How to prepare meals in advance?

[andrdfry]

So I like having everything all planned and everything ahead of time. I want to cook and prepare most of my meals during the weekend and eat throughout the week, this will mostly just be chicken breast topped with pasta. How long can I keep chicken cooked in the fridge? and will the pasta still be good a week after in the fridge as well? What ways can I make this work? Is there any other kinda of foods I can prepare up to a week in advance? I feel like if I set it up in advance and plan my meals more I will be able to eat the right amount of food I want to be eating.

[InItForFitness]

If you're storing these items at the proper temperature they should hold fine for a week (normally I wouldn't suggest any longer).
Just be sure to toss the pasta with a bit of olive oil to help prevent sticking (also gives it a little calorie/fat boost) during storage.

You can really prepare just about anything in advance as long as you store it properly.
Doesn't have to be the same meal all the time.

[Growlove21]

What initforfitness said.

Also if you like lemon juice/salt on certain things just squeeze a bit of that on I.E your chicken breast after cooking for a tiny preservative effect,

[andrdfry]

So it shouldnt go bad after I cook them and throw them in the fridge, in containers of course? Just want to make sure it wont go bad and still tasting good.

[InItForFitness]

So it shouldnt go bad after I cook them and throw them in the fridge, in containers of course? Just want to make sure it wont go bad and still tasting good.

No it should be fine.

[andrdfry]

Well thanks everyone. Time to go shopping.

[Growlove21]

So it shouldnt go bad after I cook them and throw them in the fridge, in containers of course? Just want to make sure it wont go bad and still tasting good.

It shouldn't if your fridge keeps proper temp for food storage - 34°F and 40°F.
Idk how good itll taste in a week but it wont hurt you.

[Domicron]

the one thing to keep in mind is proper cooling of food before storage. this is usually an issue when cooking food in bulk, but if you cook a bowl of pasta and throw it straight into the cooler in a bowl, it might spoil on you. the outside will cool down and the inside is going to sit at a wonderful temperature for bacteria to form.

if you portion your servings into glass or plastic containers and cover and store, that should be fine. but do be careful to spread things out on a tray or cool things down properly before storage if you're going to be storing together.

[foodielifter]

I've been living my life this way for awhile now just because of work and other things. You should be fine with the pasta. I personally don't like the taste of cold pasta (maybe you are heating it up though). Most cooked veggies wont do well in the fridge for more than a few days, especially broccoli. When it comes to adding variety to meals, any raw fruits and veggies work great in addition to whatever main meals you plan. I've been making breakfast quesadillas in bulk recently, which cold are great with some sauce, and heated up even better (if you can).

[Growlove21]

the one thing to keep in mind is proper cooling of food before storage. this is usually an issue when cooking food in bulk, but if you cook a bowl of pasta and throw it straight into the cooler in a bowl, it might spoil on you. the outside will cool down and the inside is going to sit at a wonderful temperature for bacteria to form.

if you portion your servings into glass or plastic containers and cover and store, that should be fine. but do be careful to spread things out on a tray or cool things down properly before storage if you're going to be storing together.

^^this too

[andrdfry]

Thank you again. Yep, I would have forgotten that.

[Diddoo]

What kind of containers do some of you recommend for good fridge storage?
Feel like mine could be double the size of what I need!

I have a feel that meat goes bad in my fridge after about 4 days. Not that it last that long cause I cook daily

[Growlove21]

What kind of containers do some of you recommend for good fridge storage?
Feel like mine could be double the size of what I need!

I have a feel that meat goes bad in my fridge after about 4 days. Not that it last that long cause I cook daily

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/110982977549?lpid=82

^^I have the exact set but in red

[Na55]

So it shouldnt go bad after I cook them and throw them in the fridge, in containers of course? Just want to make sure it wont go bad and still tasting good.

Why not throw them in the freezer ? and just reheat them at work ? thats what I do with almost all of my foods

[Domicron]

What kind of containers do some of you recommend for good fridge storage?
Feel like mine could be double the size of what I need!

I have a feel that meat goes bad in my fridge after about 4 days. Not that it last that long cause I cook daily

i like glass containers vs plastic. glass is much less likely to scratch. scratches are harder to clean, they make the plastic look cloudy and dirty, i suppose bacteria could theoretically be a problem, etc...