The High Protein Meals I’m Eating as a Busy Mom This Summer
Summer is the time we like to feel our leanest and healthiest, but is also the busiest 3 months of the year! Especially if you have kids! I have now lost over 45 lbs and have learned that if I can’t have healthier, high protein options that I can make in less than 10 minutes, I’m either not going to eat at all or will just eat my kids’ leftover mac-n-cheese. Here are some of my go-to breakfasts, lunches, and dinners that are yummy, high protein, and super easy.
My Super Simple Breakfasts
I eat a lot of the same things every day and breakfast is the meal I keep the simplest. I occasionally will make a fancy breakfast but most of the time I make my kids eggs and bacon or sausage, oatmeal, cereal, or yogurt and granola. On mornings I make eggs and sausage I will often times eat that with them as well. The other foods are a little heavier carb and lighter protein than what I would like to stick with my goals so I opt to eat something different.
My go-to breakfast is a Sola Bagel with whipped cream cheese. These bagels are high fiber, have 14 grams of protein, and are under 120 calories! I toast mine and add a little whipped cream cheese on top! If I’m feeling fancy I’ll even through an egg or two on it as well.
My second part of breakfast I love to have in the summer is protein iced coffee. Sounds like a lot of work but literally so easy! I buy pre-brewed ice coffee that I keep in the fridge and the secret ingredient… Core Power protein drinks. I use the vanilla and pour about half of it in my coffee as my “creamer.” You can choose between the 26 grams of protein or the 42 but I usually opt for the 42.
This breakfast with the bagel and the iced coffee has over 50 grams of protein, 25 grams of fiber, and less than 500 calories. It also takes less than 5 minutes to make!
Buy my favorites here! These are affiliate links and I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you
Sola Bagels– I typically find mine at Walmart or you can order them here!
Core Power drinks- Vanilla. Chocolate.
Lunches That I Love
Lunch time is chaos at our house. My husband comes home for his lunch break, my kids think they are starved and I often have the kids I nanny. Five kids and a husband needing fed usually leaves little time or motivation to make anything impressive for myself.
I will sometimes eat what they are eating, especially if it’s leftovers from a high protein dinner earlier in the week. In the summer however, I often times make them snack plates or sandwiches and I’ll tweak what I make them to fit my goals. If I make them sandwiches, I’ll make myself a wrap on a carb counter tortilla. If I make them a snack tray I’ll add cottage cheese and extra meat to mine along with the fruits and veggies. I also love to make chicken salad with canned chicken, one tbsp. of mayo, ¼ cup of cottage cheese and diced pickles and jalepenos eaten with whole grain or Simple Mills crackers.
Sometimes I’ll buy a frozen little meal like the Bibigo dumplings and add a couple hard boiled eggs and pickled red onion. So good! All of these take less than 10 minutes to prepare and help me stay on track.
High Protein Dinners the Whole Family Will Love
I leave my most wiggle room for our dinners. Dinner is such a sacred family time and I want my kids to remember the good food, laughter, love, and community around our table. I’ve learned a few tweaks over the years to still eat really yummy food as a family while eating what makes me feel my best.
I’ve learned to swap ground turkey for ground beef occasionally for things like tacos, enchiladas, in sauces etc. I also buy the high protein pasta when we have pasta nights. The kids love it and we all get a little more protein in our bodies.
I make lasagna with cottage cheese instead of ricotta, I use carb counter tortillas in my own pan for enchiladas, and I always try to add a little more meat and veggies to my plate than I normally would. We also make alot of variations of Pantry Bowls. You can read my post on how I make our weekly meal plan and more dinner ideas HERE!
Desserts (yes, we eat dessert too!)
My favorites by far I’ve found so far are Halo Top and Yasso products. You can find these at probably almost any grocery store and taste so good! Halo Top just came out with a new cookie dough and brownie ice cream and it’s decadent.
Final Thoughts
I know summer can feel crazy and overwhelming! We are in the midst of baseball and softball and are gone 4 nights a week! Between sports and camps and everything in between it feel so daunting and downright impossible to stick to weight loss goals, or health goals when everything is so busy. Give yourself grace and hopefully this post helped give you some ideas to ease your mental load and keep you on track with your protein goals!
