About Protein Workshop

Built by fitness professionals. Tested in home kitchens. High protein recipes that earn their place on your plate through flavor, not just numbers.

Since 2024

How Protein Workshop Started

It started with a whiteboard in a Portland gym and a list of every excuse clients gave for not hitting their protein targets.

Jake Sorensen had heard them all: "I don't have time to cook." "My family won't eat that." "I'm tired of chicken." "I can't afford it." After eight years in the Army and five more as a strength and conditioning coach, he'd eaten enough bland protein meals to understand. The problem wasn't willpower - it was that nobody had bothered to build a proper system for making high-protein food that real people would actually cook and eat more than once.

The first Protein Workshop recipe was a Korean beef bowl with 38 grams of protein per serving that Ryan made for meal prep one Sunday. By Thursday, he'd shared it with six clients. By the following Monday, two of them had made it for their families. That was enough proof.

What started as a coach's recipe notebook became a collaboration between three people who believe that hitting protein targets shouldn't require heroic discipline or a professional kitchen. Every recipe goes through the same filter: does it hit real protein numbers, can you actually make it on a weeknight, and does it taste good enough to earn a permanent spot in your rotation?

Jake Sorensen

Founder & Head of Recipe Development

Former Army infantry officer, certified strength and conditioning coach, and the person who decided that meal prep shouldn't feel like field rations.

Jake spent eight years in the military where food was functional at best and grim at worst. When he transitioned to civilian life and opened a training facility in Portland, he realized his clients faced the same problem his soldiers did - they knew they needed protein, but everything available was either boring, expensive, or required skills they didn't have.

Every Protein Workshop recipe starts with Jake's two-question test: "Would I eat this on day four of meal prep?" and "Could someone with no cooking experience make this?" If either answer is no, it goes back to the drawing board.

Jake holds CSCS and precision nutrition certifications and has spent the last five years building practical nutrition systems for people who'd rather spend their energy training than stressing about what to eat.

I spent eight years eating MREs. I know what happens when you stop caring about how protein tastes - you stop eating it. That's not an option.

100+ Tested Recipes

31g+ Average Protein/Serving

3 Team Members

30+ Countries Reached

What Drives Protein Workshop

We exist because most "high protein" content online is written by people who either don't cook or don't actually count their macros. A recipe with 15 grams of protein isn't high protein. A blog post that doesn't list per-serving macros isn't useful. And a beautiful food photo with "protein-packed!" in the title means nothing if the numbers don't back it up.

Every Protein Workshop recipe delivers a minimum of 25 grams of protein per serving. We use ingredients available at any grocery store, techniques that work on standard home equipment, and portions sized for adults who actually train and work and get hungry - not appetizer-sized servings plated for photography.

Verified Macros

Protein, calories, and macros calculated from USDA data using weighed ingredients. No estimates, no rounding up, no misleading serving sizes. The numbers on the page match what ends up on your plate.

Systems-First Approach

Every recipe includes meal prep notes, storage instructions, and scaling guidance. We don't just give you a recipe - we give you a system for making it work in your actual weekly routine.

Real Kitchen Standards

Developed and tested with standard home equipment and grocery store ingredients. If it requires a specialty store, a sous vide machine, or three hours of prep, it doesn't make the cut.

Our Recipe Development Process

Every Protein Workshop recipe goes through four stages before publication.

First, the recipe gets built in a home kitchen with standard equipment. We use the same stoves, pans, and grocery store brands our readers do. Nothing requires professional gear or hard-to-find ingredients.

Second, all macros are calculated from USDA nutritional data using ingredients measured by weight. We don't round up protein counts, we don't use optimistic portion sizes, and we account for cooking oils and sauces that other sites conveniently forget.

Third, a different team member recreates the recipe to test reliability. If the results aren't consistent - timing is off, seasoning needs adjustment, chicken comes out dry - the recipe goes back for revision.

Fourth, the recipe is taste-tested by people who aren't tracking macros. Spouses, kids, neighbors, training partners. If it only gets eaten because it's "good for you," it's not ready. Every recipe has to earn its place through flavor.

The Protein Workshop Team

Zara Haddad

Food Scientist & Recipe Developer

Former protein bar formulator who spent four years in supplement product development before switching to real food. Zara brings technical precision to every recipe - she understands protein denaturation, flavor chemistry, and why your baking experiments fail. Based in Atlanta, she specializes in adapting West African and Caribbean cuisine into high-protein versions that honor the original flavors.

Derek Langston

Sports Dietitian & Meal Prep Strategist

Boston-based sports dietitian and former collegiate wrestler who knows what it's like to obsess over protein intake from personal experience. Derek designs the meal prep systems behind every recipe - because a great meal is only useful if it fits into a real week. He works with weekend warriors and gym regulars who want evidence-based nutrition without the complexity of an athlete's diet plan.

Transparency & Disclosures

Advertising Disclosure

Protein Workshop displays advertisements through third-party ad networks. Ad revenue covers recipe development, testing, and hosting so we can continue publishing free content. Advertising has zero influence on which recipes we create or how we present them.

Affiliate Disclosure

Some links on this site are affiliate links. Purchases through these links may earn us a small commission at no added cost to you. We only link to products our team has personally bought and used - protein powders, kitchen equipment, and meal prep containers we actually rely on.

Editorial Independence

Recipe content on Protein Workshop is completely independent. No sponsor, advertiser, or brand has ever influenced our recipes, product opinions, or ingredient recommendations. If we feature a product, it's because we purchased it ourselves and believe it's worth recommending.

Got a Recipe Request?

Want a high-protein take on your favorite comfort food? Need meal prep ideas for a specific macro target? We build recipes based on what our readers need - tell us what to cook next.