Vegetarian Meal Prep:1,500–1,800 Calorie Level
This light and healthy vegetarian meal prep is a veggie lover’s dream come true — leafy greens, onions, and mushrooms are daily staples, with everything from spaghetti squash to cabbage to asparagus to round out the meals. It’s also the perfect menu to transition from winter to spring. Hearty Chickpea Vegetable Soup will fill you up on blustery days and cool and crisp Hummus Veggie Wraps are a welcome prelude to spring.
Even if you’re not strictly vegetarian, this meal plan is an excellent menu to try out for a week. You’ll get your daily recommended servings of protein from familiar sources like eggs, yogurt, and Shakeology, so it’s a good choice for those who want to try a week of vegetarian eating without taking the plunge into other vegetarian sources of protein like tofu, tempeh, and seitan.
Stock up on mason jars or your favorite air-tight storage containers and take the comprehensive grocery list below to the store. Then, get busy in the kitchen on meal prep day with our easy to follow, step-by-step guide to prepare all of your meals for the week in a single afternoon.
Here’s what all of your delicious vegetarian meals will look like when you’re done:
This Vegetarian Meal Prep Follows the 21 Day Fix Meal Plan
Even though this meal prep follows the 21 Day Fix meal plan for the 1,500–1,800 calorie level, anyone wishing to prepare a week’s worth of healthy meat-free meals can follow or adapt this plan, including those following other Beachbody meal plans like Country Heat, 22 Minute Hard Corps, The Master’s Hammer and Chisel, and Core de Force. All of these programs use the color-coded Portion Fix containers to easily measure portions and eliminate the need for counting calories. The green container is veggies, purple is fruits, red is protein, yellow is carbs, blue is healthy fats, and orange is for seeds and dressings.
Each day at the 1,500–1,800 calorie level you’ll eat:
4 green containers
3 purple containers
4 red containers
3 yellow containers
1 blue containers
1 orange containers
4 teaspoons
These are the Healthy Meals You’ll Eat this Week:
Breakfast (M/W/F): Seasonal Omelette with Whole-Grain Toast
Breakfast (T/Th): Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Banana
Shakeology Snack (M/T/W/Th/F): Banana Shakeology Smoothie
PM Snack (M/T/W/Th/F): Greek Yogurt with Citrus and Seeds
Lunch (M/W/F): Chickpea Vegetable Soup
Lunch (T/Th): Hummus Veggie Wrap
Dinner (M/W/F): Easy Spaghetti Squash Lasagna
Dinner (T/Th): Zucchini Noodle Stir-Fry
VEGETARIAN MEAL PREP BREAKFASTS
M/W/F: Seasonal Omelette with Whole-Grain Toast (2 eggs, ¼ cup mushrooms, ¼ cup spinach, ¼ cup asparagus, ¼ cup onion, 1 slice whole wheat toast, 2 tsp. coconut oil = 1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow, 2 tsp. )
T/Th: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. part skim ricotta cheese, 3 eggs, ½ cup rolled oats, 2 tsp. fresh lemon zest, ½ large banana, 2 tsp. coconut oil, ¼ lemon juiced = 1 purple, 2 red, 2 yellow, 2 tsp.)
VEGETARIAN MEAL PREP SNACKS
Daily Shakeology Snack: Banana Smoothie (½ large banana, 1 scoop Shakeology, water, ice: 1 purple, 1 red)
Daily Afternoon Snack: Greek Yogurt with Citrus and Seeds (¾ cup 1% plain Greek yogurt, 1 medium orange, 1 Tbsp. chia seeds = 1 purple, 1 red, ½ orange)
VEGETARIAN MEAL PREP LUNCHES
M/W/F: Chickpea Vegetable Soup (1 cup garbanzo beans, 1 cup vegetable broth, 1 cup swiss chard, ¼ cup onion, ½ cup mushrooms, ¼ cup carrots, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, 1 tsp. olive oil = 2 green, 2 yellow, 1 tsp.)
T/Th: Hummus Veggie Wrap (2 large swiss chard leaves, ¼ cup hummus, ¼ cup red bell pepper, ¼ cup spinach, ¼ cup sprouts, ¼ cup carrots, ¼ cup cucumber, ½ cup quinoa = 1½ green, 1 yellow, 1 blue)
VEGETARIAN MEAL PREP DINNERS
M/W/F: Spaghetti Squash Lasagna (1 cup cooked spaghetti squash, ¼ cup mushrooms, ¼ cup onions, ¼ cup spinach, ¼ cup diced tomatoes, ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, ⅓ cup part skim ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1 Tbsp. ground flax, 1 tsp. olive oil = 2 green, 1 red, 1 blue, ½ orange, 1 tsp.)
