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.
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 three 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.
Shakshuka base for the week
What goes in
- 3 cans (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 4 red peppers, sliced
- 3 onions, 8 cloves garlic
- 2 cans (15 oz) chickpeas, drained — they make it a meal rather than a sauce
- 2 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp caraway, chilli to taste
- 2 dozen eggs, kept separate
- Feta and coriander to finish
How
- Fry the onion and pepper for 10 minutes until properly soft. Rushing this is why weak shakshuka tastes thin.
- Garlic and spices, 90 seconds. Tomatoes and chickpeas in, simmer 25 minutes until a spoon leaves a channel behind it.
- Cool and portion the sauce on its own. The eggs go in at eating time, never before.
- To serve: a heavy portion of sauce in a small pan, three dents, three eggs, lid on, six minutes.
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
What goes in
- 2 lb paneer, cubed
- 2 cans (15 oz) chickpeas, drained
- 2 cans (14 oz) chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup Greek yoghurt, plus more to serve
- 2 onions, 6 cloves garlic, 2 inches ginger
- 3 tbsp garam masala, 1 tbsp turmeric, 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 2 tbsp ghee or butter
How
- Fry the paneer in ghee until it takes colour on two sides, then lift it out. Cubes that simmer from raw turn to sponge.
- Onion, garlic and ginger, 8 minutes. Spices, 1 minute. Tomatoes and chickpeas, 20 minutes.
- Yoghurt off the heat and stirred in slowly, or it splits.
- Paneer back in at the very end, only to warm through.
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
What goes in
- 18 eggs
- 2 cups cottage cheese
- 1 cup grated cheddar
- 2 cups chopped spinach, 1 diced pepper, 6 spring onions
- Salt, pepper, hot sauce
How
- Whisk the eggs and cottage cheese together. It looks wrong in the bowl and bakes fine.
- Fold in the vegetables and cheese, fill a greased 12-hole tin to the top.
- 350F for 25 minutes, until the middles are set with no wobble.
- Cool completely in the tin before you try to lift them out.
Keeping it: Fridge 4 days, freezer 2 months. Reheat 45 seconds from the fridge, 90 from frozen.
Halloumi, chickpea and pepper traybake
What goes in
- 2 lb halloumi, sliced thick
- 3 cans (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and dried well
- 3 red peppers, 2 red onions, cut into large chunks
- 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tbsp cumin
- 2 lemons, a bunch of parsley
- Chilli flakes to taste
How
- Chickpeas, peppers and onion tossed in oil and spices, spread out on a tray so nothing steams. 425F for 20 minutes.
- Push everything to one side, halloumi slices laid on the empty half of the tray.
- Back in for 10 to 12 minutes, until the halloumi is deep gold and the vegetables are charred at the edges.
- Lemon juice and parsley over everything as it comes out. Halloumi squeaks less once it has cooled slightly, which is normal.
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.