The Meal Plan #3
Easy high-protein recipes that will keep you eating at home!
This week has been so busy, that I haven’t even had time to think of super fancy meals. I’ve had to resort to basically cooking just to get something on the table. Sometimes dead simple food is just what the doctor ordered. While these meals are simple overall, they’re not quite dump n’ go recipes. They’re more like Michelin star chef meets couch potato recipes. Once you start cooking each dish, you’ll probably be back on the couch with a nice meal fairly quickly. Your total cook time however will heavily depend on how efficient you are in the kitchen. Having multiple things going at once is going to help keep preparation quick. Before we get started, please subscribe if you haven’t already or share with someone else who might find this helpful. Thank you!
Breakfast
Avocado Toast
30G Protein Per Serving | 548 Calories | 10 Minutes
I don’t know about you, but I get tired of having eggs every morning. Every once in a while you just need a break from eating underdeveloped baby chickens. I’ll admit that eggs are a nice source of protein though, so not having them is going to make this breakfast a little lower in protein than what you’ve seen from me so far. I’m not too concerned because I’ve been trying to add more room for healthy fats and balance in my diet. The key is to not overdo it with fats or any macronutrient for that matter.
Here are all the ingredients you’ll need:
4 oz Avocado
Two Slices of White bread (Or any bread you prefer)
Canadian Bacon
Tomato (Vine-Ripened or Slicing)
Everything bagel seasoning
Black pepper
There’s always avocado in my fridge, which is usually the Good Foods Avocado Mash kind. Saves me time and money since I don’t have to worry about my avocado going bad as much. You can use whatever form of avocado you want, but if you use fresh avocado just make sure to give it a little seasoning. For the Canadian bacon, I ended up using the Wellshire Canadian Bacon I found at Whole Foods. Now I know that Whole Foods stores are not as easy to find as Walmart stores. In that case, I would recommend Jones Dairy Canadian Bacon as the next best option, as I’ve personally seen it in a variety of different grocery stores. Can’t find Canadian bacon at all? Just use turkey bacon! It goes super well with avocado toast as well. With that out of the way, let’s go over how to prep.
Cook The Bacon & Toast The Bread 🥓
Preheat a pan with some cooking spray and lightly cook your Canadian bacon for 2 minutes.
While that’s going, put two slices of your bread of choice in a toaster. Flip your Canadian bacon and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Prep The Avocado & Tomato 🥑🍅
If you’re using fresh avocado start mashing that up, otherwise start thinly slicing your tomato.
Take your Canadian bacon out of the pan and put it on a plate.
Assemble The Avocado Toast 🍞
Take your bread out of the toaster and spread your avocado on the bread. Add some everything bagel seasoning on top of the avocado.
Place about two slices of your Canadian bacon on top. Place your tomato on top of the Canadian bacon. Sprinkle a little black pepper on top and you’re done.
Lunch
Chopped Cheese
43G Protein Per Serving | 436 Calories | 12 Minutes
This has to be one of the best sandwiches I never had until about a year ago. It’s a deconstructed hamburger combined with a cheesesteak that originates from NYC. As you can imagine just by looking at it, the typical version of Chopped Cheese isn’t the choice of record-breaking athletes. That’s precisely why I’ve attempted to make a lighter version that won’t have you asleep by 2 pm. With a few tweaks, it can be fairly nutritious. Not feeling like having more bread? You can follow the recipe below and put the chopped cheese on a bed of shredded lettuce with other veggies like pickles, onions, tomatoes, and whatever else your heart desires.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
90 / 10 Ground Bison (Or Ground Beef / Turkey)
A French Roll or Hoagie Roll (Between 130 - 200 Calories)
American Cheese Slices
Shredded Romaine or Iceberg Lettuce
Tomato (Vine-Ripened or Slicing
Yellow Onion
Goya Adobo All Purpose Seasoning or seasoning of choice
Butter cooking spray
Ketchup (Optional)
Light Mayo (Optional)
The hoagie roll you use for this can make or break the calories. I was lucky enough to find a French roll at Whole Foods that is 130 calories. If you can’t find something similar around 130 calories, just go with Martin’s Hoagie Rolls. In my version, I used bison instead of ground beef because of its nutrition profile which you can read about here. That being said, going with ground beef or a lighter substitute like ground turkey will be fine. Just be sure to pick up at least a 90/10 version of either, meaning 90% lean and 10% fat. The last thing I’ll say for ingredient substitutes is that the seasoning is really up to you. I used this Kinder's seasoning which I highly recommend, but it’s technically authentic to use the Adobo seasoning. Whatever seasoning you end up choosing, don’t fret about it too much as it’s still going to be good.
Preheat The Pan & Prep Veggies 🍳
Begin by preheating a cast iron pan or any pan with a little oil.
Finely chop up half of a yellow onion. Thinly slice up one tomato.
Cook The Meat & Veggies 🔥
Take the ground meat of your choice and place it into the preheated pan. Don’t touch it for about 1 minute or so.
Sprinkle some of the seasoning on top of the meat. Start roughly breaking up the meat with a spatula.
Cook for another few minutes and then add in your chopped onion. Mix the onion evenly with your spatula.
Season The Meat 🧂
Sprinkle more of your seasoning across the meat mixture.
Once the meat is browned and the onions have some color, take a few slices of American cheese and tear those in half. Cover the meat with your cheese slices and put a top on the pan.
Immediately, turn the heat off.
Assemble The Sandwich 🥪
Spray the inside of the French or hoagie roll with some butter spray and toast under the broiler until it turns golden brown.
Begin assembling the sandwich by placing any sauce (optional mayo & ketchup) on the bottom and top sides of the roll.
