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High protein meal prep for spring

In this post and video, I’m sharing how I prep all my meals for the week in about an hour – to get about 100g protein per day. All the recipes are all spring inspired.. as well as gluten-free + dairy-free, and I share how to make them vegan too 🙂

Hope you enjoy!
Liezl

MENU

Breakfast: Blueberry lemonade overnight oats, or blended vanilla + strawberry overnight oats
Lunch: Egg salad wraps
Dinner: Pineapple chicken with white basmati rice
Snack: Coffee swirl protein smoothie, or matcha protein smoothie

RECIPES

BREAKFAST #1: BLUEBERRY LEMONADE OVERNIGHT OATS

Ingredients (serves 2):
– 1 cup rolled oats
– 4 tsp chia seeds
– 2 to 4 tsp maple syrup
– 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/2 cup plain yogurt
– 1 cup milk
– zest from 1 medium lemon
– 2 tbsp lemon juice (juice from about 1 lemon)
– 2/3 cup frozen blueberries
Toppings (serves 2):
– 2 tsp blueberry jam
– lemon zest
– 2 tbsp granola
– 1/4 cup almonds

Calories and protein:
Roughly 400 cal per serving, including toppings (w/ calculated with unsweetened soy milk, low fat yogurt and only 1 tsp maple syrup per serving)
Roughly 17g protein per serving

Vegan/ dairy-free alt:
Use soy milk instead of dairy milk, and soy yogurt instead of dairy

BREAKFAST #2: BLENDED VANILLA + STRAWBERRY OVERNIGHT OATS

Ingredients (serves 2):
– 1 cup rolled oats (blended or left whole)
– 4 tsp chia seeds
– 4 tsp brown sugar (or any sugar/ sweetener)
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/2 cup plain yogurt
– 1 cup milk (I use unsweetened soy milk)
Toppings (serves 2):
– 2 tbsp granola
– 2 tbsp almonds
– 1 cup strawberry halves

Calories and protein:
Roughly 400 cal per serving
Roughly 16g protein per serving

Vegan/ dairy-free alt:
Use soy milk instead of dairy milk, and soy yogurt instead of dairy

LUNCH: EGG SALAD WRAPS

Wrap ingredients (serves 4):
– 4x burrito sized tortilla
– 4 to 8 lettuce leaves
– 4 radishes (sliced)
– 4 tbsp pickled onion slices (optional)
Egg salad filling ingredients (serves 4):
– 8 boiled eggs (or chickpeas for a vegan alt)
– 4 tbsp mayo
– 2 tsp dijon mustard
– 1/2 cup chopped spring onion
– 2 tbsp chopped parsley (optional)
– squeeze lemon juice
– salt and pepper

Calories and protein:
Roughly 400 cal per serving
Roughly 19g protein per serving

Vegan alt:
Use 2 cans chickpea (smashed) to replace the eggs

DINNER: PINEAPPLE CHICKEN + WHITE BASMATI RICE

Ingredients (serves 4):
– 1 lbs chicken breast meat (or 2 packs firm tofu for a vegan option)
– 2 tbsp oil
– 2 (8 oz) cans pineapple pieces (drained, about 1 + 1/3 cup chunks total.. save the juice for the sauce)
– 1 medium red bell pepper
– 1 medium green bell pepper
– 1 medium onion
Sauce (serves 4):
– 3/4 cup pineapple juice (from the canned pineapple)
– 2 tbsp honey (or maple syrup)
– 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
– 1 tsp rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
– 1/2 tsp onion powder
– 1/2 tsp ginger powder
– 1 tbsp cornstarch
– salt and pepper
Serve with:
– 1/2 cup cooked white basmati rice per servinf (2 cups cooked white basmati rice = 2/3 cup dry + 1 1/2 cups water)

Topping ideas:
– fresh spring onion slices
– sesame seeds

Calories and protein:
Roughly 400 cal per serving
Roughly 30g protein per serving

Vegan alt:
Use 2 packs firm tofu instead of chicken

SNACK: PROTEIN SMOOTHIE (COFFEE SWIRL OR MATCHA)

Ingredients (serves 4):
– 4 scoops vanilla protein powder
– 4 cups milk (I use unsweetened soy milk)
– 4 medjool dates (pitted)
– 2 bananas
– 1/4 cup almond butter
– 4 to 8 tsp instant coffee powder or matcha powder (depending on which flavor you prefer)

Calories and protein:
Roughly 400 cal per serving
Roughy 33g protein per serving

Vegan/ dairy-free alt:
Use soy milk instead of dairy milk

GROCERY SHOPPING LIST (FOR 4 DAYS OF PREP)

Grains and starches:
– 2 cup rolled oats
– 4x burrito sized tortilla
– 2/3 cup dry white basmati rice

