If your goal is to fit more nutritious meals into your diet, preparing meals in advance can help keep you on track. With a few exceptions, many cooked foods are safe to eat three days -- if not more -- after preparing them. In fact, you can save time during the week and enjoy more home-cooked meals by cooking larger portions of food in advance, according to advice from the John Hopkins Healthy Monday Project.
Longer-Lasting Foods
Many cooked foods are healthy and safe to eat if they've been cooked three days in advance -- provided that you stored them correctly. The Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends eating most cooked foods within four days. Fully-cooked sliced ham can last a minimum of three days, while a whole cooked ham can last up to a week in refrigeration. Hard-cooked eggs can also last seven days. Other foods that are safe to cook three to four days in advance include meat, meat-containing casseroles, fried chicken, plain chicken pieces and stuffing, according to the USDA.
Shorter-Lasting Foods
While many foods are safe to consume three days after preparing, some foods should be eaten sooner. These include breaded chicken tenders, chicken patties, meat in gravy, and poultry in gravy or broth. Eat these within one to two days of cooking. Many cooked foods can be stored in the freezer and thawed when you need them. Casseroles and soups are especially good candidates for freezing. Bacteria does not grow in food while it is in the frozen state, making these foods last well beyond three days -- even up to several months. Texture and taste may be compromised the longer foods are stored in the freezer, however.
Storing Cooked Foods
Place cooked foods in storage within two hours of preparation. If the environmental temperature is 90 degrees Fahrenheit or above, refrigerate within one hour. Checking your refrigerator's temperature is also important to ensure it is cold enough to prevent food spoilage. Using an appliance thermometer, check that your refrigerator's temperature is no higher than 40 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer is 0 degrees Fahrenheit or less.
Preventing Food-borne Illness
Preventing food-borne illness is of particular importance when preparing food in advance. You can't rely on your senses to judge whether food contains dangerous bacteria growth. Correctly reheating your food is necessary for this reason. Liquid preparations -- such as soups or gravies -- should be heated until boiling, according to registered dietitian Katherine Zeratsky of the Mayo Clinic. Reheat foods in the oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit or above. Reheated foods should reach a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. It's worth the investment to purchase an instant-read thermometer so you can be sure your food is adequately heated.
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