How do I prep lunch for the week?
Cook once, fridge 2 boxes and freeze 3. Fridge leftovers should be eaten within 2 days. So a Sunday cook can’t reach Friday from the fridge. One small job each night closes the gap.
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How do I meal prep lunch for the whole week?
Cook 5 portions on Sunday evening. Put Monday’s and Tuesday’s boxes in the fridge and freeze the other 3.
Why freeze? The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says to eat leftovers within 48 hours or freeze them. By Wednesday, a Sunday cook is past that.
The FSA calls a freezer a pause button. Once it’s fully thawed, it goes off like fresh food again. So eat it within 24 hours.
| Day | Where the box is | Your job |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | On the hob | Cook 5 portions. Split into boxes to cool fast. Fridge 2 within 1 to 2 hours. Label and freeze 3. |
| Monday | Fridge | Take it to work. With rice, move Tuesday’s box to the fridge tonight. |
| Tuesday | Fridge | Tonight, move Wednesday’s box to the fridge. |
| Wednesday | Freezer, then fridge overnight | Tonight, move Thursday’s box to the fridge. |
| Thursday | Freezer, then fridge overnight | Tonight, move Friday’s box to the fridge. |
| Friday | Freezer, then fridge overnight | Done. Pick next Sunday’s meal. |
Sources: FSA: cooking; FSA: chilling
That nightly job is the whole trick. From Tuesday night, move tomorrow’s box from the freezer to the fridge. With rice, start on Monday night.
The FSA says thawing in the fridge overnight is the safest way.
Cooking rice? Cooked rice should be eaten within 24 hours from the fridge.
So keep only Monday’s box in the fridge, and freeze the rest within an hour of cooking. Then move Tuesday’s box to the fridge on Monday night.
Next step: pick one meal from the table further down for this Sunday.
What makes a healthy lunch meal prep?
Fill each box roughly like the NHS Eatwell Guide. It says fruit and veg should be just over a third of what you eat each day. Starchy food should be just over a third too.
Fill each box in 3 parts
- 1
Veg
Just over a third. 80g counts as 1 of your 5 A Day.
- 2
Starch
Just over a third. Brown rice, wholewheat pasta or potatoes with skins.
- 3
Protein
Beans, lentils, fish, eggs or meat.
Sources: NHS Eatwell Guide; NHS 5 A Day
Frozen and tinned veg both count. 80g of fresh, canned or frozen veg is 1 portion. Pick tins in water, with no added sugar or salt.
Veg cooked into a soup, stew or pasta sauce counts too. Beans and lentils count only once a day, however many you eat.
They still earn their place. The NHS says beans, peas and lentils are good alternatives to meat: low in fat, with fibre and protein.
Want more in the box? See high protein lunch ideas and high-fibre foods.
What are easy meal prep lunches that freeze?
Anything you can cook in one big pot and spoon into boxes. Soups, chillies, curries and pasta sauces are the easiest.
| Lunch | Freeze it? | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Lentil and vegetable soup | Yes | Freeze in single boxes. Add bread on the day. |
| Bean and veg chilli with brown rice | Yes | Fridge Monday’s box only. Freeze the rest within an hour. |
| Chickpea and spinach curry | Yes | Bulk it out with frozen spinach or peas. |
| Wholewheat pasta with tomato and veg sauce | Yes | Good cold on Monday or Tuesday. |
| Chicken, roast veg and new potatoes | Yes | Leave the skins on the potatoes. |
| Tuna, bean and sweetcorn salad | No | Mix it the night before. Leaves don’t freeze well. |
Sources: NHS Eatwell Guide; FSA: rice
Bored by Thursday? Cook two meals and freeze some of each. The week then has a change halfway.
Opened a tin and not used it all? Tip the rest into a box. The FSA says not to store food in an opened tin.
Short on time? Frozen veg needs no chopping. See frozen vs fresh vegetables.
Can I eat meal prep lunches cold, or reheat them?
Both. Leftovers can be eaten cold if they were cooked properly, cooled, and put in the fridge within two hours.
Cold rice is fine too, if it was cooled quickly and eaten within 24 hours. Rice from the freezer is different: thaw it in the fridge, heat it until steaming hot and eat it straight away.
For a hot lunch from the freezer, follow these steps.
From freezer to lunch, safely
- 1
Night before
Move the box to the fridge to thaw overnight.
- 2
Check the middle
Still frozen? Use the microwave defrost setting just before you heat it.
- 3
Heat it hot
Steaming hot all the way through, not just warm. Stir it halfway.
- 4
Once only
Reheat it once. Eat it within 24 hours of thawing. Eat rice straight after heating.
Sources: FSA: chilling; FSA: cooking; FSA: rice
Why stir? A microwave can leave food very hot at the edges and still cold in the centre. Stirring helps.
No fridge at work? Pack a cool bag with an ice pack. For lunches that suit that, see work lunches with no fridge.
How do I keep salt down in prepped lunches?
Check the jars and tins you cook with. Adults should have no more than 6g of salt a day, about a teaspoon.
About three-quarters of it is already in food when you buy it, like soups, bread and sauces. More than 1.5g of salt per 100g means a food is high in salt.
Canned and smoked fish can be high in salt too. Use herbs, garlic, chilli or lemon for taste instead.
Your Sunday lunch prep checklist
- Pick one or two meals from the table and shop for 5 lunches.
- Fill just over a third of each box with veg and just over a third with wholegrain starch.
- Split the food into boxes to cool it fast, and get it in the fridge within 1 to 2 hours.
- Fridge Monday’s and Tuesday’s boxes, and freeze and label the other 3. With rice, fridge Monday’s box only.
- From Tuesday night, move tomorrow’s box from the freezer to the fridge. With rice, start on Monday night.
- Reheat each box once, until steaming hot all the way through.
Sources: FSA: chilling; FSA: cooking; NHS Eatwell Guide
Cooking to lose weight as well? See meal prep for weight loss for portion sizes.
When to speak to a GP
Ill after a stored lunch? Food poisoning usually gets better within a week, and you can usually treat it at home. Call 111 if:
- you or your child keep being sick and cannot keep fluid down
- you or your child have bloody diarrhoea or bleeding from the bottom
- you or your child have diarrhoea for more than 7 days or vomiting for more than 2 days
- you or your child (aged 5 or over) still have signs of dehydration (losing too much water, such as feeling thirsty or peeing less) after using oral rehydration sachets, the drinks that replace lost water and salts
- you’re worried about a baby under 12 months, a child stops breast or bottle feeding while ill, or a child under 5 has signs of dehydration, such as fewer wet nappies
Call 999 or go to A&E for vomit with blood, vomit that looks like ground coffee, or green vomit. In children, yellow-green vomit counts too.
Do the same for a stiff neck with pain when looking at bright lights, or a sudden, severe headache. Or if someone may have swallowed something poisonous.
It’s also 999 for blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue, or severe difficulty breathing or lots of quick, short breaths. The same goes if someone is confused or not responding as usual.
Do not drive yourself to A&E. Ask someone to drive you or call 999.
Prepping lunches to lose weight? Talk to a GP before you change how you eat if you have a medical condition or a special diet for your health. The same goes if you have, or have had, an eating disorder.
For eating disorder support, the charity Beat can help.