The Meal Plan #7

Three easy high-protein recipes that will keep you eating at home!

Happy Thursday my friends! Welcome to another edition of The Meal Plan series! I want to extend a special welcome to the new subscribers who joined recently. This week, I’m sharing with you what I think are some of the best high-protein recipes I’ve made so far.

These meals are as close to comfort food as you’ll get without expanding your waistline. They’re flavorful, balanced, filling, and most importantly high in protein. They may not be as decadent as their full-fat counterparts, but they still give you 80% of the original flavor. Hope that you give these a try or that they inspire your cooking!

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Breakfast

Korean Street Toast

47G Protein Per Sandwich | 579 Calories | 10 Minutes

Without a doubt, Korean food is one of my top 3 favorite cuisines of all time and this popular street sandwich resoundingly proves why. The street vendors somehow figured out it was a good idea to combine a vegetable omelet with grilled cheese. Not an obvious combination, but genius nonetheless. If I had put the same amount of vegetables in my grilled cheese sandwiches during college, I would probably be 6’1 right now.

This is the perfect breakfast because it doesn’t require a lot of ingredients and the prep time is fairly quick. There’s also the added benefit of it being very portable, so if you’re in a morning rush you can just wrap it and be on your way. If you’re tired of the same old breakfast sandwiches, give this a try.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

Sandwich

• 2 Slices Organic White Bread

• 2 Egg Whites / 6 Tbsp Egg Whites

• 1 Egg

• 2 Ounces Ham or Canadian Bacon

• 1 Slice American Cheese

• 3/4 Cup Shredded Green Cabbage

• 1/3 Cup Shredded Carrots

• 1/2 Cup Green Onion

• 1/4 Teaspoon Sesame Oil

• Butter Spray or 1 Tbsp Light Butter

• 1/2 Tsp White Pepper

• 1/4 Tsp Salt

• 1/2 Tbsp Zero Calorie Sweetener

• Butter Spray

Sauce

• 1 Tbsp Light Mayo

• 1/4 Tsp Gochujang

• 1 Tsp Honey

And the cooking instructions:

Cook The Omelet 🥚

• Add the egg, egg whites, vegetables (cabbage/carrots/green onion), white pepper, salt, sweetener, and sesame oil to a mixing bowl. Stir everything together until well combined.

• Preheat a pan over medium heat and then add in the egg omelet mixture.

• When the omelet forms a base, lift up one side of the omelet and tilt the pan to that side so the liquid egg cooks faster.

• Repeat the previous step, until no more liquid remains on top of the omelet.

• Flip the omelet and cook for 15 - 20 more seconds. Fold the right side of the omelet to the left and set it on a plate.

Make The Sauce 🥣

• Add the light mayo, gochujang, and honey to a small bowl. Mix together.

Toast The Sandwich 🥪

• Take one of the slices of bread and spread the sauce on the bottom.

• Break up the slice of cheese into small pieces and top on the bottom of that same slice.

• Add your ham followed by the omelet and then top it with your other slice of bread. Chop off any excess egg sticking out of the sandwich.

• Preheat a pan over medium-low heat and spray the top of the sandwich with butter spray.

• Add the buttered side of the sandwich to the pan and toast until golden brown.

• Spray the other side of the sandwich, flip it, and toast until golden brown.

• Plate the sandwich, cut diagonally, and enjoy!

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Lunch

Chicken & Shrimp Fajitas

30G Protein Per Serving | 331 Calories | 35 Minutes Excluding Marination

Whenever you go to a Tex-Mex restaurant, you know when someone has ordered fajitas. Everyone turns their heads to see where the all too familiar sound of the sizzle is coming from and where it’s going. Restaurant patrons quickly call over their waiter, desperate to change their order so that they can partake in the same mouthwatering experience. As tempting as the sizzle might be, it turns out that it’s just a trick. Earlier this year, a few workers revealed that the sizzle isn’t really coming from searing hot cooking but rather spraying a clear liquid on a hot plate.

