If You're Worried About Getting Enough Protein to Lose Weight, Meal Prep These 12 Vegan Foods

There are a few ways you can prep tofu. You can cube it (or crumble it), marinate it, and be done. You can chop other veggies like sweet potatoes and red pepper and add your marinated tofu to a glass dish so it's ready to roast later in the week. Or you can bake or sauté tofu so it's ready to add to salads, soups, and whole grains.

For a superquick hack, buy Trader Joe's Organic Baked Tofu, cube that, and you're done in five minutes!

Just like tofu, you can slice or cube tempeh and marinate it to keep in the fridge to use later (like in this one-pan roasted sweet potato dish). Or you can bake it so it's ready to add to sandwiches, avocado toast, wraps, whole grains, or salads.

If you've never tasted home-cooked beans, they are on a whole other level when compared to canned beans. Aside from their more robust flavor and tender texture, it's also way cheaper to cook dry beans than to buy canned.

Experiment with different beans each week to keep your meals exciting. Try black, pinto, black-eyed peas, kidney, and navy beans. You can presoak them Saturday night and cook them in a pot Sunday afternoon on medium heat for about an hour or two, or cook a big batch of beans in a slow cooker, which takes about eight to nine hours.

Use them all week to make soup, these freezer soup packs, burritos, or Buddha bowls, or freeze smaller portions to use later.

Cook up a cup or three of whole grains. You may like making quinoa, brown rice, or barley, or you can cook two grains together that have similar cooking times, like this red quinoa and arborio rice.

Use cooked whole grains throughout the week to make savory or sweet breakfasts instead of the usual oatmeal, add spoonfuls to wraps and salads, or use for stir-fries or curry dinners later in the week. You can also freeze smaller portions for later.

If you don't have time to meal prep dry beans, cook up a big pot of lentils, because it only takes about 20 minutes. Just simmer one cup of dry lentils with two cups of water, and that's it! They add protein and fiber to salads, soups, and whole grains, or try them as an alternative to ground meat over pasta.

Skip the pricey plant-based protein bars with tons of ingredients and make your own so they'll be ready to go for all your snacking needs. Try these recipes:

• Vegan chocolate almond protein bars: made with almonds, oats, protein powder, maple syrup, and chocolate chips
• Vegan RXBars: made with dates, protein powder, hemp hearts, and almonds

For another quick snack, roast some chickpeas. You can make them savory with garlic powder and cumin (these are great in salads, too), go sweet with maple syrup and cinnamon, or try cocoa cinnamon roasted chickpeas.

For quick breakfasts or for a snack or dessert to satisfy sweet cravings, bake a batch of something protein-packed so you'll have something quick to grab you can feel good about. Try these scrumptious recipes:

• Black bean brownies: 5.9 grams of protein per muffin
• Sweet potato banana protein bread: 10.4 grams of protein per slice
• Protein banana bread: 8.2 grams of protein per slice
• Protein-packed brownies: 5.1 grams of protein per square
• Lemon blueberry protein muffins: 6 grams of protein per muffin
• Double chocolate zucchini protein muffins: 4.9 grams of protein per muffin
• Chocolate chip protein-packed pumpkin bread: 9.2 grams of protein per slice
• Peanut butter protein granola bars: 16 grams of protein per bar

Make pancakes ahead of time, and freeze them not only for pancakes but also for breakfast parfaits, sandwiches, or dessert. This whole-wheat protein pancake recipe makes 24 and is sweetened with ripe banana and spices. One 106-calorie pancake offers 4.8 grams of protein.

Take advantage of the versatility and convenience of protein powder and add it to your overnight oats. This recipe is made using steel-cut oats, and you can make all five at once. The steel-cut oats make for a chewy, more substantial bowl, but if you want a softer texture, try these high-protein recipes made with rolled oats:

• Maple raspberry high-protein overnight oats
• Maple pecan high-protein overnight oats
• Chocolate overnight oatmeal with peanut butter swirls
• Banana cashew overnight oats

These protein balls take less than 15 minutes to make, so even if you only have time to meal prep one thing, let this be it. They're great to keep in the fridge to grab a bunch for a quick breakfast or to nosh on before or after a workout. They're so sweet, they'll even pass for dessert. Here are a few recipes to try:

• Coconut-covered chocolate almond protein balls
• Chocolate peanut butter protein balls
• Three-ingredient vegan protein balls
• Lemon coconut protein balls
• Chocolate chip cookie dough balls

Of course you can easily buy nut butter at the store, but if you've never made your own, the flavor is miles above and so worth the time it'll take to clean your food processor. This pumpkin spice cashew butter is made with salted roasted cashews from Trader Joe's, but feel free to use any nut or mix nuts together. Store your nut butter in a mason jar, and it's a delicious way to get a little extra protein on toast, mixed into oatmeal, or added to smoothies.