Background
I am a 35-year-old male, vegetarian, working out 5 days a week and playing volleyball twice a week for 2 hours on average. I weigh around 203 lbs and with this meal prep, I maintain roughly a 10 to 12 % body fat level. I also allow myself to eat whatever meal I feel like twice a week, especially around leg day and back day.
In terms of supplements, I take Whey Protein Isolate, Glutamine and Creatine.
Meal Prep Breakdown:
Breakfast:
5 egg whites/ 2 whole eggs spinach omelette waffle for breakfast
1 cup strawberries
Snack #1:
3 energy protein balls
Lunch #1:
A bowl of bean kale stew
Snack #2:
Overnight oats
Lunch #2 :
A bowl of Couscous, made of protein grain mix fire roasted tomatoes, couscous and meatless crumbs (ground beef vegetarian alternative)
Post Workout:
WPI 90 protein shake and a banana
Dinner:
Huge salad bowl made up of spinach, mini cucumbers, mini peppers, tomatoes, hardboiled egg, hummus and BBQ tofu
Macro-Nutrients:
As a vegetarian I do not count my calories or track my macros, I just eat and listen to what my body is telling me.
The only thing I aim for during prep is to have roughly 200g of protein over the course of the day which I can pretty easily estimate by knowing the food sources and adjusting the meal portions.
Recipes
Overnight Oats:
Macros as for the oats:
520 Calories
75 g Carbs
35 g Protein
12 g Fat
Directions:
Pour oats, chia or flax seeds, powdered peanut butter Fit all your favourite protein in the mason jar. Mix well, add almond or regular milk and mix again. Top with berries and greek yoghurt.
Egg omelette waffle:
Mix together 2 whole eggs, 5 egg white with a pinch of salt and pinch of black pepper. Spray your waffle maker with olive oil spray. Toss several leaves of spinach on it and pour the mixture (about half at the time depending on the waffle maker size) over it. Hold it closed until omelette waffle is cooked.
Energy protein balls:
Feel free to follow any of the multiple recipes on trueprotein.com website (or wait until my recipe is published on the website).
Couscous:
Cook per packet instruction. I use the rice cooker which takes about 60 minutes or so.
Couscous-otto:
Mix, season and cook: one package of bird’s eye southwest protein blend mix (12.7 oz), one package of beefless ground (13.7 oz) and 2 cans (29 oz total) of fire roasted tomatoes. Add cooked couscous (1½ cup dry), mix well and enjoy.
Bean Kale Stew:
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium saucepan, add ½ large onion diced and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 2 cans of drained (safe one can liquid) and rinsed pinto beans (30 oz), preserved bean liquid, 2 cups chicken broth, one package on bird’s eye southwest protein blend (12.7 oz), 2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce, pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Bring to a simmer, add 8 to 10 cups of kale (stemmed and shredded into 1-2-inch pieces) and stir until wilted. Bring back to a simmer and cook until the kale gets tender and the stew has thickened a bit, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Tips & Tricks
Always use containers closest to the size of your meals. This will limit the amount of air surrounding the food extending the life of your precious meals.
Purchase good containers with really good seals, a few different sizes for different meals helps. I use Sistema containers (All BPA free).
To make the whole process cleaner and less stressful you may want to consider portioning your meals later in a day in a cold state. May get a few extra dishes dirty at first but it will make the process simpler as you cook for a couple of hours and then later in the day you portion it all out for 30 minutes or so. Leaving the food out while you wait for other items that are still cooking is not good for an extended period of time.
