Salmon Meal Prep With Veggies
Salmon is perfect for meal prep. Not only is it high in protein, but its also easy to cook.
My Salmon Meal Prep with Veggies is sure to delight your taste buds. Youve got flaky, juicy salmon and sweet potatoes.
And the beets and caramelized cauliflower add extra sweetness.
Youll be baking your cauliflower, beets, and sweet potatoes together. So make sure you cut your sweet potatoes and beets into small cubes.
Or else your veggies wont get done at the same time.
Per Serving:
Cast Iron Pork Tenderloin
If youre a fan of pork tenderloin, then youre going to love this recipe. This recipe has you sear the pork to lock in the flavor and then slow cook it to get it up to temp. The end result is a perfectly juicy pork tenderloin with a tasty crust on the outside. The spice rub you use will also go great on chicken or other pork options!
What Is The Best Meal Plan To Gain Muscles
The best 7-day meal plan for muscle gain comprises lots of proteins to prop up what you do in the gym. It also comprises the correct balance of nutrients that will help you lose fat. Once you have the meal plan, all you need to do now is prepare and eat the foods as per it.
Here is our Macro Calorie calculator. It is recommended to eat around 400 more calories than your calorie maintenance number.
In the event that you miss a meal or several meals, you dont have to be terrified. Just recharge your batteries and continue with the meal plan from where you left.
To ensure you are able to follow the week-long plan as simple as possible, you can do some big shopping in advance, so you have everything you want. Use the following muscle gaining meal plan to help you pick the appropriate kind of foods you ought to eat to bulk up faster and better.
Our Chicken Chipotle Meal Prep recipe is a good example of a meal to prep for.
Recommended Reading: Keto Steak Recipes For Dinner
Benefits Of Meal Prepping
Why meal prep? Well, because its one of the best ways to ensure you have healthy, nutritious meals all week long. By preparing your meals in advance, you can bypass the temptation to hit a fast food restaurant or rely on ultra-processed foods.
Not only does meal prepping save you time and money, but it also allows you to have more control over the quality and quantity of the food youre eating. Other benefits of meal prepping include:
- Building momentum for a healthy eating pattern
- Eliminating the guesswork of what to make for meals
- Reducing decision fatigue around food choices
- Reducing food waste and being more environmentally sustainable
Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole
Looking for comfort food that wont derail your training regimen? This Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole is it.
After all, theres nothing more comforting than noodles, right? On the menu are noodles bathed in a creamy, rich sauce with mushrooms, carrots, peas, and celery.
And theres no hint of dairy. Thats because youre using coconut milk to make your sauce.
It also contains minerals like potassium and iron.
And instead of regular noodles, youre using brown rice noodles. Besides being rich in manganese, these noodles are gluten-free.
Per Serving:
Also Check: Spicy V8 Juice Bloody Mary Recipe
Shrimp Sausage & Lentil Jambalaya
Serves: 4Nutrition: 471 calories, 17 g fat , 895 mg sodium, 40 g carbs , 38 g protein
This creole jambalaya dish is the perfect meal to fill you up and slim you down. That’s because thanks to a simple flat belly tweak that substitutes rice for lentils, it’s bursting with satiating fiber and protein. We love the leftovers because once cooled, the starches in the lentils go through a process called retrogradation in which they turn “resistant.” Resistant starches avoid digestion, instead, they help to improve digestion, boost fat burn, and fend off belly-fat-inducing inflammation.
Get the recipe from Cotter Crunch.
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.
You May Like: Easy Gluten And Dairy Free Recipes
What Should I Eat Between Meals When Bodybuilding
Prioritize snacks that are high in protein, healthy fats, and dense carbs. Basically, you want your food to be as nutrient-dense as you can make it.
Its incredibly important to make sure youre eating the right stuff when youre trying to improve your bodybuilding efforts. This bodybuilding nutrition guide covers all the different things to consider for nutrition, to keep your body performing at top level.
How To Meal Prep Protein Sources On A Budget
Affordability is often cited as one of the main reasons why people cant follow a healthy diet. However, there are ways to meal prep protein sources on a budget.
- Buy in bulk: The good news is most meal prep-friendly foods can be bought in bulk. Instead of buying small packages, get a bigger container. If you need to, you can divide it up and freeze what you dont need to use at a later date.
- Stick to affordable foods: Chicken, rice, eggs, and potatoes are some of the cheapest foods. On the flip side, avoid fresh fish, NY strip, filets, and high-end items.
- Buy store brands: When possible, buy generic store brands. In most cases, the quality is the same for a lower price.
- Look for sales: One of the best ways to save money is to buy food when it is on sale. Typically, grocery stores run sales on meat when it is getting close to the sell-buy date. If you cook it soon after you buy it, this can be a fantastic way to save money.
- Buy frozen or canned veggies: If money is tight, look to buy frozen or canned veggies instead of fresh. Fresh is always best, but frozen and canned veggies have the same nutrient profile as fresh.
