People are convinced this simple meal prep photo is a recipe for disaster

This simple photo has caused a stir online (Picture: X.com/@gymmaxxfit) It’s Sunday afternoon, and the smell of chicken is wafting through the house. But you’re not about to tuck into a traditional roast — this is meal prep. Once cooked, the meat will be portioned up with some rice and veggies, ready to be eaten over and over (and over again) for the rest of the week. Meal prep is common in UK kitchens, with new research by the Good Food Nation finding that 42% of Brits now plan their meals in advance, and a quarter of us have taken up batch cooking. Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, September 20, a man known only as Alex (@gymmaxxfit) shared a look at his own meal prep for the next five days, alongside the caption: ‘Meat and potatoes locked and loaded for the week. No excuses.’ Everyone is saying the same thing about Alex’s meal prep (Picture: X.com/@gymmaxxfit) The image showed 10 glass containers stacked up in his fridge, each one neatly packed full of minced beef and either a side of potatoes or sweet potato. But his innocent post has sparked a heated debate, being viewed more than nine million times and garnering thousands of comments. Some were quick to pick apart Alex’s meals, branding the food ‘miserable’ and comparing it to ‘dog food’, while others claimed meat and potatoes was the ‘meal of modern kings’. But the most common response was all to do with food safety. ‘Always surprised to see people refrigerating meals they’ve cooked with the implication that it is fine to eat well after 48 hours,’ wrote @realhansard. Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. Similarly, @Queen_Finxa said: ‘Guys. Meal prep is for the freezer.’ While @Scopuli proclaimed: ‘This will be nasty AF on Friday.’ Others didn’t see an issue, with Matt Goodman saying: ‘Been eating week-old leftovers my whole life. Never got sick. Toughen up, buttercup.’ Isn't meal prep just a really boring way to eat? Jamie shares his tips (Picture: Justin Downing) The idea of eating the same meal on repeat can be pretty off-putting, but according to Jamie Oliver, you can easily zhuzh up this dish to keep your tastebuds tantalised. ‘There is truth in the adage, variety is the spice of life. There are so many taste combinations, so many fruit and veg and spices to try, so much adventure to be had just on a plate,’ Jamie tells Metro. As for what to do with cooked mince, he recommends: ‘Roll the mince up into a chilli and serve with rice and a salsa, or stuff the mince into peppers and bake. ‘When you have a foundation set up like this, there are so many delicious ways you can go!’ The celebrity chef, who recently released a new cookbook 20-Minute Meals: Real Fast Food, continues: ‘Batch cooking is a proper weapon in your arsenal when it comes to saving time and money during a busy week. So, I’d say it’s a win if you are finding the time to batch-cook from scratch. ‘What I really want, though, is for people to fall in love with cooking, to enjoy it and not see it as a chore. ‘Time is often the biggest barrier to cooking, so I’ve tried to cut it down to a mere 20 minutes. Have a go at switching things up, try new ingredients, and be a bit creative!’ For more inspiration, Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals begins Monday 28th September at 8pm on Channel 4. Is it okay to meal prep for a whole week? Meal prep is becoming more popular in the UK (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto) When it comes to Alex’s particular batch of meals, experts say we can’t know from one photo if he’s in for a bout of food poisoning. Chris Wagstaff, the health and safety director at Croner, which offers a food safety consultancy service, claims that while the food looks well organised, there’s no way for any of us to tell if it’s safe to eat. ‘Cooked minced meat and potatoes need careful temperature control, including when they are stored at home,’ he tells Metro. ‘It’s impossible to tell from a photograph how long the food was left out after cooking, how quickly it was cooled, or the temperature settings on the fridge, all of which are crucial components when it comes to food safety.’ In the comments on the post, Alex makes it clear that he’ll be eating the food over the next five days — something which our experts do caution him against. Natalie Stanton, a chartered environmental health officer and founder of The Safety Expert, warns that keeping food in the fridge for more than two days ‘could increase the risk of food poisoning’. She tells Metro: ‘Refrigeration slows down the growth of many harmful bacteria, but it does not necessarily stop them growing altogether. ‘This means the longer cooked food is kept in the fridge, the greater the opportunity there may be for bacteria to multiply.’ Do you meal prep at home? Sign up to Metro's The Slice newsletter for your guide to what's on in London, with trusted reviews, offers and giveaways. For any meals that you are unable to eat within 48 hours, she advises freezing them soon after they have been prepared and cooled. ‘They can then be defrosted in the fridge as needed and should be used within 24 hours of defrosting.’ This is the safest approach, as freezing is like ‘pressing pause’ on bacterial growth. What is the best practice for meal prep safety? Guidance from the UK’s Food Standards Agency says cooked leftovers should be stored in the fridge and eaten within 48 hours. Chris Wagstaff says the practical safe routine for anyone looking to meal prep is to ‘cook thoroughly, portion the food into shallow containers, and chill quickly’. He continues: ‘Refrigerate within an hour or two of cooking for up to two days, and freeze the rest. ‘Defrost safely, and reheat one time only until piping hot throughout.’ When reheating, stir the food to ensure all cold spots are eliminated, and allow it to stand briefly afterwards. Discard anything that has been left at room temperature for too long, smells unusual, or has been stored longer than the recommended period. The exception to this rule is cooked rice. Natalie Stanton adds: ‘The FSA’s advice is to make sure you chill rice quickly, ideally within one hour, and place it into the fridge. Then keep it refrigerated and use within 24 hours. ‘When reheating rice, or any other prepared meal, make sure it is steaming hot all the way through. Food should also only be reheated once.’ The FSA notes that you can get food poisoning from eating reheated rice, although it’s not the reheating that’s the problem, but the way it’s stored before being reheated. 'Meal prep is a blank canvas' Mike Reid, chef, restaurateur and co-host of the Two Hungry Chefs podcast, also had a few ideas for making meat and potatoes more fun. He claims the dish is a brilliant ‘blank canvas’, adding: ‘Keep the base neutral and change the finish every single day. Monday, go Mexican with cumin, lime, and a spoonful of salsa; Tuesday it’s Italian with tinned tomatoes, chilli flakes, and a shower of parmesan; Wednesday, hit it with soy, ginger and a drizzle of chilli oil and suddenly you’re in a completely different postcode. ‘The real secret is freshness and texture — that’s the first thing to die in a lunchbox. A handful of fresh herbs, a squeeze of lemon, a few pickles or a fried egg cracked on top will wake up even the sleepiest reheat. ‘Build yourself a little arsenal of sauces in the fridge, and you’ll never eat the same lunch twice.’ Do you have a story you’d like to share? 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