How Much Protein Do I Need
You need 10% to 35% of your calories to come from protein. So if youre eating 2,000 calories per day, you should be eating about 200700 calories from protein, or 50175 grams.
However, if youre trying to increase muscle mass, we would recommend that you lift weights regularly or and eat a range of 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, or 0.5 to 0.8 grams per pound of body weight.
Combine that with these high protein meal prep ideas and youre making progress!
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Korean Ground Beef Stir Fry
This stir fry is a cinch to pull together any weeknight. To keep things moving even faster for you during a busy week, you can chop your veggies during your weekend meal prep. As you cook, adjust the heat by adding a little or a lot of red pepper flakes.
If youre watching carbs, consider swapping out the rice in favor of cauliflower rice. As a garnish, add chopped green onions and sesame seeds.
This is one of our favorite Korean meal prep recipes because of how healthy they are.
Blackened Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
If youre looking for another spin on chicken and potatoes, this recipe is for you. I love this recipe because it takes only 30 minutes. Perfect for those weekends when you are short on meal prep time.
Were saving you time by using cubed sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes tend to take a lot of time to cook, but when you cube them first- they take a fraction of the time to cook.
For the sweet potatoes, youll need some good quality sea salt like this. Because sea salt is coarser than regular salt, youll need less of it to bring out the flavor, making it a better alternative if youre trying to watch your sodium.
This dish is not only sweet and savory but extremely nutritious. This is because we also include perfectly-seasoned garlicky brussels sprouts, a tasty way to get your greens in.
Per Serving:
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Pesto Tortellini With Snow Peas
Perhaps the greenest dish here, this tortellini falls somewhere between saucy and soupyand thats exactly where it should be. The crunchy snow peas, which provide much of the 18 grams of protein, pair well with soft, cheesy tortellini and nutty pesto. You may not even be able to wait to reheat it as lunch.
High Protein Meal Prep Breakfast Ideas For Weight Loss
Breakfast is famous for being the most important meal of the day, and its no different with weight loss. Pick one of these delicious high-protein breakfast recipes to start your day.
A healthy breakfast skillet full of protein, veggies and lots of flavor, this savory breakfast skillet is great for group gatherings or meals that can last you throughout the week.
Calories: 448kcal Protein: 34g Carbohydrates: 6g Fat: 32g
Three ingredients: Cottage cheese, eggs, and oats. Twelve minutes from start to finish. You wont be disappointed!
Calories: 441kcal Protein: 36g Carbohydrates: 31g Fat: 18g
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Bean Tuna And Pepper Salad
Speaking of easy meal prep, time-crunched chefs will love this one: Most of this salads ingredients come right out of a can. Paired with the crunch of romaine for freshness, the result is an effortless dish with 15 grams of protein. Add in extra nuts for even more healthy fats and protein.
Garlic Crockpot Chicken And Lentils
Take your love of garlic bread into the kitchen and turn it into protein! While this may not be garlic bread, its garlic chicken instead which is almost better.
The best part is the sheer amount of protein included in this recipe. A massive 42 grams per serving! Thats certainly one way to get protein into your diet!
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Salmon Sheet Pan Meal Prep
With 37 grams of protein , adding this salmon to your weekly meal prep is a great choice. This Salmon Sheet Pan meal prep means that youre going to be able to have everything made and ready, all on one pan. Not only does this cut down on the time that it takes to make this delicious dish, but it also means that cleaning up is a breeze, too.
Pair this simple salmon recipe with steamed veggies, or heat up some rice as well. Salmon makes for a great fresh dish as well as one that is full of flavor and taste. You can find the recipe HERE.
How Much Does It Cost To Food Prep For A Week
If youre meal prepping with more protein in mind, its going to cost you more probably. As mentioned earlier, you can save money by adding eggs and peanut butter versus cooking actual meat for each meal.
Buying and using chicken or canned tuna will also be an affordable way to have a higher protein diet without breaking the bank too.
On average, its a safe estimate to assume that you would spend anywhere from $75-$100 meal prepping per week.
However, if you plan ahead and look at sale ads, you just might be able to save even more money than that!
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Honey Garlic Shrimp Meal Prep
After a good workout, you want to make sure you have a high protein meal. Thats because protein helps your muscles recover.
This honey garlic shrimp meal prep is precisely what the personal trainer ordered. It provides a whopping 29 grams of protein.
So your muscles will be sure to thank you. And so will your tastebuds.
The shrimp is covered in a honey garlic sauce. This makes it really flavorful.
