Yuzo
The problem with most meal prep advice is that it treats Sunday as a production kitchen day. Roast twelve portions of chicken, prep five salads, make three sauces, portion everything into matching containers. It is exhausting, and people abandon it within two weeks.
A sustainable routine is narrower. You are not cooking every meal in advance — you are removing the friction from the hardest decision of each weekday: "what am I cooking and do I have everything?"
The two-hour myth
A good prep session takes 60-90 minutes. If yours consistently runs over two hours, you are prepping too many components. The goal is flexibility, not a week of identical meals.
What to prep vs. what not to
- Prep things that are slow to cook or annoying to make from scratch mid-week:
- Grains: a batch of rice, quinoa or barley covers three meals
- Roasted veg: one full tray takes 30-35 minutes and adds to bowls, eggs, sandwiches, pasta
- A protein base: poached chicken, baked salmon, or hard-boiled eggs
- A sauce: one batch of a dressing, tahini sauce or pesto stretches across several meals
- Do not prep things that deteriorate quickly or that take the same time mid-week as they would on Sunday:
- Dressed salads (they wilt)
- Fried or crisped textures
- Fresh pasta dishes
The Sunday session (in order): 1. Start the slowest thing first — grains go on, oven preheats 2. While that runs: chop, wash, and organise veg 3. Roast veg during the grain cook time — you are now doing two things at once 4. Cook your protein base last (it is fastest) 5. Cool everything, portion into containers, label with the day
The 15-minute mid-week rule
A good prep session means any weeknight dinner should come together in 15 minutes or less: a protein, a grain, a roasted veg, a sauce. No recipes, no decisions, no chopping.
- How to keep it sustainable:
- Prep for five meals, not seven. Leave room for takeaways and eating out without guilt.
- Use one sheet tray. Not three trays with five different recipes.
- Repeat the same prep structure every week, varying only the ingredients with the season.
The routine becomes automatic around week four. That is when it stops feeling like effort and starts feeling like just how you cook.