Easy, Cheap, + Vegan Macro-Friendly Meal Prep

Happy Sunday all...or should I say...happy meal prepping day! Meal prepping is something that used to really intimidate and confuse me. How did people know what meals to cook? Did everything really stay good in the fridge that long? Don't you get tired of eating the same thing everyday? What's the point?

Well, I finally bit the bullet and started doing it about a year and a half ago and I now finally have the answers to all those questions, which I laid out in my newly-posted meal prepping guide that you can check out here.

Now, onto this week's prep. What you'll probably start to notice about me is that my breakfast, post-workout shakes, and lunches rarely change. I tweak a few things here and there, but really, my first three meals of the day are exactly the same as they were in my first post on this blog a few weeks ago. This might not work for all people but for me is just makes meal planning easy, allows me to buy items in bulk since I know I will be using them a lot, and at the end of the day, I'm just a creature of habit. I found that when I was changing what I was eating drastically week to week my grocery bill was higher, the preps took longer, and sometimes it could get overwhelming coming up with four new calorie-friendly recipes every Sunday.

That being said, dinner is where I like to play around. It's the meal where I like to treat myself and get creative since I usually get in all my servings of fruits and veggies earlier in the day.

Here's what I did this week:

Breakfast: 1/4 c (measured dry) oatmeal w/ 1 c mixed frozen berries, 2 tbsp chia seeds, 1 tbsp peanutbutter, and 1 c almond milk

Post-workout shake: 1 c kale, 4 oz tofu, 1 frozen banana (~100 g), 1 c almond milk, 2-3 slices raw ginger, and 1 tbsp peanutbutter

Lunch: 4 c spinach "power greens" mix with 1 serving chicken-style seitan, 1/2 c edamame, 3/4 c stir-fry vegetables, and 2 tbsp Italian dressing

Dinner: 1 serving BBQ seitan, 1 oz broccoli slaw, 2 slices 21 whole grains and seeds bread, and 1 serving four bean salad (recipes for slaw and bean salad are below)

This all comes out to ~1,788 calories | 117 g protein / 217 g carbs / 56 g fats

Here's how much you would need of each ingredient for 5 days worth of food:

Meal Prep

From top left to right:

Portioned out salad toppings
Dry oatmeal ingredients
Broccoli slaw
Bags of spinach mix
Four bean salad
No Evil Food's Pit Boss BBQ seitan
Bananas (not ripe enough yet for freezing)
Washed kale
Dave's Killer 21 Whole Grans and Seed Bread

Breakfast

Ingredients: 1/4 c quick rolled oats, 1 c frozen or fresh berries, 2 tbsp chia seeds, 1 c unsweetened plant-milk, and 1 tbsp peanut butter. To prep ahead of time: portion all dry ingredients (oats, berries, and chia seeds) into air-tight containers and store in the freezer. Day of: add1 c plant-milk and 1 tbsp of peanut butter to dry ingredients, stir, reheat in microwave for ~3 minutes. Per serving: 449 calories | 15.9 g protein / 56.3 g carbs / 19.8 g fat

Post-workout

Ingredients: 1 frozen banana (~100 g), 1 c kale (~40 g), 4 oz tofu, 1 c unsweetened plant-milk, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 2-3 slices fresh ginger, toppings of your choice. To prep ahead of time: cut and freeze your bananas, wash kale and store in air-tight container. Day of: add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth. Optional: top with a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg. Can also add some agave for more sweetness. Per serving: 355 calories | 20 g protein / 36.5 g carbs / 16.6 g fat

Lunch

Ingredients: 4 c spinach mix or other fresh greens, 1 serving chicken-style seitan, 1/2 c steamed edamame, 3/4 c stir-fry vegetables, and 2 tbsp Italian dressing To prep ahead of time: make chicken-style seitan according to the recipe and cut into slices. If cooking from frozen, steam 1 bag edamame and 1 bag stir-fry vegetables. Portion toppings into containers (I split setain into 5 servings) and store in fridge. Day of: season salad toppings with spices of your choice, I usually do Cajun or Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute and microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes until warm. Add spinach, heated toppings, and dressing to a large bowl and mix well. Per serving: 452 calories | 49.6 g protein / 32.9 g carbs / 11.9 g fat

Dinner

Ingredients: 1 serving BBQ seitan*, 1 serving broccoli slaw, 1 serving four bean salad, 2 slices bread To prep ahead of time: make broccoli slaw and 4 bean salad according to recipes (below) and store in fridge. Day of: heat BBQ seitan in microwave for 90 seconds and toast bread. Assemble sandwich by placing broccoli slaw on top of the heated BBQ seitan and serve with cold bean salad. Per serving: 532 calories | 31.5 g protein / 91.9 g carbs / 7.6 g fat

*For the BBQ "meat" I used No Evil Food's Pit Boss seitan, however you could also make a high-protein dinner sandwich using any of the meat-replacement products out there (Gardein, Beyond Meat, Tofurkey, etc.) or you could make your own seitan. I usually use the Seitan O' Greatness recipe for anything "red meat" based. If high-protein is not a concern there are many awesome recipes out there using jackfruit or lentils for BBQ-style sandwiches. You may also be able to find pre-made BBQ jackfruit in stores!

Broccoli Slaw Recipe

Makes 5 servings

3-4 oz premade broccoli slaw (~1/2 package)

1.25 TBSP Vegan Mayo

3-4 TBSP Dijon or Whole-Seed Mustard (lower amount depending on preference)

Add all ingredients to bowl or tupperware container and mix well. Store in fridge for 5-7 days.

Four Bean Salad Recipe

Makes 5 large servings

1 can* Red Kidney Beans

1 can Navy Beans

1 can Black Beans

1 can Pinto Beans

1-2 TBSP Vinegar (White or Apple Cider)

Italian Seasoning to taste

*cans are usually 14-16 oz of beans depending on brand

Rinse all beans throughly to wash off salt and help with gas/bloating. Transfer washed beans to a large container and add vinegar and seasoning. Mix well well and store in fridge for 5-7 days.

Although this particular prep was a little higher in carbs than the macros given to me, I feel that higher carbs always lead to less urges to binge for me. I can't help myself, I really love carbs!! A sustainable diet will win out over perfect macros every single time in my book, but of course you can always modify things to fit your needs.

Here's what the full MyFitnessPal breakdown looked like (click here to add me on MFP!)

Hover to scroll.

Make sure to watch the video above to see the whole thing in action and be sure to subscribe to see more content like this in the future. Let me know in the comments below, what is keeping you from meal prepping, is there anything confusing about it, or what are some of your favorite foods to prep!

Have a great week!!