Meal prepping with a fridge but no freezer?

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  TheBilly on 30/01/2019 - 21:25

  +5

  Just cook 1 week at a time you will be fine

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  qwerty on 30/01/2019 - 21:26

  +1

  To increase the life you would put the frozen veggies in the fridge after buying - that would give you an extra couple days while they defrost in the fridge and then cook them - i.e take half out meal prep for 3 days and leave the rest frozen cook after

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  ihbh on 30/01/2019 - 21:36

  +6

  Frozen veg defrosted will be yuk - watch the bright greens turn into muddy greens.

  Have you thought about buying your own fresh veg and then cooking - they store much better in the fridge.

  • 

    VuLT on 31/01/2019 - 18:18

    Yeah I'll look into that, thanks for the advice!

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  shadowangel on 30/01/2019 - 21:42

  +2

  why frozen vegtables when you have no freezer ?
  buy cheap fresh in season veg.

  for protein try and get them in cryovac bags, they will last longer.

  meals will only last a few days in the fridge once cooked.

  for steamed vegtables you can buy special microwave container which will cook vegtables, rice will need to be cooked every 2-3 days.

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  spiff on 30/01/2019 - 21:45

  +2

  Prepare meals (all rice vege and protein) on Sunday for Monday to Friday and they'll be ok in the fridge. Fresh veg will be cheaper.

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  [Deactivated] on 30/01/2019 - 22:02

  +2

  Not sure it will work, but if you have a cooler bag (like aldi cold bag, or beer cooler bag) or if have an esky that will fit, I would expect if you put frozen stuff inside cooler bag or esky, then place esky or cooler bag inside fridge, will take longer to defrost etc. Could put some ice inside esky/cooler-bag to help keep even colder, for longer.

  Also Free fridge/freezers are often on gumtree, just need friend with ute, trailer, or van, who will help transport the gumtree freebie . Very old fridge/freezer has little to zero value IMO. They are a pain to transport, so plenty of people wanting them gone ASAP will put them on gumtree free, or very cheap. If its really old, don't pay, their options are pretty much give it away, or put it out front for hard rubbish, or take to tip and pay.

  • 

    VuLT on 31/01/2019 - 18:18

    I'll look into that, thanks for the tips!

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  wizzy on 30/01/2019 - 22:11

  +1

  Personally, I would not store cooked food in the fridge for more than a couple of days at a maximum. Especially not meat. Without a freezer I don't think you will be able to pre-cook meals for an entire week and store them safely. Perhaps you could check on the Food Standards Australia website to see what the guidelines say.

  As others have said, you might be better off buying fresh vegetables and cooking them quickly (e.g. steam in microwave) as needed.

  • 

    HighAndDry on 31/01/2019 - 11:29

    OP should be fine. Cook Sunday night, cool to Monday morning and put in fridge, keep to Friday lunch = 4.5 days. Will keep in the fridge easy unless OP is cooking shellfish. Key will be to portion them before refrigerating so OP isn't warming up later portions every day.

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  Milk tea on 30/01/2019 - 22:16

  +3

  3-4 days maximum without food poisoning in the fridge.

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  PeterA07 on 30/01/2019 - 22:38

  +1

  You absolutely can store cooked meat dishes in the fridge for several days, as long as you go about it the right way. The key to avoiding spoilage is to ensure that it spends no more time than necessary in the "danger zone" (temperature-wise). In other words, don't leave the food sitting out on the counter for hours on end after cooking. Let it cool down – you can put it in a shallow vessel so it cools faster – then stick it in the fridge. If you are reasonably diligent, you can comfortably store most cooked food for four days, sometimes longer.

  In relation to rice: fried rice will keep longer than steamed rice. Fried rice can last up to a week (if there is no meat in it), whereas three days is probably the outer limit for steamed rice. Usually I just fry the rice if I haven't used it within two days.

  • 

    VuLT on 31/01/2019 - 18:19

    Awesome, thank you for the advice!

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  Some Human on 30/01/2019 - 23:44

  +2

  Why don’t you just…I don’t know…buy a freezer?

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  Tasmaniac on 31/01/2019 - 01:12

  You can keep chicken and rice easily for about 5 days refrigerated. From there just microwave. If you keep it simple with Vegetables, rice and chicken it will also be easy to track your macros. You will just need to work out how to flavour your meals. Paprika, chicken salt and pasta sauce all work well on rice.

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  [Deactivated] on 31/01/2019 - 02:50

  3-4 days for the chicken and the pork. Potentially 4-5 days for the beef if very well cooked and sealed. The problem is bacteria multiply exponentially given the right conditions, and a fridge only really slows it rather than stops it. You might survive longer but the risks aren't really worth it. (Someone ate 5 day old pasta the recently and DIED as it hadn't been properly stored and they ended up poisoned by a particular bacteria.) You need to also chill stuff cold very fast after cooking, bacteria will multiply fast when the food is warm so you need to get it from safely hot to as cold as possible as quickly as possible. The more liquid in the meals the worse as well.

  If you vacuum pack meat and then cook it to a safe temperature it should be safe as long as it remains sealed (the texture may go a bit funny after many days, but basically if you kill anything inside the seal it lasts pretty much indefinitely - this is how canning works, canned stuff can last decades) That said a freezer is cheaper and easier than a vacuum sealer, and probably just cooking twice a week is easier still.

  The food prep places like YouFoodz and some of the super market meals manage to stretch some foods to 7-10 days refrigerated by reducing the amount of oxygen in their sealed packets (and possibly heat treating them after sealing in some cases).

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  swapsey on 31/01/2019 - 08:27

  Couscous is a great alternative to rice and pasta. Rich in selenium and a great source of protein. Can be eaten cold or hot. And much easier to prepare than rice and pasta. That means after 3 days (which is fridge life) you can make a new batch for the next 3 days, perfect solution when you only have a fridge.

  • 

    VuLT on 31/01/2019 - 18:19

    Great idea on the couscous, I'll check it oout.

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  HighAndDry on 31/01/2019 - 11:31

  You'll be fine with fresh veggies - cook them Sunday night, let cool, portion and refrigerate Monday morning, and then take out only what you're eating each day that day. The rest of the portions will keep fine until Friday morning when you take out the last portion for that day, since they've been in the fridge non-stop since Monday. You might have to be selective with what you use though, as even if they're safe to eat, texture- and taste-wise not all foods will keep that long.

  I'd stick to steamed vegetables (like peas, broccoli, cauliflower), basic proteins like chicken breast, and easy to prep carbs like rice or pasta. Personally I'd cook carbs more frequently than once a week though.

  • 

    VuLT on 31/01/2019 - 18:19

    I'll look into doing that, thank you!

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  try2bhelpful on 31/01/2019 - 20:19

  I agree with using fresh vegetables rather than frozen ones. Get a food processor and it is really easy, and quick, to prep them before use. My Magimix has a bunch of different blades including a stir fry blade. You can get a cheap small freezer that might be worth considering - we had one that we used to put in the garage.