While the concept of the fajita sizzle may be a lie, fajitas are still delicious. They’re pretty easy to make at home and cheaper than the extra money we’d pay at the restaurant to hear that sizzle. This version doesn’t use a grill, so I’ve resorted to using another cooking appliance that gets super hot, an air fryer. If you don’t have an air fryer, you can still make this in the oven. I’d go with this recipe if you only have an oven to work with.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

Fajitas

• Corn Tortillas or Flour Tortillas

• 1 1/2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

• 1 lb Shrimp

• Two Green Bell Peppers

• One Red Bell Pepper

• One Yellow Bell Pepper

• Two Yellow Onions

• Avocado Oil Spray

• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder

• 1 Tsp Smoked Paprika

• 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

• 1 Tsp Salt

Marinade

• Juice From 1 1/2 Limes

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil

• 1 Tsp Soy Sauce

• 1/4 Tsp Liquid Smoke

• 6 Garlic Gloves

• 2 Tsp Ancho Chili Powder or Regular Chili Powder

• 1 Tsp Black Pepper

• 1/2 Tsp Cumin

• 3/4 Tsp Oregano

• 2 Tsp Salt

Here are the cooking instructions:

Marinate Chicken & Shrimp 🍤

• Slice the chicken breasts into long, thin strips.

• To a large mixing bowl, add the chicken strips, shrimp, and all the ingredients under the marinade list.

• Mix everything together and cover with foil or plastic wrap.

• Marinate for 1 -2 hours.

Roast The Vegetables 🌶️

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

• Cut each bell pepper and onion into long strips.

• Place the vegetables on a baking sheet and spray them with avocado oil.

• Season with 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp salt. Toss the vegetables together with the spices and oil making sure every piece is well coated.

• Add the baking sheet to the oven and roast for 31 minutes. Turn the vegetables to the other side halfway through.

Cook The Meat 🍖

• Take out the marinated meat and sit it on the counter.

• Preheat an air fryer to 450 degrees. If 450 is not possible, preheat it to the highest setting.

• Take a portion of the chicken out of the marinade and add to the air fryer.

• Cook the chicken until it reaches 155 - 160 degrees. It will reach 165 when you let it sit and be much more tender. Cook time could take 8 - 10 minutes depending on the power of your air fryer.

• Continue to cook the chicken in batches until only the shrimp remain. Set the cooked chicken aside on a plate.

• Add your shrimp to the air fryer and cook until it has reached an internal temperature of 145 degrees. The shrimp only took about 3-4 minutes in my air fryer. Set the shrimp aside on a plate.

Make The Fajitas 🌮

• Take three of your tortillas and put them in a pan preheated over medium-low heat.

• Warm up for 15 seconds on each side.

• Place the tortillas on a plate and fill with the roasted peppers and meat.

• Top with your choice of light sour cream, pico de gallo, salsa, or hot sauce.

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Dinner

Chicken Tikka Masala

41G Protein Per Serving | 468 Calories | 45 Minutes Excluding Marination

There’s nothing quite like finding your go-to Indian restaurant. When the food is right, other foods seem to be one-dimensional or bland in comparison. There are so many different curries to choose from, you could honestly try a new one every few weeks. No matter how many curries I’ve tried over time, I’ve always had a soft spot for Tikka Masala. I believe it was my introduction to Indian food and it definitely blew me away that first time. I had never had something remotely taste like it before. As I’ve indulged myself in progressively spicier Indian curries and sweated away 10 pounds in the process, I’ve come to appreciate just how nice of an experience Tikka Masala is. This version reduces the calories a good amount by swapping out the usual heavy cream in favor of half-and-half. If you’ve never tried Indian food before, this is the perfect entry-level dish.

