PREPBOX

Ever wondered how long you can store your food? The recommended safe storage time should be between 3 to 4 days only for various types, from freezing leftovers, chilling before refrigerating foods. Usually, how long the food can keep and is safe to consume depends on several factors in determining the freshness and quality, from preparation to storage to the type of foods.

Grains

Cooked rice, pasta-like barley, and quinoa are not high in protein but would still classify as medium risks foods as it contains moist where certain bacteria can still multiply to dangerous levels at room temperature. Given the development of mold growth over time, precooked and leftovers foods should be properly handled and stored to extend the shelf life of the food to preserve its freshness. In conclusion, the recommended storage for grains should be between 3 to 4 only in the fridge.

Breads

On the other hand, another lower risk item is bread, flour, and biscuits. Such foods are unlikely to be implicated in food poisoning as they contain minimal amounts of moisture. For instance, a bread that have been kept at room temperature are more likely to last about 3 days as compared to the store-bought bread which are safe to consume about 5 – 7 days.

Meat & Poultry

High-risk food is highly perishable items that need to be refrigerated, chilling, or freezing and usually have a short shelf life. Example of high-risk foods includes meat & poultry, dairy products, fish & seafood where they are more prone to dangerous bacteria to thrive and even lead to contamination. A simple rule is to take particular care when dealing with leftovers in terms of proper storage, adhering to temperature control, and eat within the recommended amount of time to avoid the risk of food poisoning. For meat and poultry, such as steaks, fillets, chops, and roasts, it can last 3–4 days in the refrigerator.

Fruits and vegetables

For cooked vegetables, can usually be stored in the refrigerator for about 3 – 7 days in an airtight container, while canned cooked vegetables can generally last for a slight duration of about 7 – 10 days with proper storage. That is also why fruits and vegetables with a higher water content such as strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli don’t last as long and lose their quality more rapidly than those with lower water contents like spinach and potatoes.

Our chefs’ prepared meals are always fresh and never frozen, all of our meal boxes are vacuum sealed with nitrogen and come individually portioned for easy reheating in ensures that the meal's flavors and ingredients are captured at their freshest. By vacuum packaging, it would help to extend the shelf life, maintain its quality where the food freshness and its nutritional value continue to stay intact and then delivered to your doorsteps on a weekly basic.

At PrepBox, we offer a wide variety of different cuisines which are healthy and nutritional, you can expect a plethora of different tasty menu options per week that are curated by our Chefs.

Subscribe to our weekly meal plans and eat healthy now with PrepBox! Chooses from 3 types of convenient meal plans: Signature, Keto-friendly and Low Calories to be delivered to your doorsteps.

Dieting is never easy, much less keeping up with a Keto diet Singapore, a nation basically fueled by rice and noodle. We have heard so many stories of people starting their keto diet just to give up after a few weeks because firstly, there aren't enough keto options readily available when eating out. Secondly, meal preperations get too time consuming after a while and where is the joy when you eat the same meal items over the week?

We get it, Keto dieting can be a lonely journey. Here's some tips from us on how to make it a little better:

Our Local Proposal

Yes, our hawker culture is really amazing and also loaded with carbs. Before you turn down your colleagues the next time they ask you out for lunch with them at the hawker, you may consider these keto-friendly options:

• Roast Meat

• Chicken/ Lamb / Beef Curry

• Ma La Xiang Guo
• Yong Tau Foo

• Ba Kut Teh

• Fish Soup

• Satay

Of course, the word here is keto-friendly. You may be getting the higher intake of fats, less carbs, but you can still expect some sugar which strict Keto dieters would avoid. In addition, we may not be entirely sure of the ingrediets that go into making that Ma La Xiang Guo, and tracking of nutrition is almost impossible. 

Keeping it Consistent with Meal Subscription

The easy way to ensure consistency in your dieting journey is to leave it to guys like PrepBox.

When you commit to a week's worth of meal, you are also holding yourself accountable to your goals. Planning ahead is important when during nutrition prep, that way you are less likely to resort to takeaway on a busy work day or snack on unhealthy choices such as chips.

Secondly, when you get a meal plan with PrepBox, each keto-friendly meal is designed to have an average of 500kcal, and meeting the guidlines of being low carb and high in good fats. As a rule of thumb, the meals on an average 60% fats, 30% protein and 10% carbs. Macros of each meal can be viewed when you are carting out and labeled on each box as well. That way, you know what you are eating. 

Dieting is already stressful enough, physically and mentally. When broken down into weekly milestones, dieting feels a bit more achievable! Leave the prepping to us, and spend your time on what's important in life!

We get many questions on how our PrepBoxes can be kept in the fridge for a whole week, and still tasting fresh when you heat it up. Well, today we are spilling the beans!

Ingredients

Freshness starts from the ingredients we pick. Our menus are designed to include more whole food such as fresh meats, seafood, multi-grain rice, eggs, and fresh vegetables. We do try to minimise the use of processed food, especially those that may seem "healthy" at first glace, may not be as wholesome as we think, including bacon, processed dried fruits, and granola bar.

The Sealing Process

Oxygen is the key element which help maintain high respiration rates of food, promoting grwoth of aerobic spoilage microorganisms. That's how our food turn bad. 

During the PrepBox sealing process, oxygen is removed and replaced with other non-reactive gasses, such as nitrogen. A stable atmosphere of gasses in the packaging delays the oxidation reaction and microbiological spoilage, prolonging the shelf-life of the food. 

That's why while your leftover food might be good for another day if kept in the fridge, our PrepBoxes are still safe for consumption for another week from the day we cook it.

Chilled, Never Frozen

Our food is chilled, never frozen! That way your meals remain tasty, and nutrients are kept intact. 

While freezing is a great way to improve the shelf-life of your food, the freezing and thawing processes involves chemical changes which may take away its freshness and degrades the taste. On the other hand, the chilling process is less harsh on the food, and when reheated with a microwave or steamer, you would forget that it was sitting in the fridge just a few moments ago!

We have all heard about "Keto" over the recent years, and may even have tried it at some point in time. Before, we jump into any diet trends, let's take a step back to understand how the keto diet works and the effects on your body.

Keto Diet

In summary, the ketogenic (keto) diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. The premise of the ketogenic diet for weight loss is that if the body is deprived of glucose obtained from carbohydrate foods, it will produce energy from stored fat. Hence, one of the hallmark of the Keto diet is the significantly low carbohydrate content relative to the average diet, and high healthy fats and protein.

Macronutrient Ratios

When designing a Keto-Friendly meal, it is also important to look at a macronutrient ratio. Below is a recommended ratio by Rainbow Hues, a certified nutrition consultant in Singapore.

The table above clearly illustrates that carbohydrate, protein and fat ratios of a regular Signature healthy meal vs a keto - friendly meal. 

Quality Over Quantity

There is evidence that the quality, rather than the quantity, of carbohydrate in a diet, is more important, and that high-fiber slow-digesting carbohydrate-rich food is an healthier option while highly refined and sugary foods are less so. Most vegetables are low- or moderate-carbohydrate foods. Vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, corn, and rice are high in starch, a complex carbohydrate and are generally avoided in a keto meal. Instead, vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, cauliflower, peppers, and most green leafy vegetables are used more often in low-carbohydrate diet plans.

Understanding Your Needs

Ultimately, when choosing a diet, understand what you are trying to achieve and have your diet tailored to your requirement. Some adopters of the keto diet may include individuals with metabolic conditions to those who are looking for a diet to complement their workout. Beginning a new weight-loss diet is not always a simple transition. And the ketogenic diet — a trendy low-carbohydrate, a high-fat plan that may produce quick results — is no exception.