One of the things a few people have asked me for are meal prep and post-gym food. People want something quick, easy, delicious and healthy all on one plate. I have been making these kind of protein-rich bowls for a while now and most of the time I always start with the same base and then build depending on what I fancy at the time and what is available in my fridge.
This means that I can sometimes use leftovers, which makes the turnaround times even quicker, other times I cook something from scratch. Most of the time I will make a double portion so I have a second meal for the next day – this worked great when I was working in an office. It not only saved me time on my lunch break, but it also saved so many pennies. When you go to these “build -your-own” places, yes they’re great but I am certainly guilty of getting carried away with the additional toppings – guacamole is my vice. Anyway, by the end of it, you’ve spent a small fortune and spent half of your lunch break in a queue waiting for a salad to be built. So why not make the same thing at home for a fraction of the price? In this post, I am going to share three protein-rich options with you and I will continue to add more and more of these kind of bowls to the blog as time goes on. I’m not a nutritionist but I have a general understanding of which foods will provide you with more nutrients than others and I hope to share this with you. I always use a base of raw baby spinach and then almost always use quinoa with it. I find they work best and keep me fuller for longer which is especially great on days I know I will be going to the gym and they are both a really good source of protein. Kale would also be a great base alternative, but I find that it needs a lot of dressing when eating it raw, so I use spinach more. I avoid using lettuce as it has pretty much no nutritional value, but if I fancy using a salad, I always make sure I add spinach in there regardless.
I always love adding in a good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) for a good source of fat, and it’s often cheaper than buying avocado (which I do love to use as and when I can get hold of them). Plus I’m Italian and EVOO is basically in my veins! So keep your eyes peeled for more and more bowls but let’s get you started on this trio – you have a chicken, prawn and veggie option!
My first protein bowl is one that includes leftovers. In this bowl, I used leftover tray bake chicken and sweet potato oven fries. Both are a great source of protein and are delicious. This is the perfect bowl to put together the day after a roast dinner! My chicken traybake recipe is already live on the blog but I have put below how you can whip up some quick sweet potato oven fries.
Next up is a protein bowl with a kick! Prawns are a great source of protein and I love add a little curry paste to give a little bit of flavour and flare to my lunches!
Finally, I have a vegetarian protein bowl to share with you. I love eating eggs, and at one stage, I was eating them every day. Adding them into a salad adds that extra protein that will also help to keep you fuller for longer.