- Set a budget: Setting a budget is a financial tip that can go beyond just meal prep. Before you go to the store, or even plan your meals, set a budget for how much money you can spend. From there, reverse-engineer your grocery list. It takes some discipline, but it can make a big difference.
Recommended Reading: Cold Apple Cider And Rum Recipe Easy
Chicken And Sausage Casserole
Oh, snap, not another chicken recipe. But this one is well worth the energy promise! Especially for those wanting to get the best out of a dry, dull chicken breast, youll get plenty of muscle-building power from this next chicken and sausage one-pot meal. 100 grams of the Chicken breast is known to contain at least 31 grams of protein, thats almost three-quarters of the recommended daily protein intake of 51 grams. It is a great protein-filled lunch idea to keep those abs in shape! Heres how to make it.
Ingredients: Chicken, sausages, onions, tomato sauce, salt, pepper
Directions: Heat the oil in a large pan add the chicken and sausage, throw in onions and peppers, then season with a little salt and pepper and cook until sausage and chicken is cooked through. Now serve, enjoy.
Spinach And Cheese Egg Muffins
These delicious spinach egg muffins contain a trio thats guaranteed to please: protein-packed eggs, nutrient-rich veggies, and creamy goat cheese. Youll get 4 grams of protein per muffin, so feel free to have two or three alongside a serving of cottage cheese or Greek yogurt to hit your morning quota.
Recommended Reading: Diabetes And Heart Healthy Recipes
Storing And Preserving Prepared Meals
Now it is time to store and preserve your prepared meals in the right way for the days ahead. It’s an essential step in getting started with food prep. Having the right storage containers can save so much time and energy. You can choose from several options.
There are containers made of stainless steel, glass, or plastic. Stainless containers are popular and highly recommended for their convenience. You can easily use these containers in the microwave oven to reheat your portioned meals before eating. But if you like eating cold meals, a glass container is the best choice for you.
To store foods like cottage cheese or Greek yogurt, you can use mason jars safely. Mason jars keep your muscle-building foods healthy for a long time. You can also use these jars to keep protein powders.
Keep the meals you’ll eat in the next few days in the fridge, and freeze any extra for later storage. Also, keep your refrigerator and freezer at the proper temperature, 40°F and 0°F . So the shelf life of your prepared muscle-building foods lasts longer.
Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs
Do you hate the big pile of dirty pots after meal prep? I do too.
Thats why I like sheet pan dishes like my Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs. Toss everything on a pan and youre all set.
And this Sheet Pan dish is brimming with color and freshness. Thats because youre baking a ton of veggies.
These include Brussels Sprouts, carrots, red onions, red bell peppers, and yellow bell peppers. And they soak up some of the grease from the skin-on chicken thighs.
So your veggies are irresistible. Talking about the chicken thighs, the skin is crispy and golden.
And the meat is juicy and tasty. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
Per Serving:
You May Like: Homemade Cat Food Recipes Vet Approved
This High Protein Salmon Meal Prep Is Easy To Make
While seeing the meal prep bowls might make you feel that the dish a little fancy or hard to make, thats not true. The vegetables only require mixing up a few spices and throwing the veggies into the oven.
Meanwhile, the salmon only needs to be fried in a pan. You do need to make sure you get a non-stick pan like this one here. But thats about it! As long as you count the minutes right, the chances of burning this salmon with a good-quality pan arent that high!
So, this is definitely a meal you can make to impress your friends. It looks wonderful but doesnt really require a skillful cook to make!
How To Plan Your Food
As you know, the key to good meal prepping is good meal planning.
Well, my team has made over 5,000 custom meal plans for clients and heres how to do it right
1. Make a List of Foods You Could Enjoy Every Day
List your preferred primary sources of protein, carbs, and fats separately.
For example, my list would look like this:
- Primary Sources of Protein
Chicken, pork, turkey, eggs, lean beef, dairy, protein powder.
- Primary Sources of Carbs
Fruit, potato, sweet potato, vegetables, rice, oatmeal, beans, rice,
- Primary Sources of Fat
Olive oil, chocolate, nuts, meat, dairy, fish oil.
2. Work Out Your Meal Schedule
Before you start creating actual meals, you should establish when youre going to eat and how large or small each meal is going to be.
This way youll know what types of recipes and meals will work for you and which wont.
Remember that when you eat your food generally doesnt matter. The most important point is that you tailor your meal timing and sizing to your needs.
That said, if youre serious about weightlifting, there are a few caveats:
- Its probably a good idea to eat 3 to 5 servings of protein per day .
- Theres a fair amount of evidence that eating protein before and after weightlifting workouts can help you build muscle and strength faster.
- Theres also evidence that post-workout carb intake can help as well, mainly due to insulins anti-catabolic effects.
