High-Protein, Macro-Friendly Office Lunch Meal Prep
Five office lunch boxes that hold 40 g protein, survive a fridge and reheat well — plus how to print the week's macros in one PDF.
Short answer: build every box on the same skeleton — 150–200 g of a lean protein, 150–200 g of a cooked grain or potato, 150 g of a vegetable, and 10 g of a fat you add at the end. That template lands near 40 g protein and 550 calories every time, whatever the ingredients.
The reason desk workers abandon macro tracking is friction, not motivation. Deciding at 1pm, with a meeting at 1:30, is where the plan dies. Deciding once on Sunday removes the decision entirely.
The five boxes
Chicken, rice and broccoli — the default. 180 g chicken breast, 180 g cooked rice, 150 g broccoli, 10 g olive oil.
Paneer or tofu with quinoa — the vegetarian equivalent, close in protein, higher in fibre.
Tuna and potato salad — no reheating required, which matters in offices with one microwave.
Egg and lentil bowl — cheapest of the five, and the lentils hold texture for four days.
Chickpea and feta grain salad — eaten cold, ideal for days you are travelling between desks.
What actually survives four days
Cook grains slightly under, they finish in the microwave. Store dressings and oils separately and add them at the desk. Roast vegetables rather than steaming them; steamed broccoli turns grey and sad by Wednesday.
Chicken dries out on day four — poach or sous-vide it, or portion Thursday and Friday into the freezer on Sunday.
Print the week and stop thinking about it
Build each box in Procaaf, adjust grams until the totals match your targets, then use Export PDF. Stick the sheet on the fridge. The whole point is that by Wednesday you should not need to remember any numbers.
The CSV export works the same way if you would rather keep a running sheet.
Frequently asked questions
- How much protein should an office lunch have?
- Aim for 35–45 g. That is enough to keep you full through the afternoon and keeps the daily total achievable across three meals.
- How long does meal prep last in the fridge?
- Cooked proteins and grains are safe for three to four days at fridge temperature. Prep Sunday and Wednesday rather than cooking five days at once.
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