Meal Plans — Batch & Freeze
Cook once. Eat well all week.
A small Sunday session, the right containers, and a freezer that does most of the work. Here is the nouriri way of batch cooking — the principles, the recipes that hold up, and a starter plan to try this weekend.
The principles
A few rules that make the freezer feel like a kitchen, not a graveyard.
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01
Cook the base. Finish fresh.
Freeze the slow part — the braise, the bean, the curry, the sauce — and add the bright top notes (herbs, lemon, yoghurt, crunch) at the moment of eating. The plate tastes made-tonight even if it was made three weeks ago.
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02
Portion before you freeze.
Freeze in single or double servings, never one giant block. You will defrost only what you need, the food thaws faster, and the freezer stays organised. Glass jars or flat-pack zip bags both work; flat is easier to stack.
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03
Label like you will forget.
Name, date, servings, on every container. Marker on tape, or a single sticker. Without a label, every brown container is a mystery and frozen food becomes invisible — which is how it gets thrown out.
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04
Defrost slowly. Reheat hot.
Move tomorrow night’s dinner from freezer to fridge the night before. Then reheat properly — piping hot through the centre, never lukewarm. Microwaves work; a low pot on the stove with a splash of water works better.
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05
Some things just don’t freeze.
Leafy salads, anything with a lot of fresh dairy, fried things meant to stay crisp, eggs cooked into custards. Skip the freezer for those, and do them fresh on the day. Everything else — soups, stews, beans, sauces, grains, doughs — lives there happily.
Best for the freezer
Recipes that taste like the day they were made.
Tested through several thaws — texture intact, flavour unchanged, finishing notes added at the table.
Freezes wellMiddle EasternChicken Shawarma WrapsWarmly spiced chicken shawarma in pita with pickled vegetables and garlic yogurt sauce. Restaurant-quality at home.
Freezes wellIndianSpiced Lentil DalWarming red lentil dal with a tadka of mustard seeds and curry leaves. Vegan, high-protein, and deeply satisfying.
Freezes wellItalianCreamy Tomato Basil SoupVelvety San Marzano tomato soup with fresh basil and a touch of cream. Pure comfort.
Freezes wellMexicanBlack Bean & Sweet Potato TacosRoasted sweet potato and black bean tacos with avocado crema. Vegan-friendly and bursting with flavor.A starter plan
Your first Sunday session.
Two and a half hours, three pots, six dinners on the other side. Pick the three recipes you like most from the grid above. Cook them in this order so the kitchen is quiet by 5pm.
- 2:00 PMGet the slow thing on first.
Whichever of your three is a stew, curry, or braise. Onions in oil, aromatics in, base in, lid on, low heat. It will take care of itself.
- 2:30 PMRoast or bake the second.
Tray bake, sheet pan, or oven dish. Goes in, you set a timer, you do something else. The oven does not need attention.
- 3:30 PMCook the third on the stovetop.
Stir-fry, dal, grain bowl base — the active one. Twenty minutes of real work, then portion all three onto the counter to cool.
- 4:30 PMPortion, label, freeze.
Single or double servings into your containers. Name, date, servings on each. Anything you will eat in the next three days — into the fridge instead of the freezer.
Make it a habit
Get a fresh batch plan every Sunday.
Three recipes, a shopping list, and the order to cook them in — in your inbox, free, every week.