So, if youre lifting weights regularly, I do recommend you
3. Come Up With Meal Ideas
Read Also: Dip Recipes For Tortilla Chips
What You Shouldnt Eat When Gaining Weight
2. Deep-fried foods- might promote inflammation and diseases like cancer, obesity, as well as heart- related problems
3. Added Sugars- foods high in sugar provide lots of calories but hardly any nutrients
Whole Foods Compared to Processed Foods for Weight Gain
Processed foods consist of premade canned or frozen dishes, packaged snacks, and soft drinks. Normally, these kinds of foods contain numerous different additives like food colors and flavors. These additives are meant to boost deliciousness.
Besides, the processed foods contain ingredients processed from industrial farming staples like wheat, soy, corn. All of these are mixed. Whole foods, on the other hand, are those kinds of foods that are in their natural state with very little or no artificial ingredients or processing done to them. Great examples of whole foods are fruits and vegetables
From the definitions, you can tell that those who eat processed foods tend to add more weight and are at high risk for weight-related diseases like obesity. This is because processed foods contain more carbs, sugar, salt, and fat than whole foods.
As a final point, even as its advisable to take light dinner and healthful breakfast, you can always mix these foods all through the day the way you want.
Lean Beef Spinach Meatball Pasta
Delicious, quick, affordable, and healthy: those are the qualities I look for when I’m planning my diet. That’s why I like incorporating meatballs into my weekly meal prep. Not only can I make them using different meats, but I can pack in a lot of delicious protein at a small cost with little hassle. Add your carb source and veggies, and you’ve got a certified muscle-building meal without breaking the bank.
Recommended Reading: Low Calorie Instant Pot Recipes
Recipe : Lemon Pepper Salmon
This high-protein recipe is simple and delectable. Simply season your salmon fillets with lemon pepper seasoning, then bake them in the oven until theyre cooked. While the salmon is baking, boil a batch of pasta, quinoa and frozen peas to serve alongside your two main dishes. As well, get cracking on recipe two. Were making the most of our time in the kitchen!
Sesame Tofu With Ginger And Scallions
Enhance your daily dose of protein vitamins and antioxidants with a plate of sesame Tofu with Ginger and Scallions. It really cant get better than this for proper bodily function and muscle growth and makes a perfect addition to your weeknight dinner. You can relish this meal with some well-prepared brown rice and wash it down with a cup of coconut water. Whats more, the preparation and cooking time is just 15 minutes.
Ingredients: One cup of diced tofu, one tbsp of smoked paprika, one tbsp of extra virgin oil, two tbsp of sesame seeds, two tsp of fresh ginger, 1/4 cup of diced scallion and salt to taste.
Directions: Add some oil in a small skillet and heat for 5 minutes. Then add the ginger and scallion and heat for one minute, throw in the tofu and gently scramble it with a fork. Continue to cook until the tofu is a golden brown colored. Once cooked, throw in a handful of sesame seeds, and a pinch of smoked paprika and salt.
You May Like: Nature’s Recipe Chicken And Turkey Stew
Bodybuilding Meal Prep Ideas To Build Muscle
03/05/2021
This article may contain links from our affiliate partners. Please read how we make money!
Bodybuilders are known for eating insane amounts of food.
Theres no doubt that it can be hard to find good, healthy food and eat on a budget. If youre eating 4-6 meals a day, it can also be exhausting to cook and clean all the time.
Meal prepping is the answer. Cook a bunch of food at once and eat on it throughout the week.
If youre looking for some bodybuilding meal prep ideas, this list is for you! Weve put together a list of our staple recipes whenever Im trying to build muscle or cut weight.
These are our 32 favorite meal prep ideas for bodybuilding.
Sweet Potato And Chorizo Hash
If youre a big lover of a fry up but you arent quite prepared for the many calories that often come with them, this Sweet Potato and Chorizo Hash is the ideal alternative. All you need to do is prep the ingredients the night before ready to go the next morning or whenever you want to eat it. This recipe is also pretty high in protein so its ideal if youre looking to make some gains in the gym!
Read Also: No Bake Dog Treat Recipes
Why Is Protein Important For Muscle Growth And Repair What Are The Other Benefits Of Protein
As weve already touched upon, protein is an important macronutrient. But what exactly does it do? Protein is important for so many reasons, but muscle growth and repair is by far the most crucial.
Essentially, protein consists of amino acids. When you are lifting weights and engaging in any exercise that puts strain on your muscles, you begin to make miniscule micro tears in the muscles. The protein then uses its amino acids in order to fix those tears. The amino acids will surround the tear and fill it, which results in the muscle getting larger and stronger as a result. It also means that you can prevent muscle loss when you are exercising, which is essential.
This isnt the only reason why protein is important, however.
To start with, protein helps to reduce your hunger levels and your appetite. Out of the three macronutrients , Protein has been shown to be the most filling of the three. The main reason for this is because protein can reduce the levels of a hormone called ghrelin, also known as the hunger hormone. Furthermore, it also helps to boost the amount of peptide YY in the body, and this hormone is there to make you feel full.
As you may imagine, this often means that if you have a higher protein intakes the chances are that you will consume less calories because youll be full. This can be incredibly beneficial for weight loss. Its also great for weight maintenance for a similar reason.