Meal Prep for the 21 Day Fix 2,100–2,300 Calorie Level

Meal Prep for the 21 Day Fix 2,100–2,300 Calorie Level

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If losing weight or building muscle are your goals, it’s important to know how many calories you should eat to reach those daily calorie goals. Eating too much can prevent you from losing weight while not eating enough can actually slow down weight loss and reduce muscle mass – and nobody wants that.

The 21 Day Fix Eating Plan offers a simple system that takes calorie counting and guesswork out of the equation: once you figure out what calorie bracket you’re in with the help of the guide, you’ll be provided with a list of how many containers of each color you should eat per day to reach your goals.

If you’re at the 2,100–2,300 calorie level, you’ll be allotted 6 green (vegetables), 4 yellow (carbs), 4 purple (fruits), 6 red containers (protein), 1 blue (healthy fats), 1 orange container (seeds and dressings), and 6 teaspoons (oils and nut butters) per day.

Below is a week’s worth of healthy meals at that calorie bracket. If you fall into a lower calorie level, use this plan as a starting point and subtract or decrease ingredients You’ll notice that this menu includes a lot of fresh berries, which can be expensive or hard to find when they’re not in season. You can substitute any fruit from the purple container foods listed in the guide for the berries.

That seems like a lot of food because it is. Healthy food has a lot more volume than junk foods high in sugar or fat. If you’re not used to it, you might feel yourself filling up quickly. It’s okay to stop eating when you’re full. After all, it’s an eating plan, not an eating contest. Just make sure you are eating from every color container in a day, especially the red and green!

To give you the fuel you need, the breakfasts below are protein-rich and loaded with essential nutrients. On this meal plan, you’ll enjoy two hearty egg cups stuffed with spinach, red bell pepper, and feta with a side of fresh berries on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, To make this meal leaner, swap the eggs for eight egg whites and add the egg whites to your shopping list. On Tuesday and Thursday, the first meal is a breakfast sandwich piled high with turkey bacon, tomato, and eggs served with a side of fresh blueberries. To simplify meal prep, we hard boiled the eggs. If you are making your breakfast fresh each day, consider poaching or scrambling the eggs. Freeze unused English muffins so they’ll be fresh for future meal preps.

There are plenty of snacks in this five-day menu. Every day you’ll have Shakeology blended with a banana and nut butter. In addition, on three days, another snack features Greek yogurt topped with mixed berries and shredded coconut (or chia, sunflower, or other seeds). On the two other days, your snack is celery with nut butter, cottage cheese, and a hard-boiled egg.

Lunches are hearty, but light enough to keep you from falling into an afternoon slump. On Tuesday and Thursday, we created a Mexican-inspired Chicken and Black Bean Burrito Bowl. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, it’s an arugula salad topped with baked sweet potato and chicken. This salad is served with an apple, which you can eat whole, or slice into the salad.

To finish out your day, this meal plan includes turkey chili paired with a simple salad, or a big bowl of mixed greens topped with chicken, cucumber, tomato, and sunflower seeds. Top the salad with balsamic vinegar or slice the dessert orange into the salad and use its juice as dressing. Have extra cilantro or parsley on hand from the recipes? Chop it up and add it to any of your meals. They count as free foods.

Here are the meals in greater detail. Scroll for a complete shopping list:

Meal 1 (Breakfast M/W/F): Spinach and Feta Egg Cups (use these recipes as a guide) with 2 eggs, 1 cup fresh spinach, and 2 Tbsp. feta cheese cooked in 1 tsp. olive oil (amount makes 2 egg cups), with 1 cup raspberries – 1 green, 1 purple, 1 red, ½ blue, 1 tsp.

Meal 1 (Breakfast Tue/Thur): Breakfast sandwich with 1 toasted English muffin, 4 slices turkey bacon, 2 slices tomato, and 2 sliced hard-boiled eggs, with 1 cup blueberries – ½ green, 1 purple, 2 reds, 2 yellows

Meal 2 (Snack Daily): 1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology made with 1 cup water, 2 tsp. almond butter, and ½ large banana – 1 purple, 1 red, 2 tsp.

Meal 3 (Lunch M/W/F): 2 cups arugula, ¾ cup chopped grilled chicken breast, apple slices, and 1 small sweet potato sliced baked with 1 tsp. olive oil – 2 green, 1 purple, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 tsp.

Meal 3 (Lunch Tue/Thur): Chicken and Black Bean Burrito Bowl and 1 medium apple – 1½ green, 1 purple, ½ red, 1½ yellow, 1 blue

Meal 4 (Snack M/W/F): 1½ cup 2% plain Greek yogurt with 1 cup mixed berries, topped with 2 Tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut –1 purple, 2 red, 1 orange

Meal 4 (Snack Tue/Thur): 1 cup celery sticks topped with 2 tsp. nut butter, with ¾ cup cottage cheese, and 1 hard-boiled egg – 1 green, 1½ red, 2 tsp.

Meal 5 (Dinner M/W/F): 2 servings (about 3 cups) Turkey Chili and salad made with 1 cup romaine lettuce, 1/3 cup each halved cherry tomatoes, chopped bell pepper, carrot, and ⅛ ripe avocado) drizzled with 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil and 2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar (free) –3 green, 1 red, 3 yellow, ½ blue, 2 tsp.

Meal 5 (Dinner Tue/Thur): Salad made with 2 cups green leaf lettuce, ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes, ½ cup chopped cucumber, ¾ cup chopped grilled chicken breast, ¼ cup edamame, and 2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds drizzled with 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil and 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, served with a medium orange – 3 green, 1 purple, 1 red, ½ yellow, 1 orange, 2 tsp.

Grocery List for the 21 Day Fix 2,100–2,300 Calorie Level Meal Prep

Produce

3 apples

3 bananas

2 cups blueberries

2 cups raspberries

3 cups mixed berries

2 oranges

1 lime

6 cups arugula

3 cups spinach

4 cups leaf lettuce

4½ cups romaine lettuce

1 bunch parsley

1 bunch cilantro

1 avocado

1 large tomato

2½ cups cherry tomatoes

3 cups celery sticks (about 1 bunch)

2 carrots

1 cucumber or 2 Persian cucumbers

3 to 4 red bell peppers

1 yellow bell pepper

1 large onion

3 small sweet potatoes

1 bag frozen shelled edamame

Dry Goods

raw, unsalted sunflower seeds

nut butter

unsweetened shredded coconut

⅓ cup brown rice (or 1 cup cooked)

Canned Goods

28 oz. can tomatoes

2 cans kidney beans

1 can black beans

Protein

24 oz. chicken breast (pre-cooked if possible)

1 lb. raw 93% lean ground turkey

8 slices turkey bacon

1 dozen eggs

5 packets Shakeology

Dairy

3 cups reduced fat (2%) plain Greek yogurt

¼ cup jack cheese

½ cup feta cheese

12 oz. lowfat (2%) cottage cheese

Bakery

2 whole-grain English muffins

Miscellaneous

Fresh salsa

Pantry

olive oil

Himalayan pink salt or sea salt

ground black pepper

chili powder

crushed red peppers

Photos by Kirsten Morningstar

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