Cook For The Whole Week?

My sister does this for the convenience of not having to cook during the work week and as far as I know pretty much all meals can be frozen and defrosted later. I also suggest if you are trying to eat better to pre-wash and pre-pack ziplock bags of fruits and vegetables for the week. It makes it much easier to grab a snack and go without turning to unhealthy junk foods.

 

I don't cook for the whole week, but I certainly prepare several meals at a time when cooking. There's just no reason not to (if you're not cooking for a family or other people, but yourself) as it saves you time and hassle of having to cook every night. It also can save you money as you're not using as many supplies that you need to prepare meals every night.

I haven't tried freezing meals after cooking them, but I assume it can be just as good as when you cooked it.

 

I often batch cook and can confirm that the majority of stuff can stay in the freezer for way beyond a month. Some foods can even stay there for six months. Filling your freezer up also helps it to run more efficiently. This means it will use less power, therefore reducing the cost of operation.

 

I have a hard time sticking to something like this. I think if I was into bodybuilding/fitness the main benefit for me to prepare all the meals at once would be portion and calorie control, not necessarily to save time. It would be easier for me to see how many calories I am consuming in a day, and not make impulse trips to fast food joints or prepared meals at the grocery store, knowing I already have a meal ready to go at home. When I am cooking as I go, it's more tedious for me to sit down and determine the total calories of the meal I am making and how it fit into my daily total calorie intake. Whereas if I have a set recipe that I know what the nutritional info is, it would be more convenient to just make a batch of them and have them ready to go - no calorie guessing.

The downside is I would quickly get tired of eating frozen re-heated meals, which essentially taste like TV dinners. They're all soft and mushy and start to taste the same. I would miss fresh ingredients, crispy things, charred items, pan seared items, etc... Even chopping salads and veggies and fruits up in advance, expedites them going bad and becoming all mushy and slimy.

I might be more open to pre-cooking some individual components of a meal in advance, but still preparing some fresh ingredients as well to pair along with it, like a fresh salad, or some fresh fruit, or some toasted garlic bread.

 

Well not for a whole week, no. Three days tops. I do this all the time. I mostly only eat fish like tuna, mackerel, etc. and white chicken meat. I just can't stand having to eat the same thing for the whole week so I alternate between these two, and other meats like pork chops. The important thing for me is getting enough protein without using powder.

 

Food can keep in the freezer for up to a month, I think. But for me, this would get boring. If I had the time or the will, I'd cook a variety of meals and freeze them. The most I do is cook enough of two days and that way I only have to worry about cooking every other day.

 

I do this with soup mostly. It's great because it's super easy to cook it in just one big pot and separating it into different plastic containers isn't too difficult, nor does it take up too much space in my freezer. Additionally, it's so easy to heat up as well since you don't have to worry about changing the consistency or freshness, and it's even great for bringing it along with you too as long as you know you'll find a microwave.

 

I don't think it's that good to keep cooked food for so long. As mentioned 3 days should be the maximum unless you freeze it (but then most foods lose their flavor this way)

I'd rather prepare meals everyday, which are simple and don't take too long. Something like a sandwich can be a substantial, cheap, healthy and easy to make meal.

 

I do a little of both: I cook every day & also freeze large pots I may make during the week. There are a few things that don't keep well when reheated after being frozen & we all know a newly cooked meal is the best option.

 

I was just actually coming up with a plan to do this about a week ago. My fiance and I both work and it is really hard to get food on the table before 7pm some nights because of the time it takes to cook a meal. When we don't feel like cooking we end up looking to fast food or quick fix meals that are not very healthy for you. I am going to be taking a few days off of work soon, and my plan is to stock the freezer full of premade food, so all we have to do is come home and throw it in the oven or on the stove. Most meals do keep well in the freezer for months.