How do I cook a week of meals in one afternoon?

The reason most meal prep ends in the bin by Thursday is boredom. Five boxes of the same chicken and rice is a punishment, not a plan.

The alternative takes the same two hours and produces a week of different meals: cook a small number of flexible components and combine them differently each day.

The component formula

Build around four things: one protein, one or two grains or starches, a big tray of roasted vegetables, and two sauces. Everything keeps for four to five days in the fridge and reheats in minutes.

That gives you dozens of combinations — grain bowl with sauce A, protein with vegetables and sauce B, a quick soup by adding stock, a wrap, a salad with the same vegetables served cold.

The order that saves an hour

Heat the oven first. Roast the vegetables and the protein together on separate trays while you cook grains on the hob. Make the sauces last, in the same bowl you will serve from.

While things cook, chop the raw crunch: cucumber, radish, herbs, spring onion. These are what stop reheated food tasting reheated, and they need no cooking at all.

Salt in layers, not at the end

Season the water for grains heavily, salt the protein before it goes in the oven, and taste the sauces twice. Food cooked for the week needs slightly more seasoning than food eaten immediately, because flavours dull in the fridge.

Cool fast, store clearly

Spread hot food in shallow containers so it cools quickly, and refrigerate within two hours. Label with the day it was cooked, not the day you plan to eat it. Glass containers with flat lids stack better and do not hold smells.

Keep components in separate containers rather than assembling finished plates. Mixed food goes soggy; separate food stays crisp and lets you decide each day.

A realistic two-hour plan

First thirty minutes: oven on, vegetables chopped and roasting, grains on the hob. Next thirty: protein into the oven, sauces made, raw vegetables prepped. Following thirty: everything cooled and boxed. Last thirty: wash up, and write the week's combinations on a note stuck to the fridge.

Writing the combinations down is the step people skip, and it is the step that makes Wednesday easy.

What not to batch

Do not batch fried food, delicate fish, dressed salads or pasta already mixed with sauce. Those take eight minutes fresh and are unpleasant after two days. Batch the parts that improve with time — stews, grains, roast vegetables, sauces.