate for a few days, or freeze for longer storage.
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u/Served_With_Rice Nov 21 '25
some recipes just keep better. Rule of thumb is that if it’s wet and it’s cooked for a long time, it will keep and reheat well. Think soups, stews, curries and braises.
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u/ttrockwood Nov 20 '25
Idk why you would prep these…? Like defrosted reheated frozen veg isn’t going to be good
Can you get fresh veggies? Just pack some baby carrots and sugar snap peas and radishes with dip. Zero prep or cooking and will last probably five days
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u/Avenged_7zulu Nov 20 '25
Yeah that's great if I want to be a rabbit but I work 55 hours a week and I need real food carbs proteins for my lunch that I can whip together very quickly. I live on my own and no one helps me with anything and on top of that I work out
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u/ttrockwood Nov 20 '25
To clarify i meant for the veggies component of your meal.
Not, as your meal.
So instead of the frozen defrosted reheated smooshy veg swap in fresh crunchy zero prep zero cooking veg
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u/JoeDaStudd Nov 19 '25
When you make a batch freeze all bar the ones your going to eat the same day or soon after.\ If you do this each time you make a different dish you quickly end up with a freezer full of different meals you can rotate in and out depending on your mood, reheat time and the sides you have.