T/Th: Zucchini Noodle Stir-Fry (1½ cups spiralized zucchini, 2 cloves garlic, ¼ cup mushrooms, ¼ cup onions, ½ cup shredded cabbage, 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, 2 tsp. reduced sodium soy sauce, 2 tsp. sesame oil = 2½ green, ½ orange, 2 tsp.)
Here are the meals you’ll eat on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday:
Here are the meals you’ll eat Tuesday and Thursday:
Follow this step-by-step guide to assemble your Vegetarian 21 Day Fix meal prep:
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line one large baking sheet with parchment paper. Prep the spaghetti squash by slicing it in half lengthwise and scraping out the seeds with a spoon. Season the insides with salt and pepper, if desired, and arrange on baking sheet (cut side down). Place baking sheet in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until spaghetti squash is tender and shreds easily with a fork. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Leave oven on.
2. While the spaghetti squash is baking, prep the vegetables for the week as follows: One at a time, wash, cut, and set each vegetable aside in separate bowls. Remove the skin from the 3 onions and chop into small pieces. Remove the stems from the swiss chard leaves; reserve 4 large whole leaves for the Hummus Veggie Wraps and chop 3 cups of chard for the Chickpea Vegetable Soup. Rinse the asparagus, cut off the woody part of the stems (about the bottom two inches), then chop into 1-inch pieces until you have ¾ cup asparagus. Rinse, remove the seeds, and cut a red bell pepper into ½ cup of thin slices. Rinse and cut cucumber into ½ cup of thin slices. Rinse and shred 1 cup cabbage. Peel and finely chop 7 cloves of garlic. Remove the ends, rinse, and spiralize 3 cups of zucchini (or, use a vegetable peeler to shave the zucchini into long, thin strips). If you purchased whole mushrooms and carrots, slice the mushrooms and shred the carrots, or slice them into matchsticks. Store any unused vegetables for future use.
3. Pat yourself on the back. That was a lot of vegetables!
4. Once the vegetables are prepped, make the Spaghetti Squash Lasagna. Use a large spoon or fork to scrape the spaghetti squash from its skin. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel or colander and gently squeeze the squash to remove any excess moisture. Heat 3 tsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ¾ cup of the diced onions and ¾ cup of the sliced mushrooms to the skillet; cook until the onion is translucent and mushrooms have softened (about 5 minutes). Add ¾ cup spinach to the skillet, cooking just until spinach has wilted (about 2 minutes). Remove the vegetables from heat and set aside. Open, a can of diced tomatoes and add ¾ cup of the tomatoes to the skillet and stir to combine. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup ricotta cheese, 3 eggs, and 3 Tbsp. ground flax. Finally, measure and set aside ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Assemble lasagna in an 8”x8” baking dish by layering half of the spaghetti squash, followed by half of the ricotta cheese mixture, half of the vegetable mixture, and half of the mozzarella cheese; repeat layers with the remaining ingredients. Place the baking dish in the 425°F preheated oven for 45 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and begins to turn golden brown. Set aside to cool and turn oven off. Once cool, divide the lasagna into three large storage containers.
4. While the lasagna bakes, make the Chickpea Vegetable Soup. In a large saucepan, heat 3 tsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add ¾ cup of the diced onions, 3 cloves of chopped garlic (approximately 3 tsp.), and 1½ cups of the sliced mushrooms to the saucepan; cook until the onion is translucent and mushrooms have softened (about 5 minutes). Next, add ¾ cup of shredded carrots to the saucepan and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Open, drain, and rinse two 15 oz. cans of chickpeas. Add 3 cups of chickpeas, 3 cups of vegetable broth, 3 cups of chopped swiss chard, and 3 tsp. of Italian seasoning to the saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for an additional 20–30 minutes until chard is soft. Set aside to cool, then portion into three storage containers.
