I have used the 5:2 BSD for all my meals for the last 3 weeks and am really enjoying them but I have found only some of the recipes give guidance on how long excess food can be stored for and I would like to know more. In particular I was hoping you could tell me how long the seedy flapjacks can be stored for in a airtight container safely. I made awhole batch but the family are eating it slowly and I don’t want to throw it all out. Don’t know which stuff I can freeze etc as guidance is a bit intermittent with the recipes. Anyone know??? Thanks

As a rough guide, food will keep as long as the most perishable ingredient – although cooked foods do tend to stay edible a bit longer than uncooked ones. I’ve not made the flapjacks, so don’t recall the ingredients, but if they’d all be safe in an airtight container for a couple of weeks, then so should the flapjacks.

As for freezing, just about anything can be safely frozen and eaten later, but the texture might be spoiled. Most cooked dishes eg chilli, sauces for courgetti spaghetti would be fine – but the accompanying veg should be cooked fresh, as it would turn to mush.

Bambina G, why did you make a batch of cookies? Was it for the family. The cookies can be frozen or you can freeze the dough before you cook them. How long do they last in the fridge? For as long as you can resist them or the family eats them but they will start to go soft after a week or so but can be revived with a quick blast in the oven.