Sunday meal prep is all about picking foods that survive the week

Pack five identical lunches on Sunday, but only if you choose foods that actually hold up until Friday. The whole game is picking ingredients that don’t get sad in the fridge.

Stick to roasted vegetables, grains, beans, and sturdy proteins like chicken, tofu, or hard-boiled eggs. They all taste fine five days in. Skip raw lettuce, sliced avocado, and anything watery — by Wednesday you’re eating mush. If you want greens, add them fresh in the morning or keep them in a separate bag and throw them on at work.

Keep wet things separate. Dressings, sauces, and even juicy stuff like tomatoes should live in their own little container so they don’t make everything soggy.

And honestly, you don’t need five identical meals if you’ll get bored by day three. Prep three servings of one meal and two of another, or prep components — cooked rice, roasted veg, protein — and mix them differently each day. Same effort, no Thursday despair.

Future you on Thursday afternoon deserves better than sad wet salad.