The honey adds sweetness, while the red pepper flakes provide some heat. Meanwhile, the soy sauce adds a pleasant umami taste.
And the sugar snap peas are nice and crispy and complement the juicy shrimp nicely.
Besides containing a ton of protein, this dish is rich in iron too. Iron increases your athletic performance.
It makes you more alert and also regulates your body temperature. It is also good for your immune system too.
Per Serving:
Chicken Buritto Skillet Dinner
This chicken burrito skillet dinner comes together in one pan to make a quick, easy, and healthy dinner the whole family will love! Juicy boneless skinless chicken breast is packed with nutrient-dense vegetables and healthy fats. This chicken skillet meal provides a great protein punch and is the perfect one-pan meal.
Calories: 272kcal Protein: 31g Carbohydrates: 29g Fat: 5g
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How To Meal Prep For Weight Loss
Learning how to meal prep doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, you can tailor your meal plan and approach to your skill levelno chef culinary skills needed.
Your diet, just like your meal prep, is personal. And what works for one doesn’t always work for everyone. To start, let’s get the basics down first.
Quinoa And Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables
This quinoa and roasted vegetable dish is delicious and packed with nutrition. Its meal preps really well and just takes approximately 2 minutes in the microwave to heat up. It uses 5 types of vegetables that give you a wide range of vitamins and minerals. This is one of our favorite mediterranean diet meal prep recipes!
Calories Per Serving: 339
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Tips For Getting Started
You may be eager to begin this meal plan right away. But first, there are a few things to do in order to have a safe, effective, and enjoyable experience.
Note: This meal plan is both high in protein and very low in carbs. For the next two weeks, youll eat between 14 and 25 grams of net carbs per day. If youre currently eating a higher carb diet, you may experience some carb withdrawal symptoms within the first week.
Here is your first week of delicious high protein recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Youll save time planning, preparing, cooking, and cleaning up by making two dinner servings and refrigerating half to enjoy for lunch the next day.
Monday
Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwiches
We all love sandwiches. Unfortunately the myth that carbs and bread are the devil is one thats pretty common when it comes to nutrition this is simply just a myth.
The sandwich contains a massive 31g of protein, so you can be sure that you will stay nice and full throughout the entire day. The extra protein comes from greek yogurt yummy!
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Fruit Smoothie With Almond Milk
Craving something sweet in the afternoon? Toss some frozen berries, sliced banana and almond milk in the blender for a creamy 4 p.m. treat. The healthy fats from the almond milk and antioxidants from the berries can lower LDL cholesterol. A cup of this simple smoothie contains about 162 calories. Here are more healthy smoothie recipes to try.
How To Meal Prep A Week Of High
Meal-prepping your week of lunches in advance can help you stay on course with healthy eating habits and save you time and money in the process. Making your meals in advance means you’re in full control of what you eat and how much you eatno need for expensive, high-calorie take-out meals when your lunch is already made! And while meal-prepping does take some commitment, the time you spend up front prepping is less than what you’d collectively spend prepping meals before or after busy workdays.
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The high-protein lunches in this meal-prep plan are easy options for anyone looking for healthy lunch ideas and are particularly helpful if you’re trying to lose weight.Because protein increases satiety, a high-protein lunch can help prevent that afternoon “energy crash” that leaves you feeling wiped and craving high-calorie foods. A salad or grain bowl topped with protein will help keep you full all afternoon. A lunch win! Plus, in combination with exercise, eating a balanced diet with protein-rich foods can help build and maintain muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn over the course of the day.
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Buffalo Chicken Cauliflower Casserole
If youre on a keto diet and want to increase your protein intake, this dish is for you. It contains a whopping 43 grams of protein and only 6 grams of net carbs.
This dish is spicy, cheesy, goodness, and youll only need 5 ingredients. Thats cooked chicken, cauliflower rice, buffalo sauce, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese.
Go for this buffalo sauce to avoid unnecessary sugar!
Now, you can make your own cauliflower rice, but for extra convenience, I recommend this cauliflower rice. At only 35 calories per serving, its perfect if youre trying to watch your calories.
Per Serving:
What Are The Benefits Of Meal Prepping
Sure, you may be killing it in the gym, but health gains often begin in the kitchen! You could be lifting 40 times a week but if youre countering that hard work by going to Wendys every day then the chances are that you may not see as many gains as you hopes for. This could be because your protein intake isnt high enough, or it could be because you are massively overeating.