5. While the soup is simmering, prepare the Zucchini Noodle Stir-Fry. Coat a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add ½ cup of the diced onions, 4 cloves of the minced garlic (approximately 4 tsp.), and ½ cup of the sliced mushrooms to the skillet; cook until the onion is translucent and the mushrooms have softened (about 5 minutes). Next, add 3 cups of spiralized zucchini and 1 cup of shredded cabbage to the skillet; heat for an additional 5 minutes, making sure all ingredients are well combined. Add 4 tsp. sesame oil and stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Once cool, divide the vegetable mixture between 2 large storage containers; top each with 1 or 2 tsp. reduced sodium soy sauce and 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, then cover and refrigerate.
6. Prep the Seasonal Omelettes. In a large skillet, heat 3 tsp. coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add ¾ cup of the diced onions, ¾ cup of the sliced mushrooms, and ¾ cup of the chopped asparagus to the skillet; cook until the onion is translucent, and mushrooms and asparagus have softened (about 5 minutes). Next, add ¾ cup spinach to the skillet, cooking just until spinach has wilted (about 2 minutes). Next, prepare three individual omelettes. For each, whisk 2 eggs, seasoning with salt and pepper, if desired, and cook in a small skillet with 1 tsp. coconut oil. Cook eggs over medium-low heat until eggs are set, then place ⅓ of the vegetable mixture in center of eggs and fold ends over. Repeat all steps two more times. You may choose instead to make a scramble: Heat 3 tsp. coconut oil over medium heat, add 6 scrambled eggs and all cooked veggies, stirring until eggs are set. Divide between three containers. Serve with a slice of whole-grain toast.
7. Make the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes by adding ¾ cup ricotta cheese, 6 eggs, 1 cup rolled oats, and 4 tsp. fresh lemon zest to a bowl and stirring until batter is smooth. In a large skillet, heat 1 tsp. coconut oil over medium-high heat. Pour or scoop batter into skillet, using approximately ¼ cup of batter for each pancake, and making 3 pancakes per batch. Repeat process of heating more coconut oil and making pancakes until all batter is used. Note: we made 12 pancakes in 4 batches; however, if using a smaller pan, reduce the amount of coconut oil you use per batch. Divide pancakes between 2 storage containers. When ready to eat, top with ½ banana and drizzle with freshly squeezed lemon juice if desired.
8. Next, prep the Hummus Veggie Wraps. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Add ½ cup uncooked quinoa, reduce heat to low, and cover for 15 minutes or until quinoa is tender. Set aside to cool. To make two large wraps, lay four large swiss chard leaves on a work surface in stacks of two (or, make four smaller wraps). Spread each stack of chard with ¼ cup hummus. Place ¼ cup red bell pepper slices, ¼ cup pre-washed spinach, ¼ cup sprouts, ¼ cup matchstick carrots, and ¼ cup cucumber slices in the center of each leaf. Add ½ cup cooled, cooked quinoa to each. Tightly wrap swiss chard leaves around each stack of vegetables, rolling each into the shape of a burrito. Secure wraps with toothpicks if needed. Place into two food storage containers.
9. Prep the Greek yogurt snack by placing ¾ cup yogurt and 1 Tbsp. chia seeds into five storage containers. Top each with one peeled orange divided into segments. Place in fridge.
10. Make the Shakeology Smoothie each day when by blending 1 scoop Shakeology with ½ banana, water, and ice.
GROCERY LIST FOR THIS VEGETARIAN MEAL PREP:
Fruit
4 large bananas
5 medium oranges
1 lemon
Vegetables
3 (8 oz.) packages sliced mushrooms
2 cups pre-washed baby spinach
1 bundle asparagus
3 large onions
2 bunches swiss chard with large leaves
1 cup shredded carrots (or 2 large carrots)
1 head garlic
1 medium red bell pepper
8 oz. package sprouts
1 medium cucumber
1 medium spaghetti squash (3–4 lbs.)
3 medium zucchini
1 small head purple cabbage
Protein
5 scoops or packets Vanilla Shakeology
15 eggs
Dairy
15 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
32 oz. 1% plain Greek yogurt
¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Deli
8 oz. prepared hummus
Dry and Canned Goods
1 loaf whole-grain bread
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 (15 oz.) cans chickpeas
24 oz. container vegetable broth
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
½ cup uncooked quinoa (or 1 cup cooked quinoa)
5 Tbsp. chia seeds
3 Tbsp. ground flax seeds
3 Tbsp. sesame seeds
Pantry
olive oil
coconut oil
sesame oil
reduced-sodium soy sauce
Italian seasoning
