--- title: This Week's Prep — built from actual Coles cart created: 2026-05-03 updated: 2026-05-03 type: plan tags: [nutrition, meal-prep, this-week] status: live related: - "[[Nutrition-Meal-System]]" - "[[Weekend-Meal-Prep-Plan]]" --- # This Week's Prep Built from Rocky's actual Coles cart 2026-05-03. **Slim version.** No dump-bag system this week — cart doesn't have the inputs (no lamb, beef chuck, boiling bacon, coconut milk, etc.). Sticking to: morning shake + Monster Mash lunch + simple cook-fresh dinners. ## What's in the cart (totals) **Protein:** 1kg beef mince · 1kg salmon · 1.25kg chicken thigh · 330g eye fillet (1 steak) · 400g pork chops (~2) · 24 eggs · 8 sardine tins · 500g whey · 1kg milk powder · 2kg Greek yoghurt **Carbs:** 1kg rice · 2kg oats (deal) · 1.5kg sweet potato · 2kg potato **Fresh veg:** 1kg onions · 1 capsicum · 3-pack garlic · 750g bananas **Frozen:** 5x150g Steam Fresh mix · 250g spinach · 1kg blueberries · 500g strawberries **Other:** 2L OJ · 2L chicken stock (2-pack deal) · paprika · creatine · 20 bags · TP ## What you can build from this | Meal slot | Plan | Source | |---|---|---| | Morning shake | Milk powder + Greek yoghurt + whey + frozen berries + ½ banana | 5 mins daily | | Pre-work sardines | 1 tin | 30s daily | | Lunch | Monster Mash (5 portions, prepped Sunday) | reheat 3 min | | Mid-arvo (optional) | 2nd sardine tin OR yoghurt + berries OR boiled egg | n/a | | Dinner | Air fryer protein + sweet potato/rice + frozen veg | 15 min when home | | Pre-bed shake | Milk powder + berries | 2 min | ## Sunday prep block (45 minutes — no dump bags) ### 9:00 AM — start (5 min) - [ ] Eggs in cold water on stove, lid on, medium heat. Boil 10 min from boil → ice bath. - [ ] Rice cooker: 2 cups rice + chicken stock (use 1L stock for both rice cook + Monster Mash flavour). Set and forget. - [ ] Heat big pan with oil on medium. ### 9:05 AM — Monster Mash cook (25 min) Modified Monster Mash (no garlic powder, no Worcestershire — keep it simple per cart). - [ ] **Onions**: dice 2 of the brown onions, into pan. Fry 6-8 min until soft. - [ ] **Capsicum**: dice the red capsicum, in. 3-4 min. - [ ] **Garlic**: 3 cloves minced, in. 1 min. - [ ] **Mince**: 1kg beef mince, break up, brown thoroughly. - [ ] **Spices**: salt + pepper + 1 tbsp smoked paprika. Stir. - [ ] **Optional**: handful of frozen spinach at the end. Fold in, 2 min. - [ ] **Combine**: cooked rice into the pan, stir through. - [ ] Off heat, cool 10 min while you do the next steps. ### 9:30 AM — Overnight oats (10 min) 5 jars (Monday–Friday breakfast option for days you don't shake): - [ ] Per jar: ½ cup oats + ⅔ cup reconstituted milk (3 tbsp milk powder + ⅔ cup water) + 100g Greek yoghurt + 1 tbsp honey if you have it + handful frozen berries on top. - [ ] Lid, fridge. ### 9:40 AM — Portion + clean (5 min) - [ ] Monster Mash → 5 containers (~250-300g each). Cool fully before lid → fridge (or freeze 2 if not eating Mon-Fri). - [ ] Eggs: peel under cold water → container in fridge. - [ ] Cap snacking veg: leftover capsicum if any, cucumber if you've got it. Containers. - [ ] Banana check: any browning bananas? Peel, chunk, ziplock, freezer (smoothie reserves). ### 9:45 AM — Done. --- ## Through-the-week (Mon–Fri) ### Daily basics (no thinking) - 04:30 train → 05:30 morning shake → 06:50 sardine → 11:00 reheat lunch → 14:00ish bridge snack (eggs/yoghurt/2nd sardine) → evening dinner (cook fresh) → 2hr-before-bed