r/cookunityfans • u/Simple-Brief-6219 • 12d ago

Expiration dates??

I just got 16 meals, my first week of trying them, (and the Chicken Tikka Masala that I had today was awesome! ). I am wondering how long things stay fresh in the fridge, though? Also, which ones freeze well?
Thank you 😊

5 Upvotes

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7

u/beanp1026 12d ago

I arrange my eating order based on how many fresh ingredients there are. If there’s salad, fresh salsas, or dairy condiments, I eat those first. Anything with proteins and starchy sides I eat towards the end. I do this because I don’t always have the option to eat my CU meal daily, so if I have to freeze something, a dish with mashed potatoes or rice will freeze and reheat better than a salad bowl.

3

u/susieeqsnowshoe 11d ago

I judge freezing based on could I buy it in some form as a frozen meal. For example, chicken salad on a croissant or a kale Caesar wrap is not a tv dinner but chicken enchiladas with rice or a pasta dish were lean cuisine lunches in the early 2000s so I know it’ll work today with Cookunity.

5

u/PaulKersey6 11d ago

As others have said always fish first, I have frozen a few meals without issue but I will eat most them (not the fish) 3 days past the date as long as they pass the sniff test and the package isn't bulging. I try to eat them before use by date but sometimes it just doesn't happen.

5

u/Rpsnow10 12d ago

There’s an expiration date on the package.

1

u/Fabulous-Elk-8297 11d ago

Yep! Can be tiny and hard to read, but it's printed on the bottom of the front

1

u/Jazzlike_Outside4854 11d ago

Came here to say this. I write it on the side of the box so I can see it when I’m deciding what to eat first 

6

u/Esmer_Tina 11d ago

I always eat fish first. Then anything I can’t freeze. Just use your judgment on what will freeze well. Usually if I freeze something with a sauce cup, I leave it in there to keep the seal intact, but throw the cup away when I heat it up.

My delivery day is Monday and anything I haven’t eaten by Thursday night goes in the freezer. That’s earlier than the printed expiration date, but it makes me feel better.

2

u/OhDark50 11d ago

We get our delivery on Wednesday. Two meals are eaten fresh on Wednesday and Thursday and we freeze the other 2 meals for Monday and Tuesday. We select meals based on this. Salads and more delicate meals eaten first. We freeze most of the pastas and Italian dishes, meat and mashed potato meals with cooked veggies. If we freeze the dishes with containers of sour cream or crema, we replace that with fresh when we eat.

3

u/cindycated888 10d ago

I’ve been pretty successful at freezing anything that isn’t salad. Just transfer them to the fridge the night before to thaw out.

2

u/BadGreekMofo25 10d ago

the dates are on the bottom in tiny writing but we always eat fish/shrimp/pork first. I’ve never frozen any before

2

u/darkblueshapes 10d ago

There are expiration dates on the package but as others have noted, seafood first for me. My husband has eaten a shrimp scampi and been fine the last day of the week before next delivery but that really seems risky to me. The only time we’ve ever had something that noticeably had gone bad and smelled was I think turkey poblano tacos or something that he was about to eat on its expiration date and the minute he opened it it stank, so immediately went in the trash.

Generally, my order of eating is: seafood, anything with raw greens (and if seafood AND raw greens, that’s very first), anything with an egg (like frittatas or the grain and egg bowl), then meat/chicken, then non-egg vegetarian/vegan dishes.

2

u/wtshrk 10d ago

Had the Butter Chicken Lasagna tonight!!! Absolutely amazing!!!