Coffee Break #68
Phew, friends! We are emerging from the busiest September and October our little family has had yet. With all three boys now in sports, scouts, and other activities, we’ve officially entered the season of life when we seemingly spend more of our dinnertime hours in the car than seated around the table together. Thankfully, Fall sports season has come to a close, and there is more breathing room back in our lives. But while it’s on my mind, I wanted to share a dinnertime “hack” that really came in clutch during this busy time. I call it “protein doubling,” some probably just call it bulk prepping. Whatever it is, it’s a serious time, sanity, and budget saver! Let me share!
Always Looking For Shortcuts
Even when life isn’t crazy busy, I don’t particularly love making dinner every night. Sure, I’ve come up with some good meal planning tricks and efficiency hacks over the years to make it as easy as possible. But I’m still constantly streamlining my methods and carving out shortcuts wherever I can.
When I revamped my diet in January of 2025, I bought the Planned Cookbook by Lillie Eats & Tells. At the time, I bought it because I perceived it as an easy-to-follow meal plan while I got the hang of counting macros and eating higher-protein meals.
What I didn’t realize is that her cook one protein and use it twice strategy would prove quite adaptable beyond the 5-week meal plan outlined in her cookbook.
This “one protein for two meals” strategy is now how I primarily plan out our weekly meal plan!
Protein Doubling
“Protein doubling” is not an official term (I don’t think?). It’s just how I explain this concept to my friends who ask and how I’ll refer to it here.
Essentially, it’s the concept of picking two meals that use the exact same protein (as in, the exact same: preparation, seasoning, etc). You cook a double batch of that protein when you prepare Meal 1, so that when you prepare Meal 2, a lot of the work is already done for you.
I find this hack to be an easy-to-incorporate midpoint between cooking every meal from scratch each night and full out meal prepping on a weekend (which I don’t really have time for).
Cooking a double (or sometimes even triple) batch of protein requires very little extra work while you’re making Meal 1. But it saves valuable time (and dishes!) when you’re prepping Meal 2.
And that time saved is incredibly valuable on the nights when all the kids’ activities stack up or work runs late!
Meal Planning with Protein Doubling
It can take a little while to get the rhythm of this concept and gather up enough compatible recipes. But once you do, meal planning becomes so much easier.
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Because instead of identifying 6-7 unique meals for each week, you essentially identify 3 “pair meals” for a total of 6 dinners (and then do leftovers or eat/order out on day 7).
To avoid eating the “same thing” two days in a row, I will often rotate or alternate the paired meals throughout the week.
For example:
- Monday – Meal 1 with Protein A
- Tuesday – Meal 1 with Protein B
- Wednesday – Meal 2 with Protein A
- Thursday – Meal 1 with Protein C
- Friday – Out – always, I never cook on Fridays
- Saturday – Meal 2 with Protein B
- Sunday – Meal 2 with Protein C
To really make this work for a busy schedule, make sure you pick non-busy nights to prep your proteins and save those Meal 2 slots for nights when there is less time!
My Favorite “Meal Pairs”
You can hunt around for various recipes that utilize the exact same protein that work right for your family and diet. But here are a few of our favorite combinations that I rotate pretty regularly.
(If I don’t have a specifc recipe linked below, it’s because it’s featured in a cookbook only and I can’t find it online.)
| Protein to Double | Meal A | Meal B |
| Taco Meat | Nachos or Tacos with Fixings | Sheet-Pan Quesadillas |
| Meatballs in Spaghetti Sauce (Crockpot) | Spaghetti and Meatballs | Baked Meatball Sliders |
| Marinaded Steak Filets | Steak Dinner (with potatoes and green vegetable) | Steak Stir Fry (just add veggies, simmer sauce, and rice) |
| Fajita Chicken | Fajitas | Green Chili Chicken Bake or Quesadillas |
| Pulled Pork | Pulled Pork Over Sweet Potatoes | Skinny Cuban Sandwiches |
| Asian Chicken Thighs | Asian (Cauliflower) Rice Bowls | Chicken Stir Fry (just add veggies, simmer sauce and rice) |
| Brats/Itallian Sausages | Sausages in Buns | Sausage Pasta Bake |
| Pork Tenderloin | Pork Dinner (with potatoes and green vegetable) | Pork Sandwiches |
| Almost Any Cooked Protein | Bagged Salad + Protein | Rice Bowl + Protein |
These simmer sauces and Costco microwave rice bowls (both brown and white rice) help me utilize up those prepared proteins even faster!
Helpful Resources
Sometimes I get a little stuck or want to shake things up from our usual rotations, so I’ve started looking for cookbooks and meal plans that use this similar concept.
Here are a few I like:
If the concept of “traditional” meal planning and/or bulk meal prepping feels too much for you, I highly recommend giving this “meal pairs” with “protein doubling” concept a try. The extra “work” of prepping double protein is hardly extra at all, but the time (and mental energy!) saved throughout the week really can’t be overstated!
Megan
2 Comments on “Coffee Break #68”
Thanks for sharing! This would also help with something I’ve had a hard time planning for:impromptu hosting. Haven’t been able to figure out how to meal plan in a way where last minute you could invite someone over. On a Meal A day you’ll have double the protein so you could much easier double the meal and then make a change tomorrow for what was supposed to be Meal B. Even frozen food if that meant making time for others possible.
On the run now. If it’s winding down, you boys must not play hockey. I don’t see my son’s family much; I don’t drive in the snow so the deal is they come here in the winter and I go there in the summer.
Grandson plays baseball and is a hockey goalie: he’s always got a game!
Enjoy it – it’s one of those things you will miss.