shake. ### Morning shake recipe (this week's version) Filled to top of NutriBullet. Rotate banana with handful of berries: - 1 cup reconstituted milk (4 tbsp milk powder + 1 cup water) - 1 cup Greek yoghurt - 1 scoop whey (30g) - Frozen berries to top - Optional: ½ frozen banana on training days Macros: ~50-55g protein, 35-45g carbs, ~450-550 cal. ### Pre-bed shake (this week) - 1 cup reconstituted milk (4 tbsp milk powder + 1 cup water) - 2 heaped tbsp extra milk powder (casein hit) - Handful berries ### Dinners (cook fresh, 15 min when home) You've got 5 protein "blocks" to spread across 5 weekday dinners + 2 weekend: - **Salmon ×4 portions** (split the 1kg into 4 ~250g portions, freeze 2-3 since fresh-frozen). Air fryer 180°C, 8-10 min, skin down. - **Chicken thigh ×3-4 portions** (~310g per portion). Air fryer 200°C, 18 min. - **Eye fillet ×1** (330g — Saturday treat). Air fryer 200°C, 6-8 min, flip halfway. Rest 5 min. - **Pork chops ×2** (split the 400g pack). Air fryer 200°C, 12 min. Total: 10 protein portions. You only need 7 evenings. Buffer = 3. **Carb each night**: cubed sweet potato (200°C, 20 min, parallel in air fryer or oven) OR rice from leftover Monster Mash batch OR boiled potato (15 min). **Veg each night**: 1 packet of the Birds Eye Steam Fresh straight in the air fryer alongside protein. 5 packets = 5 nights covered. ### Day-by-day (suggestion, swap freely) | Day | Lunch | Dinner | |---|---|---| | Mon | Monster Mash | Salmon + sweet potato + Steam Fresh | | Tue | Monster Mash | Chicken thigh + rice + frozen spinach | | Wed | Monster Mash | Pork chop + boiled potato + Steam Fresh | | Thu | Monster Mash | Salmon + sweet potato + Steam Fresh | | Fri | Monster Mash | Chicken thigh + rice + Steam Fresh | | Sat (treat) | flexible — leftovers or eat out | **Eye fillet** + sweet potato chips + Steam Fresh | | Sun | flexible | Chicken thigh + rice + frozen spinach | Salmon distributes 4 → 2 fresh nights + 2 frozen for week 2. Adjust. ## Macros sanity-check (daily) - Morning shake: ~52g protein - Sardines (1.5 tins): ~37g - Lunch (Monster Mash 250g + rice): ~35g - Dinner (salmon 250g): ~55g - Pre-bed shake: ~28g **Total: ~207g protein.** Within your 200-250g target. If macro low: extra boiled egg (6g), 2nd sardine tin (~25g), or boost the dinner protein. ## What you DON'T have this week (so you don't waste time looking) - No lamb / Irish stew · no beef chuck / Guinness stew · no boiling bacon / cabbage feast - No bone-in chicken / coq au vin · no curry paste / coconut milk → no chicken curry - No tinned tomatoes / kidney beans → no chilli con carne - No fresh milk → all milk is reconstituted from milk powder this week. Tastes thinner; same macros. - No mushrooms, leeks, cabbage, carrots (except in the frozen mix) - No fresh herbs → just paprika + S&P this week Add to next shop if you want the full dump-bag system back online. Master list is in [[Nutrition-Meal-System]] Part 8. ## Cost (this cart) Rough total from line items: ~**$280-300** (one person, one week's food + creatine + TP + freezer bags). Higher than the $50-65 rough in [[Weekend-Meal-Prep-Plan]] because (a) one-off creatine ($25), (b) eye fillet steak ($27), (c) frozen salmon ($35), (d) duplicate eggs/sardines/oats deal-buying, (e) you stocked pantry on milk powder/whey/oats for the month not just this week. True one-week food cost (excluding the stockpile): closer to **$180-200**. Still solid value for the protein hit.