Simple High Protein Meal Prep on a Budget **Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner under £20**

Summary

In this budget-friendly meal prep video, the host demonstrates how to prepare five portions of breakfast, lunch, and dinner with ease, nutritional value, and flavor in mind. Breakfast features overnight oats with various toppings, lunch is a sticky honey soy chicken with rice and broccoli, and dinner is a creamy meatball oo. The video includes ingredient breakdowns, preparation tips, and storage advice for a week's worth of meals, all sourced from Aldi for cost-effectiveness.

Takeaways

• 🍽️ The video focuses on creating budget-friendly meal prep for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, emphasizing affordability, ease of preparation, nutritional value, and flavor.
• 🥣 For breakfast, the recipe is overnight oats made with oats, protein powder, natural yogurt, chia seeds, and almond milk, with various topping options.
• 🛒 Most ingredients are sourced from Aldi, and the cost of each meal is calculated with consideration for realistic use of leftovers.
• 📏 Rolled oats are recommended for overnight oats due to their texture, and instant oats can be used but may result in a mushier consistency.
• 🌾 Chia seeds are optional but enhance texture by absorbing liquid and thickening the oats.
• 🥛 Any milk can be used in place of almond milk, and protein powder flavor can be varied to personal preference.
• 🍗 Lunch features sticky honey soy chicken thighs with rice and broccoli, highlighting the use of chicken thighs for their flavor and tenderness.
• 🍚 The rice is cooked simply, and the broccoli is steamed to be slightly underdone to prevent it from becoming mushy when reheated.
• 🍖 The dinner recipe is a creamy meatball stew made with minced meat, Italian hard cheese, chicken stock, and crème fraîche, along with frozen peas.
• 🧀 Grana Padano cheese is suggested as a cost-effective alternative to Parmesan for the meatball stew.
• 🍲 The meatballs are pan-seared before being added to a sauce made from chicken stock, cheese, and crème fraîche, simmered until cooked through.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the meal prep described in the script?

The main focus of the meal prep is to create budget-friendly, easy-to-prepare, nutritional, and flavorful breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals for five portions.

Where were most of the ingredients purchased for the meal prep?

Most of the ingredients were purchased from Aldi.

What is the base recipe for breakfast in the meal prep?

The base recipe for breakfast is overnight oats, which includes oats, protein powder, natural yogurt, chia seeds, and almond milk.

Why are rolled oats recommended for overnight oats?

Rolled oats are recommended for overnight oats because they have more texture compared to instant oats, which can make the oats mushy.

What is the significance of using chia seeds in the overnight oats recipe?

Chia seeds are used to improve the texture of the oats by absorbing liquid and helping to thicken the mixture.

What are some topping options suggested for the overnight oats?

Suggested toppings for the overnight oats include peanut butter, banana, apple, cinnamon, sultanas, blueberry, and lemon zest.

What is the lunch meal prep recipe described in the script?

The lunch meal prep recipe is sticky honey soy chicken with rice and broccoli.

Why is chicken thigh used instead of chicken breast in the lunch recipe?

Chicken thigh is used because it is considered a superior culinary choice, especially for meal prepping, as the extra fat content helps keep it tender and enjoyable after being refrigerated or frozen.

What are the key ingredients in the marinade for the sticky honey soy chicken?

The key ingredients in the marinade for the sticky honey soy chicken are soy sauce, corn flour, honey, garlic, chili, and sesame oil.

How long can the prepared meals be stored in the fridge before they need to be consumed or frozen?

The breakfast oats can be stored for about 5 days in the fridge, while the lunch and dinner meals can be stored for 3 days before they need to be consumed or frozen.

What is the dinner meal prep recipe described in the script?

The dinner meal prep recipe is a creamy meatball oo, which includes minced meat, Italian hard cheese, lemon, egg, garlic, chicken stock, and creme fraiche, served with frozen peas.

What are some considerations for the cheese used in the creamy meatball oo recipe?

Parmesan or Pecorino Romano could be used, but Grana Padano is suggested due to its lower cost. Grating some of the cheese into the meatball mixture is recommended, especially if using lean meat.