Meal prep: batch cooking, lunchboxes and leftovers that get eaten

Dishes that survive the box

Good meal prep survives a day or two in the fridge and a few minutes in the microwave without becoming sad. Stews, curries, chilli, bolognese, lasagne, pasta bakes, grain salads with bulgur or rice and roasted root vegetables with a protein are safe bets. Anything with crunchy toppings, fresh salad or a fried egg is better packed separately and added when you eat. Cook a double batch of an ordinary weeknight dish and the lunchboxes make themselves. Flat, stackable containers with tight lids make the fridge easier to read and the freezer easier to fill. See everyday cooking for dishes that suit doubling.

Rice and pasta are fine in a box but behave differently. Rice dries out and is better with a sauce over it; pasta softens, so cook it a minute short if it is destined for the fridge.

Planning a week of meal prep

1. Choose two dishes that keep well and cook double portions on Sunday or Monday.
2. Vary the sides: the same curry with rice one day and with flatbread and yoghurt the next.
3. Freeze half straight away. Chilled boxes should be eaten within a couple of days; frozen ones keep for months.
4. Log the boxes in Cibello's food inventory, so you know what is there and what should be eaten first.

Enter the leftovers as meal boxes in Cibello and they sit in the inventory alongside everything else. When you plan the next few days, they are part of the picture instead of a surprise at the back of the shelf.

Fridge or freezer

The fridge is for boxes you will eat within two or three days; the freezer is for everything else. Freezing stops the clock on safety, although texture slowly declines over months, so label boxes with contents and date or let the app hold that information. Defrost in the fridge overnight where you can, and reheat until piping hot all the way through. A box that has been defrosted should be eaten, not refrozen.

Portion before freezing rather than after. A single serving defrosts faster, goes straight from freezer to microwave on a busy evening and means you never have to thaw a brick of chilli to get at one lunch.

Keeping track of what is in there

Most household food waste comes from things that were forgotten. A meal box at the back of the fridge is the classic case. In Cibello, meal boxes can be part of your food inventory, and the app reminds you gently when something should be eaten. Unsure how long something keeps? Read our guide to best before and use by dates, and always use smell, appearance and common sense as the final check.

Safety and storage

• Cool food quickly after cooking and get it into the fridge within a couple of hours. Shallow containers cool faster than one deep pot.
• Reheat boxes thoroughly, ideally so they are steaming throughout.
• Cooked rice and pasta should be cooled quickly and eaten within a few days.
• Label frozen boxes with contents and date, or let the app keep track.

Dates and AI readings in the app are a support. Always check for yourself before eating, particularly when cooking for children, pregnant women or anyone with a weakened immune system.

Meal prep without the Sunday marathon

The version of meal prep that lasts is the small one. Double one dish a couple of times a week, freeze half, and let the weekly meal plan put those boxes to work on the evenings when there is no time to cook. Whatever is missing for the fresh dishes goes onto the shared shopping list, and the boxes cover the rest. Less standing over pans on a Sunday, fewer takeaways on a Thursday, and less food thrown away along the way. If you only take one thing from this page, make it this: cook double once this week, freeze half and write down where it went.