Hi everyone, it feels like it’s been a while since I did a meal prep video! I have been on a bit of a “health” kick lately and been doing a few things to stay on track when it comes to my fitness.

First thing I’ve been doing is intermittent fasting, also known as IF. It’s the concept that you go through certain periods of time in a day where you “fast” and certain periods where you eat. We basically do this anyway (the time that you sleep is still considered part of your “fast”) but it’s mainly shortening this window. Currently, I’m following an 8 hour feeding and 16 hour fasting window (I doubt I’ll go any shorter than this feeding window!).

This is a very popular thing in the fitness community and it’s something I’ve done a little of before. I never really took it too seriously and this time around I’ve been doing pretty well! I have slipped up a few times (on the weekends, it’s difficult if you have a social life!) but for the most part, I’ve been relatively consistent.

There’s supposed to be lots of benefits to it, which I won’t name here – simply do a google search and you’ll find probably thousands of articles telling you about it!

Anyway, I’ve been doing that plus focusing a lot on working out consistently, eating higher protein (over 100+ grams a day) and just overall trying to eat healthier to help me gain muscle and lose fat. I will be doing a one month progress video on Youtube, so stay tuned!

One of the things that I believe is a crucial part of sticking to a healthy eating and fitness routine is MEAL PREPPING. I literally talk about this all the time, but it is such a great way to stay on top of your goals (whether your goals are fat loss, muscle gain, weight gain, etc.). Let’s face it, most of us are busy and we don’t have time to whip up an elaborate meal three times a day!!!

Even though I don’t meal prep as much anymore, because of the nature of my job (I cook a lot!), I still stand by the benefits of meal prepping and I think we can ALL benefit even just a small amount from preparing some healthy food in advance.

So I hope this video and recipes helps you stick to your goals and gives you some ideas on some delicious high protein vegan recipes!

Watch the video above to see how I meal pepped and scroll down for the written recipes.

Vegan Bean & Quinoa Chili (Gluten-Free)

Ingredients (5-6 servings):

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups mushrooms, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• large can of crushed or diced tomatoes (796ml)
• 2.5 cups water
• 1 cup of quinoa
• 2 cans of beans, drained & rinsed
• spices:
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika or regular paprika
  • 3 tsp chili powder

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, heat up a little bit of oil and cook the onion for a couple minutes before adding the garlic. Cook for another minute.
2. Add in the rest of the vegetables and saute for a few minutes.
3. Add the can of crushed or diced tomatoes as well as the water and mix together.
4. Stir in the quinoa and the spices. Let it come to a boil.
5. Meanwhile, drain and rinse the beans before adding them into the pot. Once the chili comes to a boil, bring it down to a simmer and leave it covered for around 30 minutes.
6. Now you can start working on the rest of your meal prep while the chili cooks!

High Protein Vegan Mac & Cheese

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 1 box of Banza protein pasta shells (227g)
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 3/4 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp turmeric

Instructions:

1. Boil the cashews in some water to soften them up for about 15-20 minutes. You can also soak them in water overnight instead.
2. In a separate pot, cook your pasta according to the instruction. Add the broccoli to the pot 5 minutes before the pasta is done.
3. Once the cashews are soft, add them into a food processor with the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.
4. Mix the sauce into the cooked pasta and broccoli. Done!
5. If you don’t have a high protein pasta, throw in some chickpeas in there for some additional protein!

Overnight Oats with Oat Bran

Ingredients (per serving):

• 1/3 cup oat bran
• 1 tsp chia seed
• 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1 cup soy milk or any non-dairy milk
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
• handful of frozen berries

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients into a small container such as a mason jar.
2. Seal & leave it in the fridge overnight and have breakfast ready for the morning!