This time of year, time seems to compress. The days are shorter, the holidays are busier, and meal planning is usually the first thing to fall off the list, right when it matters most.
Next week we’ll dig into some specific mindset tools to help you organize the holidays so you enter the new year feeling great rather than dragging yourself across the finish line! But, in the meantime, one of the things I do with my clients this time of year is really focusing on how you can get the maximum impact with minimum effort. In this case, building a short list of high-protein, high-fiber crockpot meals they can cook once and eat on all week. Several of them freeze well too, so you can start stocking your freezer now for the weeks when even getting to the grocery store feels like a lot.
Every recipe below has at least 30 grams of protein per serving, and four of the five bring plenty of fiber on their own. The fifth is a protein foundation, and I’ll show you how to build the fiber around it.
Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Two kinds of beans, corn, peppers, and celery give this turkey chili 16 grams of fiber per serving to go with 33 grams of protein. But none of that matters if the flavor isn’t incredible! This version uses ground turkey but this is also an amazing way to repurpose Thanksgiving leftovers. You can also use my personal high protein bone broth recipe found here. It keeps for three months in the freezer, so make a double batch and put half away for December.
Full recipe and photo credit 👉 The Girl on Bloor
Slow Cooker Beef and Lentil Stew
Everything goes into the crockpot raw, dry lentils included, and cooks on low for eight hours, which makes it the best kind of slow cooker recipe. I also love that Danielle pulls from both beef and lentils bring 38 grams of protein per serving. This is a great high-protein and high-fiber recipe!
Full recipe and photo credit 👉 Oh Snap Macros
Turkey Vegetable Soup
Ground turkey, white beans, sweet potato, carrots, and cabbage simmer in a well-seasoned broth, with zucchini and yellow squash stirred in at the end so they stay tender. One cup is a light serving, so make your bowl two cups, which gets you about 42 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber. I would also recommend topping it with ½ an avocado for some extra fiber and healthy fats. Even with a double serving, this recipe makes a ton so it’s a perfect high protein recipe to stock in the freezer for busy weeks!
Full recipe and photo credit 👉 The Food Charlatan
Salsa Verde Chicken & Rice Soup
I first had this recipe when a friend pulled it out on a rainy camping trip. It instantly became one of my go-to high protein recipes. Chicken, poblano peppers, and salsa verde cook low for six to seven hours, then you shred the chicken and stir in beans and rice, for 30 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber per serving. Don’t skip the toppings, since avocado, Greek yogurt & cilantro add an incredible depth of flavor. If you’re cooking for leftovers, keep the rice separate and add it to each bowl, because rice left in the pot soaks up the broth.
Full recipe and photo credit 👉 Half Baked Harvest
Slow Cooker Greek Chicken
This one is the protein portion only, and it’s simply delicious: chicken cooked low in a four-ingredient lemon, garlic, and Greek yogurt sauce, then shredded and tossed with fresh sauce, for 34 grams of protein per serving. Greek yogurt is one of my favorite ways to keep moisture in your chicken (because dry chicken is the worst!) and the yogurt sauce is a great hack to add some extra protein and a ton of flavor. It’s the foundation for a week of salads, bowls, and wraps, and you bring the fiber with what you add, like brown rice, lentils, roasted vegetables, or a whole-grain wrap.
Full recipe and photo credit 👉 Real Food Whole Life
Make one or two of these this month, freeze what you don’t eat, and you’ll head into the busiest months of the year with dinner already handled and one less thing to think about.
