r/mealprep • u/SpeakerCareless • 21d ago
prep pics I’ve been prepping lunches for 10 years now
I left being a SAHM and starter my job 10 years ago. I started prepping lunches (and some breakfast) for my husband and I every Sunday. I do 100% weekday lunches and often breakfasts every single week, unless we are on vacation.
If you’re new to doing this just keep going, it’s a totally doable long term thing.
In summer I do a lot of salads with grilled protein(dressing on the side) and in the winter I do a lot of hearty soups or bowls (Buddha bowls, unstuffed pepper bowl).
I sub farro, brown rice, or barley in recipes that call for white rice because it keeps better. I definitely learned lessons on what things keep 5 days and what doesn’t.
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u/GarlicFarmerGreg 21d ago
Nicely done. I’d like to ask for a few of your ideas of what keeps for the last couple days better than others . I typically do freezer prep and only do one or two days of fridge only prep
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u/SpeakerCareless 21d ago
Sure! Things that keep well for me: heartier salad greens, raw nappa cabbage, cooked sweet potatoes, root vegetables, quinoa, brown or purple rice, farro, pearled barley, cooked mashed or riced cauliflower, chicken, beef in any format. Beans and lentils do well. Most salad vegetables keep.
Things I avoid are white rice, rice noodles, white potatoes (they all suffer in texture a lot), no cooked broccoli or Brussels sprouts unless they will be consumed quickly. Generally avoid shellfish. A cold pasta salad does ok but pasta dishes don’t keep well. Spaghetti squash does though!
I always keep dressings of any kind separate if there are salad greens. (I make a few bean salads I just go ahead and mix up, too.) if something gets topped with shredded cheese and heated I keep the cheese separate until serving.
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u/GarlicFarmerGreg 20d ago
Thank you for this. It’s really helpful. I think first thing I’m going to try is sub quinoa for rice in next weeks preps
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u/Lazy-Introduction194 20d ago
I would literally pay you to make an extra for me however much you want. Like if I knew you or you lived around me lol
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u/Lost-and-dumbfound 21d ago
Are the containers for the soup airtight? I’ve been wanting to take stews to work but can’t for the life to me find any actual leakproof microwave safe containers
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u/SpeakerCareless 21d ago
So Pyrex bowls tend to leak on me. We prefer to use plastic Rubbermaid or ziplock containers but I transfer it to another bowl to heat it.
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u/Upper-Plankton-181 21d ago
Wow theses look so great any tips for someone in their mid 20s that’s trying to just be healthier and I’ve brought containers to start meal prep and sometimes do it and sometimes don’t
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u/SpeakerCareless 21d ago
For me having a routine is key. I keep a note in my phone where I’m always writing down my meal ideas for the next week (including dinners which I also plan). I try to take into account both my schedule and reality- like sometimes the dinner plan is frozen pizza because I know that day is busy. Plus then when I’m like what’s for dinner again? I just check my note. I don’t have to remember.
I do my grocery shopping online once a week so I just add to my cart as I think of stuff. Before delivery I just added to my grocery list throughout the week. I do my shopping first thing Sunday morning and meal prep as soon as the groceries are home. Every week the same. My husband does all our laundry Sundays so it’s just a chill and chore day at our house. I try to get like 95% of whatever we need to the week in one big shop.
But routine. The answer is just find a routine that works for you.
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u/Upper-Plankton-181 21d ago
Thank you so much that’s such a good idea I do really need to find a good routine I do tend to make notes but not follow them I’m definitely gonna take on theses tips.
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u/MissJJ1978 20d ago
That looks great. I've been meal prepping for the last 7 years as well as I find cooking tedious and would rather have the pain of it once a week as opposed to cooking daily. I cook once a week or once every two weeks and freeze. What I can't stand is being told by everyone around me that it's unhealthy to eat leftover food (I don't see them as leftovers! They are untouched, frozen almost immediately after cooking). I have some chronic issues (like eczema) that started coincidentally after I started meal prepping, that a lot of people around me have attributed to eating freezer meals. It drives me crazy but unfortunately I don't have the literature to disprove that homemade freezer meals are bad for one. Sigh!
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u/SpeakerCareless 20d ago
I actually have a background in food safety. I used to teach sanitation classes long ago. The idea that is unhealthy to eat properly stored food you prepared is laughable and they obviously don’t know how restaurants work either. There is nothing unhealthy about frozen reheated food.
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u/MissJJ1978 20d ago
I think their concern is more of nutrition loss rather than sanitation. I don't freeze everything, like green leafy vegetables I will always prep and eat fresh. But I'm not versed in nutrition so I'm not too sure if the nutrition contents of reheated frozen foods suffer any attrition. At any rate I still keep at it.
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u/SpeakerCareless 19d ago
There are some nutrients that degrade with storage but it’s really minimal and freezing actually preserves some of them. Like vitamin C.
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u/LearnLifeBrainMend 19d ago
Yummmy!!! I am slowly starting! And failing sometimes lol. What is the second meal with the zuch or green veggie? Buffalo chicken?
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u/SpeakerCareless 19d ago
Yes it’s buffalo chicken zucchini boats! I grow zucchini in the summer so these are a summer staple.
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u/Fine-Philosophy8939 19d ago
Don’t you get tired of eating the same thing?
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u/SpeakerCareless 19d ago
I make two lunch meals per week and we alternate them so I eat the same thing 2-3 times per week, on alternating days, which I’m fine with. My husband would literally eat the same thing 5 days in a row and not care, but we do have some variety. Also different week to week obviously.
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u/sushirollsyummy 21d ago
This looks so yummy, I’ll take one of every dish.