Ingredients you’ll need to make this:

Chicken Tikka

• 3 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

• 1 Cup Greek Yogurt

• 2 Tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste

• 4 Tsp Garam Masala

• 2 Tsp Smoked Paprika

• 1 Tsp Chili Powder

• 1 Tsp Cumin

• 1/2 Tsp Turmeric

• 1 Tsp Salt

Masala Sauce

• 28 ounces Fire Roasted Tomato Puree or Regular Tomato Puree

• 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste

• 2 Tbsp Ghee

• 1 Large Red Onion Diced

• 2 1/2 Tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste

• 3 tsp Garam Masala

• 2 tsp Coriander

• 1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

• 1 Tsp Chili Powder

• 2 Tsp Salt

• 2 1/2 Cups Half-and-Half

• 1/2 Cup Water

Sides

• Cooked Basmati Rice

• Chopped Cilantro

• Garlic Naan (Optional)

Cooking Instructions:

Marinate The Chicken 🐓

• Cut your chicken into thick cubes and add all the ingredients under the chicken tikka list to a mixing bowl or large container. Marinate overnight.

Make The Rice 🍚

• Combine 3 cups of basmati rice and 4 1/2 Cups of water together in a pot.

• Bring the rice to a boil and then turn the heat down to low.

• Cover tightly with a lid and let it cook for 15 minutes.

• Turn off the heat and let it sit untouched for 10 more minutes.

Make The Masala Sauce 🍲

• Finely chop the red onion. Preheat a pan over medium heat.

• Melt the ghee in the pan. Once melted, add in your red onion and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent.

• Add in the ginger-garlic paste, garam masala, coriander, chili powder, and cayenne pepper with the onions. Cook for 30 seconds.

• Add the water to deglaze the pan then pour in the tomato puree.

• Give everything a good stir, add 1 tsp salt & simmer for 15 minutes.

• Add half-and-half to the sauce and stir. Taste for salt and add the remaining 1 tsp of salt if desired. Turn off the heat and cover with a lid.

Cook The Chicken Tikka 🍗

• Turn on and preheat the oven broiler.

• Grab a baking sheet, line it with foil, and a place a wire rack on top.

• Spray the wire rack with avocado oil and add a batch of your marinated chicken on top. Do not overcrowd the wire rack.

• Put the baking sheet in the middle oven position and broil for 8 minutes. You should see some char develop.

• Remove the cooked chicken and broil the rest of the chicken.

• Warm up the sauce again by simmering it over low heat. Add the chicken to the sauce.

• Spoon a generous portion of the chicken tikka masala into a bowl. Top with chopped cilantro. Serve with a choice of cooked basmati rice or garlic naan. Having a little bit of both is best!

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Alternate Meal

Hummus Plate with Harissa Spice Ground Turkey

44G Protein Per Plate | 592 Calories | 40 Minutes

One of my favorite Youtube cooking creators is Ethan Chlebowski. He consistently makes the science behind cooking interesting and gives great tips to upgrade your food to restaurant quality. Watching his videos made me realize that many celebrity chefs give cooking tips that are just scientifically false.

Judging by their success, it’s clear that no one needs to know the science behind something to do it properly. I just find it funny that they commonly give people advice like: “Add olive oil to the pasta water to prevent the pasta from sticking.” A major pasta producer themself explained how this does not prevent this from happening. There are other examples I could get into, but I think it’s much more productive to just check out Ethan’s channel. He makes awesome videos and recipes just like this one, which is where the inspiration for making this came from.

Ingredients you’ll need to make this:

Harissa Spiced Ground Turkey

• 2 lbs 93% Lean Ground Turkey

• 4 Tbsp Harissa Paste

• Juice of 1 Lemon

• 2 Tsp Garlic Powder

• 2 Tsp Coriander

• 1 Tsp Black Pepper

• 1/2 Tsp Cumin

• 2 Tsp Salt

Roasted Vegetables

• 3 lbs Sweet Potatoes

• 2 lbs Brussel Sprouts

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil

• Avocado Oil Spray

• 3 Tbsp Zatar Seasoning

• Salt to Taste

Additional Components

• 1 lb Hummus of Choice

• 1 Large Cucumber Thinly Sliced

• 1 Pack of Cherry Tomatoes Halved

• 1/2 Red Onion Thinly Sliced

• 1 Can Sliced Black Olives

• Fat-Free Feta Cheese

• Chopped Parsley

Cooking Instructions:

Roast The Vegetables 🥔

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

• Chop the sweet potatoes into cubes and the brussels sprouts in half.

