There are times when you’d rather your lunch be a list than a meal. No thinking, no sandwiches, no bread, and no sandwich stuff. Protein bars just don’t do it. You also don’t want to be reminded of dinner time with snack plates that have the same old stuff.
Days when you can make snack plates are special. For proteins, you can use yogurt, greek yogurt (which has 32 grams of protein or more) jerky or cheese. To add some color you could use some chopped veggies or fruit. It doesn’t take forever to make, it literally takes about 2 minutes to prepare and it is just as filling as a ‘real’ lunch!
The Quick Rundown
- High-Protein Snack Plate, before the details: A no-cook snack plate can include jerky, cheese, and fruit or veggies, along with a single-serve Greek yogurt.
- What makes this combination work well? Jerky and cheese provide protein and offer a fast 30 grams. Adding fruit or veggies introduces fiber and a fresh taste. Additionally, yogurt contributes 10-15 grams of protein and requires no extra work.
- Most of the time spent will be opening packages, but it will take around 2 minutes.
- Important tips: Look at the jerky labels (the sodium content has a huge range) and opt for real cheese in chunks or slices, and you can add yogurt if you’d like to boost the protein content over 40 grams.
What Goes on the Plate
- Jerky (2–3 oz): Check the label for sodium content. Available in beef, turkey, or bison.
- 2-3 ounces of cheese. Option include cheddar, gouda, manchego, or brie. Please slice or cube the cheese.
- Fruits and cut veggies include: baby carrots, sliced apples, snap peas, cucumber spears, cherry tomatoes, and grapes.
- Greek yogurt (one single-serving container, optional): can be plain or vanilla, full fat or 2% for staying power.
- Optional crunch: Some almonds, a couple of crackers, or some olives.
Instructions
1) Get the protein ready. Grab a small plate and put the jerky and cheese stick on it. We want to fool them into thinking it is lunchtime and not just a mini snack.
2) To make your plate colorful, add some fruit or cut veggies next to your protein. The more colorful the better! Using at least three different colors can change your snack into a meal!
3) If you are using yogurt, you can add that now. You could also drizzle some honey on the yogurt or toss on a couple berries to make it look prettier. Now take your lid and put it on your plate, then grab your spoon.
4) At this point, the dish can be eaten. There are no other additions.
Free lesson · 3 min
Watch The Hot Pan Rule, free from the Technique Library
Good Combinations
- Beef jerky, yogurt, apple slices, almonds, and cheddar cheese.
- Plain Greek yogurt with honey, Turkey jerky, gouda, baby carrots, and cucomber spears.
- Greek yogurt, Marcona almonds, grapes, manchego cheese, and bison jerky.
- Instead of yogurt, I have single-serve cottage cheese, and for the rest I have: chicken jerky, brie, snap peas, and cherry tomatoes.
Small Tips, Big Difference
- Look at a jerky label. Sodium content is anywhere between 200 mg to 700 mg. If you eat jerky often, look for one at the lower end.
- Cheese that comes as chunks or slices tastes better than the shredded stuff. it has a better texture and less junk in it.
- Avoid buying pre-cut fruit if possible. Whole fruit that you cut yourself tastes better and is about a third as expensive.
- Include a few olives or pickles if the plate seems to need a salty and acidic touch.
- If you do not consume dairy, you can change the Greek yogurt for cottage cheese, a boiled egg, or a small can of tuna in oil. They all have roughly the same protein.
One Last Thing
I don’t feel guilty about not cooking and, while I know it’s not the most Instagrammable thing, it solves the lunch problem in 2 minutes, has actual food, and contains 30 grams of protein. That’s pretty good in my opinion.
