No-cook high protein meal prep: five work lunches
Short answer: you can prep five high protein work lunches in about 15 minutes on a Sunday without turning on the stove. Each one lands at roughly 30 to 38g of protein. The trick is that the protein does not go in the fridge at all: a sealed, ready to eat chicken breast pouch sits in your drawer or bag until lunch, so Thursday's lunch is as fresh as Monday's.
Why most meal prep falls over by Wednesday
Cooked chicken is good for about three to four days in the fridge. Prep on Sunday and Thursday is already pushing it, so most people either cook twice or give up and buy lunch. The other problem is the office fridge: full, shared and not always cold.
No-cook prep splits the job in two. You prep the things that keep well (grains, tins, chopped veg, dressing) and you keep the protein sealed until you eat it.
What you need (one shop, about 15 minutes of prep)
| Item | Why | Protein, roughly |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Tuk-Dak chicken breast pouches (one of each flavour) | Fully cooked, sealed, no fridge until opened | 24 to 26g a pouch |
| 2 microwave brown rice pouches | 90 seconds in a work microwave, or eat cold in a salad | about 5g a serve |
| 1 tin chickpeas, 1 tin black beans | Fibre and extra protein, no cooking | about 6 to 7g a half tin |
| Greek yoghurt (500g tub) | Base for a dressing, keeps a week | about 9 to 10g per 100g |
| Wholegrain wraps | Monday to Friday flexibility | about 5g each |
| Baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum, a lemon | Crunch and colour | small |
| Feta | Salty, so you need less dressing | about 4g per 25g |
Protein numbers for supermarket staples vary by brand, so treat them as a guide and check your own labels.
Sunday, 15 minutes
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas and black beans. Split into two containers.
- Chop the cucumber, capsicum and tomatoes into one big container. Keep the spinach dry in its bag.
- Stir lemon juice, salt and pepper through 200g of Greek yoghurt. That is your dressing for the week.
- Put five pouches in your work drawer or bag. That is the protein done.
The five lunches
Monday: teriyaki rice bowl (about 32g protein) Heat a rice pouch at work, tip a Teriyaki pouch over it, add cucumber and spinach.
Tuesday: black pepper chicken wrap (about 33g) Wrap, spinach, tomato, a spoon of the yoghurt dressing and a Black Pepper pouch, sliced.
Wednesday: Mild chicken and chickpea salad (about 34g) Half the chickpeas, chopped veg, feta, dressing and a Mild pouch torn over the top. Mild has no strong seasoning, so it works with anything.
Thursday: chilli chicken lettuce cups (about 30g) Cold rice, Chilli pouch, cucumber and a squeeze of lemon, spooned into spinach or lettuce leaves.
Friday: taco chicken burrito bowl (about 38g) Black beans, rice, capsicum, tomato, a spoon of yoghurt in place of sour cream and a Taco pouch.
What it costs
Tuk-Dak works out at $4.38 to $5.00 a pouch depending on the pack size. With the rice, tins, veg and yoghurt, each lunch comes to roughly $7 to $8, against $15 to $20 for a bought lunch in most CBDs.
Honest comparison: fresh chicken breast from the supermarket is cheaper per gram of protein. What you are paying for is no cooking, no fridge until you open it and no Thursday food safety guessing.
Is it healthy?
It is a balanced lunch: lean protein, wholegrain carbohydrate, legumes and vegetables. Two things worth knowing:
- Sodium. A Mild pouch has 471mg of sodium. That is fine inside a normal day, but if you are watching salt, skip the feta and go easy on salty dressings.
- Protein target. Most active adults do well on 20 to 40g of protein per meal. These lunches sit in that range. Our guide to how much protein you need a day goes into the detail.
FAQ
Does the chicken need to go in the fridge? Not until you open it. The pouch is sealed and heat sterilised, so it keeps for 12 months at room temperature. Once opened, refrigerate and eat within 2 days.
Can I heat it at work? Yes. Tip it into a microwave safe container and heat for 20 to 30 seconds. Do not microwave the sealed pouch.
Can I freeze the prepped meals? You do not need to. Keep the chopped veg and dressing in the fridge for up to four days and the pouches in your drawer.
Is this enough for a big training day? Add a second pouch or a yoghurt. On long training days you will also want more carbohydrate than these lunches give you.
Five lunches, no fridge until you open them
The 5-Pack Starter has one of each flavour. The 20-Pack covers four weeks of work lunches.
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