Dairy and proteins:
– 1 cup plain yogurt
– 6 cups milk
– 4 scoops vanilla protein powder
– 8 eggs (or 2 cans chickpeas for a vegan option)
– 1 lbs chicken breast meat (or 2 packs firm tofu for a vegan option)

Fruit and vegetables:
– 2 bananas
– 1 cup strawberry halves
– 2/3 cup frozen blueberries
– 4 medjool dates (pitted)
– 2 (8 oz) cans pineapple pieces
– 1 to 2 lemons
– 1 medium red bell pepper
– 1 medium green bell pepper
– 1 medium onion
– 4 to 8 lettuce leaves
– 4 radishes
– 1/2 cup chopped spring onion (+ extra for toppings)
– 2 tbsp chopped parsley (optional)

Pantry items:
– 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp almonds
– 1/4 cup almond butter
– 8 tsp chia seeds
– 2 to 4 tsp maple syrup
– 2 tbsp honey (or maple syrup)
– 4 tsp brown sugar (or any sugar/ sweetener)
– 1 + 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
– 4 to 8 tsp instant coffee powder or matcha powder (depending on which flavor you prefer)
– 2 tbsp oil for cooking (I use avocado oil)
– 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
– 1 tsp rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
– 4 tbsp mayo
– 2 tsp dijon mustard
– 1/2 tsp onion powder
– 1/2 tsp ginger powder
– 1 tbsp cornstarch
– salt and pepper

Optional items:
– 2 tsp blueberry jam
– 4 tbsp granola
– Sesame seeds
– 4 tbsp pickled onion slices

HOW TO CUSTOMIZE CALORIES

• If you’re looking to lose weight, try my 4 week weight-loss meal prep ebook: https://guides.liezljayne.com/mealprep/

Regarding calories, we are all different – so we all need different calories per day! You can customize this meal prep plan to get anywhere from 1200-3200 calories per day.

Just as an example:
1200 calories might be for a petite, inactive female trying to lose weight. 3200 might be for a tall, active male trying to gain weight or build muscle. Meal prepping all your meals for the week is a great way to keep track of calories without having to actually ‘count’ them!

Another example – how many calories I eat per day, and how many I ate when I was trying to lose weight:
I am a petite (short) active female who needs roughly 1800 calories per day to maintain weight (according to online calculators). I don’t stick to, or count those calories. I estimate I eat roughly 1800 to 2100 calories per day based on my activity levels and my appetite for that day. When I meal prep all my meals for the week – I prep 1600 calories worth of meals per day, and then I throw a few other snacks in inbetween my meals. When I was trying to lose weight a few years ago, I was much more inactive than I am now and so I consumed less calories because I was inactive and trying to lose weight. Back then, I experimented with eating betweem 1200-1400 calories per day for weight loss and found 1400 calories was a good amount for me. My husband is usually trying to maintain or gain weight, and I often just give him double of what I’m eating!

How to figure out how many calories you need per day:
You can use an online calculator to roughly calculate how many calories you need per day (based on age, height, activity level, etc.). You can also speak to a dietician or doctor, who could help you estimate the calories you might need per day to achieve your health goals. Most dieticians and doctors seem to recommend cutting 400 calories per day to lose weight, extreme deficit diets are not healthy.

Things to note:
– I’ve made all the meals and snacks roughly 400 cal, so that’s why it’s so easy to customize
– Regular portions will be roughly 400 cal
– Half portions will be roughly 200 cal (noted as ‘half’)
– Double portions will be roughly 800 cal (noted as ‘double’)
– Take note how the protein increases per day (100g for 1600 cal, and 200g for 3200 cal)

1200 cal per day
– breakfast
– lunch
– dinner

1400 cal per day
– breakfast
– lunch
– dinner
– snack (half)

1600 cal per day (what I prepped, 100g protein per day)
– breakfast
– lunch
– dinner
– snack

1800 cal per day
– breakfast
– lunch
– dinner (double)
– snack (half)

2000 cal per day
– breakfast
– lunch
– dinner (double)
– snack

2200 cal per day
– breakfast
– lunch (double)
– dinner (double)
– snack (half)

2400 cal per day
– breakfast
– lunch (double)
– dinner (double)
– snack

2600 cal per day
– breakfast (double)
– lunch (double)
– dinner (double)
– snack (half)

2800 cal per day
– breakfast (double)
– lunch (double)
– dinner (double)
– snack

3000 cal per day 
– breakfast (double)
– lunch (double)
– dinner (double)
– snack (full portion + another half portion)

3200 cal per day (200g protein per day)
– breakfast (double)
– lunch (double)
– dinner (double)
– snack (double)

Photos, recipes and video by Liezl Jayne for liezljayne.com