One Full Week of Meal Prep for Bodybuilding - Iron and Grit Fitness (2024)

Weekly meal prep is a staple activity for me.

Every Sunday is Meal Prep Sunday. I’ve done this without fail for over two years.

I’ve also been in the best shape of my life over those two years.

Coincidence?

Hardly.

Meal prep is the best thing you can do to stick to a healthy diet.

Meal prep ensures I have healthy meals ready to eat when I’m hungry.

It also ensures everything I eat provides the perfect amount of nutrients for my lifestyle.

In this post I will cover meal prep recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I even through a few snacks in there because, let’s face it, snacks make life better.

SPOILER ALERT –This meal plan is designed to build lean muscle mass, burn fat, and make you feel amazing.

First thing’s first: Get your tools in order.

Meal prep is much easier/faster/better when you are properly equipped.

This is what I use for cooking and food storage for the week.

(Keep in mind, I’m a Meal Prep veteran. I didn’t go out and buy all this stuff from the get-go, although you’re more than welcome to.)

• 2 large crock-pot slow cookers
• 2 large baking sheets
• 1 large pot
• 1 large steam pot
• 3 (or more) meal storage containers
• 3 large food storage containers
• 1 large frying pan
• 1 large baking tray (optional)

Buy high quality cookware and it will last you a decade.

You can find cheaper options if you are on a budget. Buy what you need and what you can afford. Use it to the max and get your monies worth.

Shop around and look for deals. They are everywhere.

Now that you are fully equipped with your Meal Prep tools and apparatuses, it’s time to go shopping.

Here are the food items you will need for your meal prep (in no particular order) –

• Beef roast
• Chicken breast or thigh
• Rice
• Sweet potatoes
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Spinach or other leafy green
• Eggs
• Egg whites (optional)

The amounts you buy will very depending on your individual taste and appetite.

I will generally buy the following amounts to get me through the week:

• 10 pounds of beef
• 10 pounds of chicken
• 2-3 pounds of asparagus
• 2-3 pounds of broccoli
• 3-4 pounds of sweet potato or 1/2-1 pound of rice.
• 1/2 pound of spinach

I eat 3-4 meals a day. The first meal is eggs cooked in butter, sometimes with bacon.

The others meals are a combination of meat and vegetables.

I go shopping once a week and buy fresh meat, eggs, and veggies.

There’s almost always a sale going on somewhere so look up the stores online to find the best deals.

For the Frugal Shopper

Buy rice in bulk online, or at Costco or Sam’s Club.

It’s ultra cheap and will last you a long time.

You can buy up to fifty pound bags of rice and oats. $25 and now you have a filling side that will last you for months.

Potatoes can be bought in bulk as well. Just make sure you give yourself time to eat them. They do not last as long as rice or oats.

I typically make may breakfast fresh every morning. it’s always the same thing – 4-6 whole eggs cooked in butter.

BUT, I just started making an ‘Egg Bake’. Otherwise know as Quiche.

Quiche is like a baked omelet.

You can make quiche as simple or sophisticated as you want.

Here’s a simple, and delicious, quiche recipe:

• 20 whole eggs
• 1 cup heavy creme or 1/2 cup gently melted butter
• Onion, diced
• Tomato, diced
• 1 cup of fresh spinach
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cheese to taste (feta or goat cheese are my favorites)
• Diced ham or cooked bacon chunks (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a big baking tray. Make sure the baking tray is big enough to hold all the ingredients without overflowing. Split mixture into two baking pans if needed.

Bake at 350 for about an hour. Check on it after 45 minutes to assess doneness.

Other items to have in your kitchen at all times are extra virgin olive oil and grass-fed unsalted butter.

You can add new foods and spices to keep things interesting. Salsa and hot sauce can add flavor too. Mixing in ground beef, assorted cheeses, beans and veggies keep you craving this dish.

Weekly Bodybuilding Meal Prep: Lunch and Dinner

I like to have variety.

Three or four days eating the same thing over and over again gets old. Meals start to become a chore rather than an enjoyable experience.

For that reason, I prefer to make both beef and chicken for my weekly meal prep. I will vary the meals depending on what I have a taste for that particular week.

I’ll make chicken in one crock pot and beef in another. I’ll slow cook both for 8-10 hours.

Slow-Cooker Meal Prep

Savory Slow-Cooked Beef

Put London broil, chuck roast, or any other kind of roast into the crock pot.

Pour low sodium beef broth into the crock pot until the broth almost submerges the meat.

(if you don’t have beef broth, use water and a chunk of butter.

Add salt, pepper and other spices to the meat. I typically add oregano, parsley, fresh minced garlic (from a jar), salt, pepper, and turmeric.All are dried spices in a shaker bottle.

Slow-Cooked Chicken

Place chicken breast or thighs into the crockpot. Do not trim fat.

Pour low sodium chicken broth over the meat until chicken is almost submerged. You can substitute broth with water and butter.

Add spices to taste.

Set to low, cover and cook overnight.

Monday morning you will have a delicious array of foods to choice from for the week ahead.

Cooking Vegetables

While the crock pot is cooking, I will either steam or bake vegetables. Broccoli and asparagus are the best.

i will lightly bake my asparagus in a tin foil pouch. This seals in the moisture while it cooks.

Keeping the moisture in the food is important because it will dry out while in the fridge, and dry further when reheating.

I wrap up my asparagus in a tin foil. I lay one sheet of foil on a baking sheet then place my thoroughly washed asparagus on top.

I’ll add a little extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to the asparagus.

Then I place another sheet of tin foil over the top and roll the foil edges from both sheets together until I have an air-tight pocket.

I’ll back on 350 degrees for 10-15, until just barely cooked. I like my asparagus al dente, not stringy, flimsy, mush. Sometimes I just cook raw asparagus in the microwave. This works for me. Some people might find it too raw for them though.

Rice and Potatoes

If I want rice I’ll cook rice on the stove top. Pretty straight forward. I’ll make enough to have about one cup of cooked rice for both lunch and dinner.

Get a big bag of rice and a big pot.

I usually opt for sweet potato as my carbohydrate source because it has a better nutrient profile.

I’ll cut sweet potato into chunks and bake in the oven with a little olive oil.

Bake on 400 degrees until the potato is a desired doneness. Usually about 30-35 minutes for me.

When everything is done, I store it in large containers.

I have a few meal size containers that I fill as needed. I’ll fill it with meat and veggies, put in in my lunch box and go to work.

When I’m hungry I scoop food on a plate, heat it up and eat. Like this beef and broccoli…

Bodybuilding Meal Prep Snacks and Supplements

Spinach or lettuce salads with apple cider vinegar or a light, fat-free, all natural vinaigrette, plus salt, pepper and feta cheese sprinkled on top. It’s damn good.

I also keep steaks on hand incase I want a treat.

Egg whites are great for extra protein. I behalf quart cartons in bulk and drink one every day.

Protein shakes are a good snack between meals or before bed. Two scopes of whey protein with almond milk and peanut butter blended nicely.

Stick to this meal prep meal plan and you’re bound to build lean muscle and burn belly fat.