Prep the parts or the meals? Mix and match and count your bowls

Most meal prep means five identical boxes by Thursday. Cooking building blocks instead (a protein, a base, vegetables and a sauce) lets you mix a different bowl every day from a handful of things you cook once.

Pick your blocks, see how many bowls they make and what a week of lunches could look like, and learn the simple safety rules: cool within about 2 hours, eat within 2 days, freeze the rest.