Eggs and dairy in
Vegetarian for big guys
Adding eggs and dairy back to a plant-based plan solves the density problem almost by itself. Eggs are the best protein per dollar in the supermarket after dried beans, and a tub of cottage cheese adds 25 g to a meal in the time it takes to open it.
Eggs and dairy do the heavy lifting
How this one works
This is the easiest of the six tracks to hit a real protein number on, and the fastest to cook. Eggs at about 6 g each, Greek yoghurt at about 17 g a cup, cottage cheese at about 25 g a cup and paneer at about 25 g per 100 g mean you are never more than five minutes from another 25 g.
The trap is that it quietly becomes a cheese-and-bread diet. The plan below keeps legumes in every single day on purpose — they carry the fibre and they hold the cost down.
The two cook sessions
What you make, and when
The site-wide schedule is Sunday for the long cook and Wednesday for the top-up. On this track that means:
- CookTwo-pan shakshuka base — 8 portions of sauce, eggs added fresh
- CookPaneer and chickpea curry — 6 portions
- Cook18 hard-boiled eggs
- Cook6 cups rice, two trays of roast veg
- CookTray of halloumi and lentils — 4 portions
- CookA dozen egg and cottage cheese muffins for breakfasts
- CookSalad components chopped, dressing made in a jar
Timed run sheets for both sessions are on the prep schedule, and every recipe named above has its own page.
The actual week
Seven days, about 180 g of protein
This is the whole week rather than a teaser. Friday dinner is deliberately left open — a plan with no room in it is a plan you break once and abandon.
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Four-egg scramble with cheese, two slices toast | Paneer and chickpea curry over rice | Shakshuka with three eggs, flatbread, salad | Cottage cheese, banana |
| Tue | Greek yoghurt, granola, berries, honey | Curry again, with a fried egg on top | Lentil bolognese, pasta, parmesan | Two boiled eggs, apple |
| Wed | Egg and cottage cheese muffins, toast | Halloumi and lentil tray, big slaw | Bean and cheese burritos, sour cream | Protein shake after training |
| Thu | Oats with whey, peanut butter, banana | Bolognese leftovers | Shakshuka, last of the sauce, three eggs | Cottage cheese, pineapple |
| Fri | Cheese omelette, beans, toast | Egg mayo on wholemeal, big side salad | Whatever you like — eat out, order in | Greek yoghurt if the day ran short |
| Sat | Full plate — eggs, halloumi, beans, mushrooms | Chickpea and feta salad, warm pitta | Vegetable and paneer biryani | Yoghurt, fruit, nuts |
| Sun | Greek yoghurt, oats, berries | Leftovers, whatever is open | Cook day — roast an extra tray of veg | Portion out Monday to Wednesday |
Big-batch recipes
The four that do the work
Real quantities, a per-portion protein count, and how long each one actually keeps. Everything here scales to a full tray or a full pot on purpose — each one has its own page with the ingredients and the method.
Shakshuka base for the week
Keeping it: Sauce keeps 4 days in the fridge and 3 months frozen. Eggs cooked into it and reheated go rubbery, which is the whole reason the sauce is stored alone.
Paneer and chickpea curry
Keeping it: Fridge 4 days. It freezes acceptably but the paneer firms up — if you are freezing it, hold the paneer back and fry it fresh.
Egg and cottage cheese breakfast muffins
Keeping it: Fridge 4 days, freezer 2 months. Reheat 45 seconds from the fridge, 90 from frozen.
Halloumi, chickpea and pepper traybake
Keeping it: Fridge 3 days — halloumi turns rubbery well before 4, so this one does not stretch as far as the others. Reheat in a hot dry pan, not the microwave, to keep the crust.
Doing it cheaper
The budget version
Eggs are the anchor. At the July 2026 national average of $2.19 a dozen, a dozen is roughly 76 g of protein for a shade over two dollars — about 35 g per dollar, second only to dried beans. Build the week on eggs and legumes and the cheese becomes a garnish rather than the budget.
Around $50–65 a week for one person at national average prices. Eggs, milk and dried legumes are the cheap two-thirds; the cheese and paneer are where it climbs.
| Instead of | Use | Why it is worth it |
|---|---|---|
| Paneer | Halloumi, or press your own from a gallon of milk | A gallon of whole milk at $4.31 makes roughly a pound of paneer. It takes twenty minutes and a colander. |
| Small yoghurt pots | The largest tub sold, portioned yourself | Single-serve pots run two to three times the price per ounce. |
| Pre-grated cheese | A block, grated at home | Cheaper per pound and it melts properly. Bagged shreds are dusted with starch to stop them clumping. |
| Meat-substitute burgers | Lentils and eggs | The same meal at a fifth of the cost, with more protein per portion. |
The prices behind these swaps, with sources, are in the protein-per-dollar table.
Shopping list
One week, one person
Sized for a big guy eating the plan above with a little slack in it. Halve the fresh produce if you shop twice a week.
Protein
- 4 dozen eggs
- 2 lb paneer or halloumi
- 2 large tubs cottage cheese
- Large tub Greek yoghurt
- 2 lb dried lentils
- Block of cheddar
Carbs
- 5 lb rice
- 2 lb rolled oats
- 1 lb pasta
- Flatbreads or pitta
- Loaf of wholemeal bread
Plants
- 4 red peppers
- 3 onions, 2 heads garlic
- Bag of spinach
- Head of cabbage
- Frozen mixed veg
- Bananas and apples
Pantry
- 5 cans chopped tomatoes
- 4 cans chickpeas
- Half gallon milk
- Garam masala, cumin, smoked paprika
- Ghee or butter, olive oil
A vegetarian plan built on eggs and dairy covers B12 and iodine without help, but iron from plants absorbs less readily than iron from meat. Vitamin C in the same meal — peppers, tomatoes, citrus — meaningfully improves that, which is one reason those turn up in every recipe here.
Nothing on this page is medical advice. It is a plan written for general strength training in healthy adults, and any condition or medication you are managing outranks it.
Not the right track?
Five others, same structure, all with a budget version.