Today, people develop quite a thoughtful attitude to their food. Times, when food resources were limited and people ate simply what they could get from their garden or their area’s resources, long passed.

Besides nutrition, food is also a great source of pleasure, so your meal should be at once nutritive and tasty. The balance of proteins, fats, and carbs is essential for the menu of a modern man. Besides, our lifestyle defines the need for higher protein consumption and limitation of fats and carbs to maintain a strong and healthy body.

Proteins are the main building material for our muscles and they also play a significant role in cell metabolism and impact the production of collagen which is necessary for skin tightness and joint flexibility. Earlier, high-protein meals were predominately required by professional athletes and people engaged in hard physical work. It was quite logical as both these activities require intense muscle growth and high strength which are provided by protein consumption. Yet today lots of people decide on a high-protein menu to keep their healthy body and prevent obesity due to low physical loads.

Thus, high-protein lunch meal prep ideas can come in handy for lots of people. That’s why we decided to focus on products and meal ideas to get maximum proteins in your menu.

The Sources of Protein in Your Fidge: Which Products Offer The Highest Protein Rates

Protein is the basis of life. It is one of the three main macronutrients, along with carbohydrates and fats. It consists of a chain of replaceable and essential amino acids. Replaceable amino acids can be synthesized by the body itself, while essential amino acids must come from food. Until recently, scientists knew about 150 types of amino acids, but their list is constantly growing. Proteins have different structure, differing in the number and variations of amino acids, so that it is impossible to find two identical molecules in our body.

Protein needs within the norm of consumption for healthy adults is 0.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. With a high-protein diet, it can reach 1.6 to 2 g of protein per kilogram of body weight every day (or 25-35% of calories should be got from protein). Proteins should make up more than half of the daily diet. At the same time, fats and carbohydrates are not completely excluded but are limited as much as possible.

The best products to include in your high-protein meal prep ideas are as follows:

  1. Cheese. Various types of cheese contain from 20 to 40% of proteins. Yet you should also remember that cheese is a calorie-dense product and it is better to eat it moderately and during your morning meals.
  2. Soybeans are also great protein sources and vegan-friendly ones. Soybeans have 35 g of protein per 100 g of raw beans.
  3. Caviar is also a great high-protein product. You can choose caviar of different fish species and get from it circa 30 g of protein along with A and D vitamins and Omega-3.
  4. Veal is the highest-protein meat type which contains over 31 g of proteins per 100 g. So, you shouldn’t avoid eating a good steak as it's a great protein source.
  5. Nuts should be also included in your high-protein meals. Among various types of nuts, cashews and almonds are top-protein ones. Yet, they also contain veg oils, so too many nuts are no good.
  6. Poultry is the most dietetic meat type. Chicken filet is almost an iconic product for HLS lovers and it contains 25.2 g of proteins.
  7. Fish is an indispensable source of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids and it also contains 20-30 g of pure protein. Some fish types are more dietetic while others may provide you with a daily norm of calories along with great protein levels.
  8. Seafood is also a source of proteins you shouldn’t neglect. The leaders in seafood are crabs and shrimp, yet even oysters are also rich in protein.
  9. Cottage cheese and dairy products also are high-protein products and their presence in your meals helps both consuming proteins and maintaining healthy biota of your GHT.
  10. Eggs are pure protein especially if you consume only egg whites which contain up to 6 g of protein and are dietetic.

As you can see, developing your meal prep ideas with high protein can be an easy-peasy task because most of the high-protein products are regular in your fridge. Yet, before you take your path to your kitchen, let’s consider which ideas will suit you most as an athlete’s menu with high protein is not similar to a high-protein menu you develop for your diet when you have moderate or low training loads.

Athletes’ Menu: Which Meals to Include in Daily Menu

For athletes, it is crucial to maintain a high-calorie diet which is at the same time, rich in protein. Thus, the core of an athlete’s protein menu should be formed of nutritive and high-protein products. The best ideas for protein meal prep are the following:

  • Each meal should contain a good loaf of meat garnished with some vegetables and herbs. But meat should be the center and the biggest part of the plate.
  • Egg whites in the form of an omelet are great for breakfast. They can also be good garnishes for dinner.
  • At least once a week fish should be included in the menu. It can be boiled, fried, or grilled and the best fish types for athletes are tuna, mackerel, seabass, salmon, and trout which contain rich fat acids and proteins.
  • Special food supplements like protein powder can be used as additional ingredients for meal cooking. For example, you can use it when beating whites for your omelet or cooking sponge cake.

High-Protein Lunches and Dinners for HLS Enthusiasts

If your workouts are not intensive, you may also appreciate a high-protein menu which can help you keep a normal weight and good metabolism. Yet, your daily energy intake should be lower than in athletes who can consume 3,000+ calories to cope with intensive training. Thus, if your main idea is to keep weight or reduce it, the following protein meal prep tips may help you.

  • Make chicken and fish the basis of your menu.
  • Prefer the following cooking techniques: boiling, steaming, grilling without extra oil use, or eating them raw (i.e., salmon tartar, chicken carpaccio, sashimi, or ceviche are good).
  • Eat more dairy products and less cheese.
  • Add nuts to your morning granola or oatmeal to get more proteins.
  • Use garnish made of green vegetables and greens instead of cereals or potatoes.

The best meals for a high-protein diet are stakes, baked fish, grilled meat and fish, cottage cheese and yogurt breakfasts, oatmeal pancakes with egg whites, salads which contain seafood or meat grilled and sliced, and various meat/fish recipes in Mediterranean cuisine which offers high-protein and rich in essential oils menu.

Getting High-Protein Meals Right to Your Door: Which Options to Choose

If food cooking is not your bright side, you shouldn’t feel sad. Just keep in mind our meal prep ideas with high protein and adapt them to your food delivery practices. Select options which contain more meat or dairy products, order fish and seafood regularly and appreciate meals from Greek, Spanish, and Balkan cuisines with the domination of the products we listed above instead of rich in carbs Italian, Chinese, or South-Asian cuisines. That’s the whole secret which may help you to maintain a high-protein menu daily even without cooking meals yourself.