Mix the ground meat and melted cheese in the pan then add about 6-7 ounces worth of it to the roll.
Top with shredded lettuce and tomatoes. Add a little salt and pepper to the tomatoes. Close and compress the sandwich by mashing it together. Feel free to wrap it with parchment paper if you like.
Dinner
Chicken Adobo
47G Protein Per Plate | 650 Calories | 40-50 Minutes | Inspired By Kenji-Alt Lopez
Chicken & rice is one of those foods that make me feel so comfortable. There’s usually a long, grey winter where I live but a chicken & rice dish like Chicken Adobo reminds me that it’s a beautiful day, somewhere else. This is a beautiful Filipino dish that’s salty, sweet, and tangy all at the same time. Combine that with tender chicken and you got yourself a winner’s dinner. I love Kenji-Alt Lopez’s version of this recipe because you don’t need any extra marination ahead of time. Just cook it whenever you feel like it and you’ll have a solid dinner in no time! Check out his video if you want to see how it’s done.
Ingredients you’ll need to make this:
1 lb Chicken Legs
Brown Rice
Green Onion
Soy Sauce
Vinegar
Swerve Brown Sugar (Or Regular Brown Sugar)
Black Peppercorns
Ground Black Pepper
Garlic
Bay Leaves
Prep The Garlic 🧄
Preheat the pan and add some oil.
While the oil preheats, start peeling a whole head of garlic until the cloves are fully separated. You can keep them whole, but just chop off the root of each clove.
Sear The Chicken 🍗
Place your chicken in the pan with the hot oil.
Cook it briefly until one side gets a little browning. You’re not trying to cook the chicken all the way through.
Add In All Your Other Ingredients & Simmer 🍲
Once it develops color, just throw everything in. Add in about a cup of vinegar, a 3/4 of soy sauce, a few tablespoons of brown sugar, the peeled garlic gloves, the bay leaves, black peppercorns, and some black pepper.
Mix everything and let it come up to a simmer then cover. Let it cook for 30 minutes. Top it with your favorite rice and you’re ready to eat.
Alternate Lunch or Dinner
Pan-Seared Garlic Lemon Butter Salmon
55G Protein Per Plate With Sides | 520 Calories | 15 Minutes
I crave some kind of fish pretty much every week now. While it is one of my healthier cravings, it’s expensive when I get it from a restaurant. After burning a crater-sized hole in my bank account due to take-out orders, I finally decided to start taking matters into my own hands. Figure out how to cook the damn thing myself. For some reason, it was always natural for me to make the fried version of fish at home, but not the pan-seared or grilled version. Perhaps I subconsciously thought it wouldn’t be as good to make it at home. I can say without a doubt that this recipe is just as good as a Seafood restaurant. It’s probably better depending on who the cook is at your local Red Lobster. I paired mine with Hawaiian rolls and a salad.
Ingredients you’ll need to make this:
Pack of Wild Sockeye Salmon Filets
Olive Oil
Light Butter or Regular Butter
Lemon Juice
Garlic Powder
Dried Thyme
Dried Rosemary
Dried Dill Weed
Prep The Salmon Filets 🐟
Start by patting your Salmon filets dry with a paper towel. Flip the filets with the skin side up and make horizontal cuts into the skin.
Drizzle olive oil on the skin and lightly season with salt & pepper. Flip over the filets and drizzle more olive oil on the other side.
Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Cook The Filets 🔥
Preheat a grill pan or any pan with a little olive oil or cooking spray. Once hot, add in your salmon filets skin side down.
Cook for a few minutes until the skin is crispy then turn the filets to the other side to cook. If you have a meat thermometer, check to see if the Salmon has hit anywhere between 110 -120 degrees Fahrenheit.
Take the Salmon out of the pan and let sit.
Create Pan Sauce 🧈
Start deglazing your pan by squeezing in lemon juice and adding butter.
Scrape the bits from the pan until your spatula moves smoothly through the pan. Add in all of your dried herbs and heat them in the sauce for a minute.
Top your salmon filets with the pan sauce and serve with sides of your choice.
Dessert - Option #1
TRUBAR
12G Protein Per Bar | 180 Calories
I know I know, not more protein bars! They’ve been a life-saver for me when it comes to having something sweet after dinner. I need something that I can just grab, so I won’t be eyeing my bag of M&Ms like it’s an Instagram model. A bonus is that the protein keeps me full. These particular protein bars were new to me, but I was intrigued by the packaging. I’m a donut junkie because no one in their right mind would believe a protein bar tastes like a donut. However, to my surprise, these Trubar Daydreaming About Donuts bars come close to a donut taste. Is it at the Krispy Kreme level of taste? That’s a big fat NO. Does it taste better than an actual donut? Nope. It gets the job done though and I plan on doing a full in-depth review of it later. You can get them from Costco or check them out on their website.
Dessert - Option #2
Pineapple Chunks
1G Protein Per Cup | 75 Calories
I’ll admit that I went a little basic with this dessert option, but I chose it for three specific reasons. First, it’s super packed with vitamins that we need. Check out this article on Healthline to see for yourself. Second, it helps with digestion and metabolism which I’ve found to be helpful when eating high-protein meals. Third, pineapple tastes very sweet! I don’t even want anything else sweet after having it. As I stated earlier in this newsletter, it aligns with my dietary goal of having more balance in my diet. Go out and get yourself some!
I hope you enjoyed reading this week’s meal plan. If you did, hit the subscribe button and share it with someone else. See you next week!
Eat Well,
Marcus
Love the meals that you write about. Very good variety if one want something different like me. Great job