As most of us know, you aren’t going to get too far with your fitness gains if your diet isn’t clean. One of the best things you can do to make the progress you’re looking for is to always have a meal ready to eat, and cooking in bulk helps accomplish this. (Bonus: you can do it on the cheap.)
A bit of a time is required, but it’s worth it. Plan out your meals for the week ahead, and take a Sunday to do meal prep. Portioning out each meal in its own container helps you see how much food you really have, which will keep you from running out midweek.
Check out this recipe for chicken and veggie stir-fry that is packed with protein, is low in carbs and is about $3.00 per meal. (Roughly $14 for all ingredients for $2.80 per serving)
Note: this recipe does not include carbs from rice or noodles to make it extra clean. You can opt to add in a serving of brown rice per meal if you’re not carb-restrictive.
1.5 pounds boneless chicken breasts (will yield approx 26g of protein per serving)
1 16-oz package mushrooms
1 large Onion
2 large green peppers
24-oz fresh broccoli florets
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp water
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like spicy)
2-3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
olive oil
salt
pepper
Directions
Season chicken with salt, pepper and cayenne. Cut chicken into small bite-sized pieces.
In a wok or skillet, heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil on medium high, add onions and garlic and sauté for a few minutes.
Add chicken and cook 3-5 min until no longer pink. Remove chicken mixture and place in a bowl, set aside.
Into the pan, add 1-2 tbsp olive oil and add broccoli, mushrooms and green peppers. Sauté and add the water.
Continue cooking vegetables, moving around pan quickly with a wooden spoon. Add hoisin and soy sauce. Cook vegetables until broccoli is tender crisp, about 5 minutes.
Add the chicken mixture and mix well. Remove from heat and let cool.
Once cooled, equally divide mixture into five plastic storage containers.
