In need of inspiration? Try these 18 easy meal prep recipes for muscle-building and fat loss.
Whether you're just starting out in the world of fitness, or you're a seasoned pro looking for something other than plain chicken breast and broccoli, you need to try these tasty, and most importantly, easy meal prep recipes for muscle-building and fat-loss.
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Why you need to meal prep:
1. Make healthy eating effortless
Meal prep makes healthy eating easy. With a little forward planning, you won't even have to think about cooking for days.
2. Pre-portioned food
If you want to build muscle and lose fat, it's crucial to fuel your body with the right amount of calories and nutrients – and that means weighing your food. But getting the scales out at every single meal is awkward, tiresome and confusing (and not to mention a little antisocial).
Meal prep in advance for pre-packed, pre-portioned meals to support your fitness goals.
3. Nutrient timing is everything
Research shows that to get the best out of your training regime, it's vital to consume enough protein and carbohydrates at the right time, in order to expedite muscle recovery and growth and prevent muscle catabolism (i.e. breakdown)1.
Preparing your food in advance makes it so much easier for you to consume the food your body requires, at the correct time.
4. Your time is precious
Why spend every single day planning what to cook, buying ingredients and making your meals, when you could be doing something more productive with your time?
Get ahead of the game and meal prep in advance, so you can spend your time doing what matters the most to you.
You can keep your new meals perfectly packed and portioned throughout the week with these slim-design, multiple-compartment meal prep containers.
Meal Prep Recipes
1. Spicy Chicken With Couscous
This super-tasty macro-balanced meal is perfect for nailing that meal prep. Bursting with flavour, it's a simple way to liven up your routine from plain old chicken and rice.
Recipe here.
2. Seared Tuna Steak & Sweet Potato Wedges
Try this super-easy seared tuna steak with pink peppercorns and sweet potato wedges for a batch of healthy meals, with a huge 38g protein per meal.
Recipe here.
3. Lean, Creamy Sausage Pasta
Give this high-protein creamy sausage pasta a go for your next batch meal prep session. This recipe uses quark in place of cream cheese and reduced-fat sausages to keep it lean – without skimping on flavour.
Recipe here.
4. One-Pot Lentil Dahl
Batch cook your lunches in advance with this flavoursome, vegan-friendly, high-protein lentil dal. This dal gets the bulk of its protein from nutrient-dense lentils, which are also loaded with fibre and essential vitamins and minerals like folate, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, iron, phosphorus, and zinc.
Recipe here.
5. Quick Spicy Cajun Salmon & Garlicky Veg
This spicy salmon meal prep recipe makes 3 days’ worth of tasty lunches and is seriously easy to prepare. Plus, salmon is brimming with omega-3 fatty acids – known to enhance muscle building and keep you lean. Bonus.
Recipe here.
6. Sweet Potato & Chorizo Hash
Looking for something new to make with your sweet potatoes? This protein-packed sweet potato hash is the perfect muscle-building breakfast.
Recipe here.
7. One-Tray Cashew Chicken
Meal prepping couldn’t be easier when you only need one baking tray to make it. Try this delicious one-tray cashew chicken meal prep recipe for 4 days' worth of tasty lunches.
Recipe here.
8. High-Protein Kedgeree
This ultra-speedy haddock kedgeree makes a serious meal prep upgrade from plain chicken and broccoli. Swap in Protein Rice for the ultimate high-protein meal prep.
Recipe here.
9. Low-Carb Loaf Tin Lasagne
Craving lasagne, but don’t want to make a whole tray of the stuff? Try loaf tin lasagne. You’ll get 3 easy portions for 3 days’ worth of low-carb, high-protein meal prep.
Recipe here.
10. Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
This high-protein buffalo chicken pasta salad will change your chicken meal prep game forever. Trust us – buffalo sauce makes everything better.
Recipe here.
11. Sweet Paprika Vegan Bowl & Chocolate Protein Balls
Try this delicious and easy to make 3-day vegan meal prep recipe, with sweet paprika roasted chickpeas and tofu, maca sweet potato fries, asparagus and avocado cream.
Recipe here.
12. Low-Carb Burrito Jars
Try out low-carb rice in your next low-carb meal prep recipes session, at only 7kcal and 0.1g carbohydrates per 100g. Mason jars make meal prep super-easy – just shake when you're ready to eat.
Recipe here.
13. Asian Peanut Butter Sesame Chicken
Try switching up your chicken meal prep for our Asian-inspired peanut butter chicken, at only 498kcal and a huge 40g protein per meal.
Recipe here.
14. Ultimate High-Protein Stuffed Peppers 4 Ways
Peppers make the ultimate tasty carb swap-out to stuff with all your favourite fillings. From sausage and egg sandwich stuffed peppers to burrito stuffed peppers, pepperoni pizza stuffed peppers and chilli cheese stuffed peppers for the ideal breakfast and lunch prep – what more could you ask for?
Recipes here.
15. Cheesy Pasta Bake 4 Ways
https://youtu.be/I1RCmZkK6UU
Liven up your lunches with this easy 4-in-1 cheesy pasta bake recipe.
Recipes here.
16. Bangin' Barbecue Chicken & Rice
This bangin' barbecue chicken and rice meal prep recipe takes under 15 minutes to make and will keep you full for hours, with a huge 41g protein per meal.
Recipe here.
17. Low-Cal Lime & Chilli Turkey Burgers
18. 3-Day Malaysian Chicken Satay
Watching your macros? This recipe subs in Powdered Peanut Butter for 70% less fat than regular peanut butter.
Recipe here.Enjoy these meal prep recipes?Check out more delicious fitness recipes.
PIN IT FOR LATER:
1. Aragon, A. A., & Schoenfeld, B. J. (2013). Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window?. Journal of the international society of sports nutrition, 10(1), 5.
Jennifer Blow is our UKVRN Registered Associate Nutritionist – the UK’s register of competent and qualified nutrition professionals. She has a Bachelor’s of Science in Nutritional Science and a Master’s of Science by Research in Nutrition, and now specialises in the use of sports supplements for health and fitness, underpinned by evidence-based research.
Jennifer has been quoted or mentioned as a nutritionist in major online publications including Vogue, Elle, and Grazia, for her expertise in nutritional science for exercise and healthy living.
Her experience spans from working with the NHS on dietary intervention trials, to specific scientific research into omega-3 fatty acid supplementation and also the effect of fast foods on health, which she has presented at the annual Nutrition Society Conference. Jennifer is involved in many continuing professional development events to ensure her practise remains at the highest level. Find out more about Jennifer’s experience here.
In her spare time, Jennifer loves hill walking and cycling, and in her posts you’ll see that she loves proving healthy eating doesn’t mean a lifetime of hunger.