• Add both to a baking sheet and spray generously with avocado oil.

• Sprinkle the Zatar seasoning over the potatoes and brussels sprouts. Add salt to taste.

• Roast the vegetables for 30 minutes. If you don’t have two baking sheets, then you may have to cook the vegetables in two batches.

Prep The Fresh Vegetables 🔪

• Chop the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and parsley. Set them aside.

Cook The Turkey 🦃

• Coat a pan with avocado oil spray and preheat over medium-high heat.

• Add 1 lb of the ground turkey and let it sear on one side for 4 minutes.

• Break up the ground turkey then add half of the garlic powder, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and salt.

• Mix everything together and continue to let the ground turkey brown.

• Once browned, add in the harissa paste and incorporate with the turkey. Finish by squeezing half of the lemon juice over the cooked turkey.

• Set the cooked turkey aside and repeat the same steps under the “Cook The Turkey” section with the remaining raw ground turkey.

Create The Plate 🍽️

• Add a nice portion of the hummus to the middle of the plate and mix in some of the cucumber, red onion, and black olive slices.

• Surrounding the hummus add the halved cherry tomatoes, ground turkey, sweet potatoes, and brussels sprouts to separate corners of the plate.

• Top the hummus with chopped parsley and feta cheese.

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Dessert

Protein Pancakes

24G Protein Per Pancake | 255 Calories | 10 Minutes

I’m sure I might get some eyebrow raises for this, but I see pancakes as a breakfast dessert. When I have breakfast, I tend to eat my pancakes last. Maybe that’s because I’m more of a savory person. Even if that’s true, it has always baffled me that pancakes could ever be considered an entire meal in and of itself, given that the main nutritional export is sugar. Since I’d rather not be a zombie by 10 am, I’ve decided to move pancakes to the shameful spot of after-dinner dessert.

The good thing about protein pancakes though is normally they’re low enough in sugar that you shouldn’t have to worry about your insulin going through the roof. The only downside is that protein pancake mixes often taste like absolute cardboard. This leaves you needing a gallon of water at a minimum to get these flapjacks down. In order to solve this dilemma, I’ve opted to add some Greek yogurt for moisture and a few extracts for additional flavor. I haven’t tried this method with every protein pancake mix in existence, so I highly recommend trying this recipe with one that only requires you to use the mix and water. The mix I used was Bob’s Red Mill Protein Pancake mix which you can find at Whole Foods or Target. I just made two big pancakes, ate one, and saved the other for later.

Ingredients you’ll need to make this:

• 1 Cup of Protein Pancake Mix (Water-Based)

• 1/4 Cup of Greek Yogurt

• 1/2 Cup of Water

• 1/4 Tsp Maple Extract

• 1/4 Tsp Vanilla Extract

• 2 Tbsp Zero Calorie Sweetener

• Butter Spray

Cooking Instructions:

Fix Pancake Mix 🧰

• To a mixing bowl, add everything under the ingredient list except the butter spray.

• Stir the mixture until no lumps remain.

Make The Pancakes🥞

• Preheat a pan over low heat for 3-5 minutes and spray with the butter spray.

• Add half of the pancake mix to the pan and cook on the first side until bubbles form on top of the pancake.

• Flip the pancake to the other side and cook until done.

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If you’ve made it this far, you’re a trooper! Thanks for being here. I hope you enjoyed reading this newsletter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Check out my Poke Bowl Recipe or The Meal Plan #6 if you want more meal ideas!

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