Meal prep · 155 push

Four meals, one Sunday, 160g a day.

Cook two on Sunday, alternate them, cook the other two the following week. Nothing repeats more than twice.

Protein isn't the problem

You're already hitting ~164g. Protein is the building material; calories are what actually move the scale. If your weight hasn't shifted, add food, not powder.

Four changes worth ~750 calories a day, zero extra cooking:

Whole milk in every shake instead of water · a second scoop of rice at lunch and dinner · peanut butter on the rice cakes · chocolate milk after hard sessions.

If the scale still hasn't moved in two weeks, add a fifth food. Not a fifth workout.

Kitchen rules

Sunday prep

Three things, about 50 minutes. Everything else all week is assembly.

CookAmountMakes
Ground beef 90/103 lbs, browned + seasoned6 bowls
Chicken breast4 lbs, 400°F for 35 min6 servings
White rice4 cups dry, rice cooker~10 servings

Grab-protein for the gaps is stocked, not cooked: cottage cheese, deli turkey, Greek yogurt, chocolate milk.

The four

01

Cheesy Beef Rigatoni

35g · 806 cal
cookingwithkatiecross.com

The calorie number is why this one's here. 806 a serving is a real bulking portion, not a diet recipe.

  • olive oil
  • yellow onion
  • ground beef
  • Italian seasoning
  • onion powder
  • garlic powder
  • salt + pepper
  • jar pasta sauce
  • heavy cream
  • rigatoni
  • mozzarella
  1. Boil rigatoni to al dente. Save a splash of the pasta water.
  2. Skillet on medium: olive oil, diced onion, 2–3 min until soft.
  3. Ground beef until no pink. Drain the grease. Season.
  4. Stir in the jar of sauce and the heavy cream.
  5. Drained pasta into the pan, toss to coat. Pasta water to loosen if it's tight.
  6. Mozzarella on top, oven at 350°F a few minutes until bubbly.

The pasta water is what makes sauce cling instead of slide off. Don't skip it.

02

Chicken Rice Bowl

45g+
highproteindad.com · no tomatoes
  • 1.5 lb chicken breast
  • 2 cups white rice
  • olive oil
  • garlic powder
  • paprika
  • salt + pepper
  • broccoli

Garlic sauce: ½ cup Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp lemon juice, salt. Whisk, thin with water.

  1. Season chicken with garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper.
  2. Olive oil, pan on medium. Chicken 5–7 min per side.
  3. Rest it, then slice into bite-size pieces.
  4. Rice per package. Sauté the broccoli until tender.
  5. Assemble: rice, chicken, broccoli, sauce drizzled on top.

Keeps 3–4 days. Store the sauce separately and add it after reheating, or the yogurt splits.

03

Cajun Chicken Protein Pasta

58g
highproteindad.com

Most protein of anything in the rotation.

  • 2 lb chicken breast
  • 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 8 oz pasta
  • 500g broccoli
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ cup mozzarella
  • ½ tbsp tomato paste
  • garlic + onion powder
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  1. Chicken into bite-size pieces, season heavily, skillet on medium-high until browned. Set aside.
  2. Boil pasta. Broccoli into the same pot for the last 3–4 min. Drain.
  3. Same skillet: cream cheese, milk, tomato paste, powders, Cajun, honey. Stir on medium-low until smooth.
  4. Off the heat, stir in Greek yogurt and mozzarella.
  5. Chicken, pasta and broccoli back in. Toss.

Tomato paste is half a tablespoon of seasoning, not tomatoes. Leave it in.

04

Cheesy Beef & Rice Bowls

51g
youtube.com · video, 5 bowls in 35 min

Ground beef, rice, cheese. The only one that isn't pasta or plain chicken, which is the whole reason it's on the list.

Replaced the baked ziti, which was a worse version of the rigatoni.

Why these four

 MealProteinBase
01Cheesy Beef Rigatoni35gpasta + beef
02Chicken Rice Bowl45g+rice + chicken
03Cajun Chicken Pasta58gpasta + chicken
04Cheesy Beef & Rice51grice + beef

One of each combination on purpose. Nothing tastes like the meal before it. That's the rule for anything added later — not a third baked pasta.

The day

Fasted training, first meal around 11.

WhenWhatProteinRunning
~11am4 eggs, scrambled24g24g
~2pmOne of the four50g74g
~5:30Whey + whole milk + banana + PB30g104g
dinnerMom's rotation45g149g
nightGreek yogurt + honey15g164g
Daily total164g

The eggs are the highest-leverage meal you have. You eat them every day and they're your smallest. Fold shredded cheese in off the heat, or stir in leftover beef, and 24g becomes 40g for no extra effort.

Snacks

Rice cakes, plus peanut butter when you want the calories. Whey shake with whole milk, never water — 150 more calories and 8 more grams for free.

Shopping

Tap to check off. Everything for all four meals plus the daily anchors.

Protein

For the four meals

Carbs + snacks