Unfortunately, cooking can take time which can be pretty frustrating and intimidating. When youre working 9 to 5 every day, the last thing you want to do is waste some of your precious free time chopping onions and preparing legumes every day.
If this sounds like a common frustration you experience, then it may be time to start meal prepping.
There are a whole bunch of reasons why meal prepping is a good idea. Here are just a few.
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Best Meal Prep Recipes For Beginners
Looking for some recipe inspiration? Here are some of our favorite, easy recipes that work for meal preppers.
Up your portions as needed or swap in more variety with multiple proteins, veggies and grains you can divide up throughout the week! And don’t be afraid to get a little fancy with new flavors and seasonings – it will help keep your daily meal grind from getting boring and cut down on cravings.
Hawaiian Pizza Chicken Meal Prep
Reward yourself after your workout with a pizza. Yes, you heard it right- a pizza!
Made with chicken breast, ham, and pineapple, and topped with mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce, and seasonings This meal is bound to become an oeey, gooey favorite that your whole family will love.
The secret to making the pizza low calorie is that we dont use any crust just the toppings. But the toppings are so delicious that you wont miss the crust.
To make the meal complete, serve with some steamed broccoli. And yes, this is perfect ketogenic comfort food for the days when you just want to cheat!
Per Serving:
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Healthy Shrimp Meal Prep
One thing I love about shrimp is that they are so delicious. Also, super easy and quick to prepare.
But did you know that they are also extremely nutritious? One ounce of cooked shrimp provides 36% of your daily protein needs, making them a perfect post-workout meal.
To make this recipe, we cook the shrimp in a skillet. I recommend this high-quality cast iron skillet because it contains no synthetic coating or chemicals. Who wants to ruin their healthy meals with toxic chemicals?
We finish off cooking the shrimp by placing it in a sauce that is the perfect blend of sweet and spicy. The sauce calls for raw honey, so if you dont already have some, heres a good quality raw honey.
This recipe calls for rice, but if youre looking for a lower calorie option, feel free to swap it with cauliflower rice.
Its a great low carb substitute for regular rice. Check out this honey garlic chicken meal prep for more sweet flavors.
Per Serving:
Mexican Meal Prep Bowls With Cauliflower Rice
Do you love Mexican food but want to ditch the carbs? Try these Mexican Meal Prep Bowls.
Theyre savory, sweet, and have a bit of heat. Theyre also bursting with Mexican Flava.
That because youre using a ton of spices 8 to be exact. So, whip out those measuring spoons. I like these ones here because theyre rust-resistant.
To keep the carb count low, youll be using cauliflower rice to make your Mexican rice. Besides being low in carbs, cauliflower rice is also low in calories.
In fact, one cup of cauliflower rice contains less than 30 calories. Its also pretty nutritious too.
Its rich in Vitamin C, which is vital for a healthy immune system. It is also rich in fiber, which is good for your digestion and helps keep you full.
If youre in a rush, you can just use prepackaged cauliflower rice like this. However, to save money, you can make it from scratch.
Start by cutting your cauliflower into pieces. Next, place your cauliflower pieces in a food processor and processor until rice-like. This food processor is not only powerful but budget-friendly too.
Per Serving:
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Healthier Firecracker Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Bring on the heat! With the world firecracker in the title, you know its going to be a tad bit spicy! This just means that you can either make it as is or tone it down on the heat some as well. Either way, its totally up to you and what you want to do!
Ive made this spicy and not spicy and the flavor is there either way. Adding rice or other starchy ingredients can help to tone down the heat level, too. You can find the recipe HERE.
As you can see, all of these easy meal prep recipes are full of extra protein to provide fuel and energy throughout the day! Use these recipes as a way to get inspired to plan for the week!
Just follow these simple meal planning tips to start adding more protein to your daily diet. With just a few simple tweaks, youll be loving your new meal planning methods and recipes in no time at all!
Healthy Homemade Chicken Soup Recipes
This is a simple homemade chicken soup with noodles and is comforting and filling! Recipe here.
- Ready in: 50 minutes Servings: 4-5
- Calories: 273 Protein: 25 grams
Loaded with protein, anti-inflammatory herbs and spices and super healthy cauliflower, this healing chicken soup tastes fresh and flavorful. Its also super easy to make! Recipe here.
- Ready in: 30 minutes Servings: 2
- Calories: 400 Protein: 43 grams
Packed with protein and fiber this healthy chicken soup is super satiating and is a great meal to enjoy in the evening. Especially after a cold day! Recipe here.
- Ready in: 45 minutes Servings: 5
- Calories: 284 Protein: 26 grams
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