Working towards a health or wellness goal? Hitting a certain amount of protein is almost definitely part of your plan. But when you’re aiming for big numbers like 150g, reaching these targets could be harder than you think. Fitting in high amounts of protein every day can feel like a constant cycle of cooking, eating the same meals, desperately thinking of new ideas, and telling yourself you’ll try again tomorrow. But you don’t need to be living in the kitchen when you have a big protein goal: you just need a smarter system. Plus, even if you’re not going for 150g daily (most people only need 50-70g), these tips will help you reach whatever goal you’re working towards. Here’s how to hit 150g of protein in a day.
What your protein goals look like in practice
Nutritionists and internet experts will give you the grams, but it’s hard to know what this translates to in real life. We’ll make it easier.
Say you want to hit 150g of protein: a solid goal for extremely active individuals. It’s important that you break this amount down throughout your day to make it more achievable. It’s not a huge portion at every meal, nor is it eaten in one sitting.
Instead, you should distribute the protein evenly throughout the day to avoid having to ‘catch up’ late in the day. This could look like:
- 30-40g per meal (for three meals)
- 20-30g from snacks (2-3 snacks a day)
Much more achievable, hey?
And we’ll make it even simpler for you, with four key rules to help you hit these numbers at every single meal, keeping your time in the kitchen short and sweet…
The 4 rules for hitting 150g
When trying to fit in a large amount of protein, it’s easy to fall into the trap of constantly cooking, or thinking about what you’re going to have to cook next. However, there are some simple rules you can follow to take the thinking out of this process – and get yourself out of the kitchen.
1. Build meals around protein
Not every meal has to start as a fully formed recipe. Start with whatever protein source you have, and add the carbs and fats around it. Chicken, eggs, greek yoghurt, tofu, beef, fish: take your pick. Try to avoid suspiciously low-protein options – as easy as they are, cereal or toast aren’t going to get you much closer to your daily goals.
2. Repeat meals
Variety is nice, but it adds work. Rotate 2-3 breakfasts you like, 2-3 lunches you know taste great, and 2-3 dinners that get you over the finish line. Having these recipes in your back pocket (or meal prepped in the fridge) will drastically reduce your decision fatigue and prep time. Easy.
3. Use protein shortcuts
Not all protein needs to be cooked from scratch. There are plenty of options that are high in protein but low in effort, and these are great things to build your meals around. Pre-cooked meats, greek yoghurt, tinned tuna or salmon, or protein powder are handy additions to any meal, especially if you’re low on time.
4. Front-load your protein
Aiming for 30-40g of protein at breakfast will make your day so much easier. Eggs, yoghurt, smoked salmon, and protein shakes will be your best friend here, preventing a panic in the evening about reaching your macros. Trust us, your future self will be grateful.
Low effort, high-protein meal ideas
Still have no energy to come up with new meals? Don’t worry, we’ve already thought of some.
Breakfast ideas
We’re going for 30-40g of protein, fast to whip up, with minimal thinking required. The perfect way to start your morning. And they taste great, too, so you won’t mind repeating them.
- Protein smoothie
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- One scoop of protein powder + milk + banana + peanut butter
- 30-40g of protein
- Greek yogurt bowl
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- 200g greek yogurt + granola + berries + nuts (+ protein powder for an extra boost)
- 25-30g of protein (45-50g with protein powder)
- Cottage cheese avocado toast
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- 200g cottage cheese + toast + tomato +avocado (+ smoked salmon for more)
- 30-35g of protein (40g+ with smoked salmon)
- Omelette with cheese and ham
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- Three eggs + 30g cheese + spinach + 50g ham
- 30-40g of protein
Breakfast is your best chance to clock grams early on, and make it easier on yourself later – so don’t sleep on (or through!) a protein-packed breakfast recipe.
Lunch ideas (30–40g, Prep-Friendly)
Easy to assemble, batchable, and 30g+ each: take your pick from our lunch ideas.
Goal: Easy to batch or assemble quickly
- Chicken + rice bowl
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- 150g chicken breast + 150g rice + 100g vegetables + your choice of sauce
- 45-50g of protein
- Turkey wrap
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- 120g turkey + wrap + cheese + salad
- 35-40g of protein
- Tuna bowl
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- One tin of tuna + 150g carbs (rice, potatoes, quinoa) + vegetables + fats (mayo, olive oil)
- 30-35g of protein
- Leftovers from dinner
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- 150g cooked meat or fish + carbs + vegetables
- 35-50g of protein
If you’re anything like us, it’s likely lunch will be your busiest meal, so meal prep is key to saving the most time. Keep it simple with recipes like these, and take the pressure off!
Dinner ideas
Simple, repeatable, and some solid 40-50g protein meals you can always go back to: dinner is served.
- Protein + carb + veg formula
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- 150g chicken/beef/fish + 200g rice/potatoes + greens
- 35-50g of protein (chicken 40-45g, beef 30-40g, fish 30-35g)
- One-pan meals
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- Same ingredients as above, just thrown into a pan and baked for 25-35 minutes (or until cooked through)
- 35-50g of protein
- Teriyaki stir-fry
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- 120g chicken/beef + rice/noodles + veg + teriyaki sauce
- 35-50g of protein
- Pasta with protein twist
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- 100g high protein pasta + 100g chicken/mince + tomato sauce
- 45-55g of protein
Dinner doesn’t need to be complex. Consistency is the most important factor, and having some reliable formulas you can switch in and out makes life so much easier.
Vegetarian? Switch out meat sources for tofu, cottage cheese, seitan, tempeh, edamame, and legumes – and if you’re struggling, supplements like protein powders are there to help.
Snack ideas
Here are some easy protein top-ups you can reach for throughout your day, without having to cook.
- Protein shakes (20-30g of protein)
- 200g greek yoghurt pots (20g of protein)
- 200g cottage cheese + fruit (22-26g of protein)
- 3 boiled eggs (18-21g of protein)
- Protein bars (15-25g of protein)
- 100g cured meat (15-25g of protein)
Snacks can act as your insurance policy when trying to hit a 150g protein goal. With the right timing and combination, a couple of these throughout the day can get you there with very little effort.
An easy 150g protein day
So, what does 150g look like in practice? Here’s a quick overview of an example meal plan that hits 150g of protein, with less than an hour in the kitchen:
7am Breakfast Protein powder smoothie (35g)
10am Mid-morning snack Cottage cheese and fruit (25g)
1pm Lunch Chicken rice bowl (45g)
3:30pm Afternoon snack Three boiled eggs (20g)
7pm Dinner Beef and potatoes (45g)
TOTAL: 170g of protein
That’s it. No complicated recipes. No hours of cooking. Just simple, quick recipes that get you to your goal (and then some).
Make 150g of protein a walk in the park
You’re almost ready to smash your goals – so here are some final tips to make it as easy as possible:
- Batch cook your proteins 2-3 times a week
- Have a repeatable base meal
- Always have backup protein on hand (powder, yoghurt, tinned food)
- Create a no-thinking, default menu you can fall back on
- Don’t aim for perfection, aim for consistency
If you structure your time smarter and consider your protein sources carefully, you don’t have to cook more to eat more. Using our simple formulas, switching out proteins for ones you feel like, and making sure there’s always a protein-packed snack in the cupboard, you’ll find that 150g suddenly becomes a very achievable goal.
And if it doesn’t, there’s always our protein powders to bump up your numbers.
Shop our range of top-quality protein powders, or quick and delicious high-protein foods.
