The meal prep essentials I swear by for an organised week

I’ve found that a Sunday well spent really does bring a week of content – especially if I spend it meal prepping with the best cookware.

Having just moved back to London, I’m slowly getting back into my groove with office life. To feel more organised, I find having lunches that are lunch-bag ready and dinners that are prepped for me when I walk back through the door are key.

I’m in a privileged position as Ideal Home’s Kitchen Appliances and Cookware Editor that I get to try out all of the latest and greatest kitchen gadgets to see how they fare in a real cooking environment. These are the ones I’m reliant on, all of which live in my newly organised pantry, for my batch cooking sessions every weekend.

1. Clever food containers

We all know the stress of rooting through a mismatched collection of old take-away containers, loose lids and plasticware in a kitchen cupboard. It can feel like an avalanche is raining down on you. That’s why I recently undertook a serious food container audit.

I had already rid myself of flimsy plastic containers as I wanted to be more cautious of potential safety risks with microwaving plastic (as investigated by the BBC). So when I was offered a set of Black + Blum’s food containers to test, I was intrigued. The selling point of this brand is its lightweight meal-prep style lunchboxes that are made of microwavable stainless steel.

These containers are made for commuters and convinced me to switch from glass containers to stainless steel. I have the Meal Prep Bowl Set in small (£44.95 for 3), and each one weighs just 245 grams before food. There’s plenty of space for a lunch or dinner portion with this 650ml size, but a larger 950ml upgrade is also available.

The containers can be microwaved for two minutes at a time and are safe to go into my air fryer too. Last week I made a ‘dropped the pot’ lasagne in the containers and popped them into my Ninja to brown ready for lunches to great effect.

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This isn’t the only Black + Blum set I swear by. I’ve recently been testing the brand’s new glass container system too and have settled on an ideal hybrid material set up.

I have five of the Stack + Nest Glass Food containers, which have the same clever airtight seal for freshness, in medium. With 900ml of space, I find they are great for full meals and prepped veg or fruit. Handily, they use the same lids as the stainless steel pots if you invest in the same shapes.

I use the lightweight stainless steel pots for work and the glass versions for dinners that stack in my fridge. When they’re not in use, all of the containers nest without extending their footprint in my pantry.

2. A julienne peeler

Thanks to this never ending summer we’re having I’ve been prepping salads more than ever. And I can’t believe it took me so long to turn to this one inexpensive gadget to save me from wasted time chopping veggies into the perfect shape.

Making carrot and cucumber ribbons is probably a job I should turn to my food processor for, but most often I’ve been using my Zyliss Julienne Peeler (£7 from Amazon) instead.

Though you have to press fairly hard to get neat ribbons, I really like the thinness you get from using this specific peeler. Once I’ve got those ribbons, I like to pickle them for toppings or combine them in a peanut sauce for a cold noodle salad.

Another very well-regarded pick is this one from OXO, for £10.30 (via Amazon). Once you’ve got a peeler this capable, you’ll rue all that time you spent slicing!

3. Freeze pods

On the weeks where I have extra time or leftovers after my immediate meal prep is done, I like to stock my freezer with meals that I can use in case of emergencies (or laziness). The best buy I’ve found to do this with is Lakeland’s genius freeze pods (£8.99) which you can pick up with 3 portion spaces or 2.

The non-stick silicone means that leftovers are easy to pop out onto a bowl or plate to microwave and the design means that they stack neatly on top of each other too, so you’re not left with an overflowing shelf.

It’s not just lunches or dinners that are handy for freezing in them. You can also pop in leftover stock, sauces, soups or even cakes and puddings. They’re a slick and inexpensive way to get healthy, homemade freezer meals sorted.

4. Microwave rice cooker

A dedicated rice cooker might horrify those who value clear countertops over anything else but once you’ve tried one, you can’t go back to sticking a pan over a hob. The ability to set off your rice at the beginning of cooking and not worry about it until you hear a beep of completion is unparalleled.

I recently discovered that there’s a rice cooker that works for minimalists too – Joseph Joseph’s microwave version. There’s no plugging in to the mains required – just pop your washed rice in with the right amount of water, wait 10 minutes and your perfectly cooked rice will emerge. It’s been a godsend for prepping rice salads, burritos and other meal prep staples.

With these buys on hand I’ve got myself into a food prep routine that works and makes the rest of the week easier. Do you have any kitchen essentials you swear by for getting organised?