Meal Prep Ideas for the Week: Three Short Sessions, Not One Long Sunday

Most meal prep advice says the same thing: give up your Sunday afternoon, cook everything, and fill the fridge with identical containers. It works for about three days. By Thursday the rice is tired, the chicken is dry, and you're ordering takeaway anyway.

There's an easier way, and it's how Frittu plans a week.

Why one big prep day falls apart

Cooking everything on Sunday means Friday's lunch was cooked five days earlier. It tastes like it, and it's the meal most likely to end up in the bin. One session also means the same two dishes all week, which is the quickest way to give up on meal prep.

Three short sessions instead

Split the week into three cooking sessions:

• Sunday evening: cook lunch and dinner for Monday and Tuesday.
• Tuesday evening: cook lunch and dinner for Wednesday and Thursday.
• Friday evening: cook lunch and dinner for the weekend.

Each session is two recipes, so it's quicker than one marathon. Nothing is more than a couple of days old, and you get six different meals instead of two.

Meal prep ideas that reheat well

These are real Frittu recipes that hold up in the fridge and reheat (or eat cold) well. Each link opens the full ingredients, steps and macros.

• Greek Lemon Chicken Chickpea Bowl: chicken thigh, chickpeas, spinach and olives with lemon and oregano. About 30 minutes, and better the next day.
• Beef Mince Sweet Potato Shepherd's Bake: a sweet potato topped mince bake that portions neatly and reheats in a few minutes.
• Lemon Herb Chicken Quinoa Bowl: quinoa keeps its texture far better than rice, which makes it a good lunch base.
• Smoky Paprika Tofu Pumpkin Bake: a plant-based tray bake with red lentils and broccoli that stays good for days.
• Mexican Beef Steak with Charred Corn and Lentil Salad: a salad that works cold, so it suits a work lunch.
• Chicken Fajita Rice Bowl: keep the avocado and lime separate and add them when you eat.

A sample week you can copy

Sunday evening (for Monday and Tuesday)

• Lunch: Greek Lemon Chicken Chickpea Bowl
• Dinner: Beef Mince Sweet Potato Shepherd's Bake

Tuesday evening (for Wednesday and Thursday)

• Lunch: Lemon Herb Chicken Quinoa Bowl
• Dinner: Smoky Paprika Tofu Pumpkin Bake

Friday evening (for the weekend)

• Lunch: Mexican Beef Steak with Charred Corn and Lentil Salad
• Dinner: Chicken Fajita Rice Bowl

Lunch and dinner on the same day never share a protein, so no day feels like a repeat. All six recipes are from our gluten-free recipe collection, so the plan also works for a gluten-free household (check the labels on packaged ingredients).

Five habits that make meal prep stick

1. Cook grains once per session, not per recipe. One pot of rice or quinoa covers both recipes.
2. Keep fresh toppings separate. Avocado, herbs, lime and dressings go on when you eat, not when you pack.
3. Portion straight away. Divide each recipe into containers as soon as it has cooled, so grabbing lunch takes no thinking.
4. Freeze what you might not get to. If plans change, a portion in the freezer beats a portion in the bin.
5. Shop from the plan. Write the list from the six recipes before you go, so nothing gets missed.

Letting Frittu plan it

That's how Frittu's weekly meal planner works. It plans about ten recipes for the week to fit your goals, allergens and diet, splits them into the same three cooking sessions, and turns the week into one shopping list sorted by aisle that you can share in one tap.

Calorie and macro figures on every recipe are estimates, worked out from the recipe's ingredients.

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Frittu is on iPhone and Android, and starts with 7 days free on the monthly plan, once per Apple ID or Google account. See how the meal planner works.