OMAD stands for “one meal a day” and comes with the idea that you only need to eat once per day in order to maintain a healthy weight and body composition. The key to successfully eating omad comes down to omad meal prep, calories, macros, and meal timing.
If you’re trying to eat omad, you’ll want to make sure your calorie intake is around 1000-1600 calories. This will allow you to still lose weight while eating just one meal per day. As for macros, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting around 30% of your daily calorie intake from carbs, around 40% of your daily calorie intake to come from fat, and the rest of your calories coming from protein.
Related: Find The Best Diet For Your Body Type (Quiz)
When one an omad diet, it’s important you aren’t eating any later than 4-5 hours before bed. This allows for your body to properly digest the food and have time to oxidize the nutrients before going to sleep. As long as you follow these guidelines, eating one meal a day can still be very beneficial, allowing you to cut down on an average of 2 meals per day while still maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
To ensure you’re meal prepping omad correctly, it’s important to follow these tips:
- Make sure your hitting your calorie goals by either tracking macros or estimating them by using portion sizes.
- Eat within 4-5 hours of bedtime so you can properly oxidize the nutrients.
- Choose high-calorie and nutrient-dense foods to make sure you’re getting all the nutrients your body needs.
- Make sure to include a balance of protein, carbs, and healthy fats in your meal.
Now that you know how to prep a high-calorie omad meal, let’s take a look at 9 recipes you can try!
1. Breakfast Skillet with Sausage, Bacon, Potatoes, and Eggs – Omad Meal Prep
This breakfast skillet is perfect for those who want a hearty and high-calorie meal to start their day off right. With over 1000 calories and plenty of protein and carbs, this meal will help you power through the day.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. sausage
- 1/2 cup bacon, diced
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 2 cups potatoes, diced
- 6 eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage, bacon, and onions until cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a large pot, boil water and add potatoes until soft. Drain and place back in pot. Mash the potatoes while still hot with a fork or potato masher.
3. Place eggs in a large bowl and scramble until fully cooked through. Mix the eggs into the potatoes.
4. Add the sausage, bacon, and onions back into the pot and mix everything together. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve warm and enjoy!
2. Philly Cheese Steak Sliders
These Philly cheesesteak sliders are perfect for high-calorie OMAD meal prep. With over 1200 calories per serving, this dish is sure to fill you up.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. flank steak, sliced thin
- 1/2 cup red onion, sliced thin
- 1/4 cup green pepper, sliced thin
- 1/4 cup yellow pepper, sliced thin
- 1/4 cup white onion, sliced
- 2 slices American cheese
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 12 slider buns
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the steak, onions, and peppers until cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Slice the cheese and set aside.
4. In a small bowl, mix together the mayo, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
5. Assemble the sliders by adding a piece of steak, peppers, cheese, and a piece of steak to each slider bun.
6. Spread the mayo mixture over each slider and enjoy!
3. BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger – OMAD Meal Prep
This BBQ bacon cheeseburger is the perfect high-calorie omad meal. With over 1400 calories per serving, this burger will definitely fill you up.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 1/4 cup onion, diced
- 1/4 cup green pepper, diced
- 2 slices bacon, diced
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
- 2 slices American cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the beef, onions, and peppers until cooked through.
3. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. In the same skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain on paper towels.
5. Assemble the burgers by adding a piece of beef, onions, green pepper, bacon, BBQ sauce, cheese, and another piece of beef to each burger bun.
6. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and burgers are heated through. Enjoy!
4. Slow Cooker Honey Sriracha Pork Loin
This honey sriracha pork loin is perfect for a high-calorie OMAD meal prep. With over 1300 calories per serving, this dish is sure to fill you up.
Ingredients:
- 1.25 lbs boneless pork loin
- 1/2 cup onion, sliced thin
- Juice of half a lime (1 tbsp)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tbsp Sriracha sauce
Directions: Slow Cooker Recipe
1. Place the pork loin in the slow cooker. Drizzle the lime juice over the top of it along with garlic and salt & pepper to taste. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. The meat will be tender enough that it just falls apart when pierced with a fork at this point. Shred the pork with two forks and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the sriracha sauce and 1/4 cup of water until combined.
3. Pour the sriracha sauce over the shredded pork and toss to coat. Serve on slider buns, lettuce wraps, or just eat it plain! It’s that good.
5. Chili Lime Steak Fajitas – OMAD Meal Prep
These chili lime steak fajitas are perfect for a high-calorie OMAD meal prep. With over 1400 calories per serving, this dish is sure to fill you up.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb flank steak, sliced thin
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, sliced thin
- 1/2 red pepper, sliced thin
- 1/2 green pepper, sliced thin
- Juice of half a lime (1 tbsp)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, mix together the chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper.
2. Rub the spice mixture all over the flank steak slices.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers and steak strips. Cook until steak is cooked through and peppers are tender.
4. Remove from heat and squeeze the lime juice over top. Serve on slider buns, lettuce wraps, or just eat it plain!
All of these OMAD meals should be paired with the right sides.
Some of the best sides to reach your calories goals are:
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Roasted sweet potatoes are great for adding some carbs to the meal. They’re also delicious and easy to make. They can help add calories to the meal and add a bit of sweetness to the meal.
Cauliflower Rice
White rice is one thing you should not be having on OMAD. If you need more carbs, opt for cauliflower rice instead. It’s still low in calories and will give your meal a great source of fiber and other nutrients.
Green Beans and Bacon
Side vegetables can help add to the number of calories in your meal. Green beans and bacon is great example that will give you a good source of both carbs and fiber. It’s also very easy to prepare.
Quinoa and Veggies
Quinoa is high in protein, which should be your highest priority on OMAD. Even adding a few cans of mixed veggies will add 160 calories to your meal and give you a good source of fiber.
Cauliflower Mash
Another great substitute for white rice is cauliflower mash. This side dish is also very easy and quick to make. If you’re not in the mood for any of these sides, just check out our recipe section. You can find a lot of other great and simple sides that can help you reach your goals.
Roasted Potatoes
Another simple side dish is roasted potatoes. This could be a good substitute for white rice or you can even pair it with salmon and other seafood to create your own seafood platter. If you’re not in the mood for roasting them, feel free to buy frozen potato wedges (although they may contain more sodium) . Just make sure they’re not loaded with extra oil and seasonings. Also, don’t forget to add some spices such as paprika and onion powder to give your roasted potatoes a kick.
Quinoa Salad
Salads are good for the body and they can also be very filling. Quinoa is high in protein so adding it to a salad makes sense. You can also add tuna or chicken to give your salad more protein. The veggies, low-fat dressing, and quinoa all make this a perfect OMAD meal.
Beans and Rice
If you’re craving Mexican food, beans, and rice are the way to go. Avoid refried beans as they are high in calories due to the oil and it could spell disaster in your OMAD meal. Instead, try lean meats (like ground beef and chicken) and add in some veggies for extra fiber.
Cabbage and carrots
This side is easy to make and very low in calories. Even just a cup of it will only add 80 calories to your meal. Perfect if you’re trying to keep calorie counts as low as possible on OMAD.