A method for weeks with no time to cook. Starting with what keeps it safe.
When every weekday evening means deciding what to eat, shopping and cooking, it eventually tips into ordering in. Cooking a few things at the weekend leaves only reheating during the week. It reduces decisions more than it reduces time, and that is closer to where the benefit comes from.
Sealing hot food straight into the fridge leaves the middle cooling slowly, sitting for a long time at temperatures where bacteria multiply. Spreading it in a wide dish to cool quickly, then portioning, is the basic sequence. Keep chilled food to three or four days, and freeze anything beyond that from the start.
Make five identical lunchboxes and you will stop reaching for them by day three. Cooking grains, protein and vegetables separately and varying the combination lasts longer. Changing only the sauce makes it feel like a different meal.
Soups, curries, fried rice and minced meat dishes freeze well. Leafy salads, fried food and dishes heavy on potato lose a lot of texture after thawing. Freezing portions pressed flat thaws faster and takes less space.
Microwaves tend to leave the centre cooler, so stirring once partway through is safer. Avoid reheating, cooling and reheating the same food again. Taking out only what you will eat avoids the problem entirely.
Each button runs this keyword on that search engine