Joe Wicks shares three recipes from his new book 'Protein In 15'

“My little boy had leftover Thai green curry for breakfast yesterday,” says Joe Wicks, 40, deadly serious. “It had baby corn, mangetout, chicken, not even any rice, just the actual curry, and he loved it. And it’s like, why do I need to give my child sugary cereals when that’s just been sold to us as an option by food companies?”

The dad of four - to Indie, seven, Marley, six, Leni, three, and Dusty, one - points out that when he went to Indonesia, rice, curry and daal were common breakfast fare.

“This is really what your body wants, not the low fat yogurt, granola and juice,” he says. Hence why in his new cookbook, Protein In 15 - chock-full of high-protein meals for the whole family (not just weight lifters) - he says any of the recipes are great eaten first thing. “It’s a bit weird, but it tastes just as good,” he buzzes. “It’s real food. It’s better than something you grab on the go, or a chocolate croissant and a coffee.”

This is just one example of Wicks, best known to the world and his 4.7m Instagram followers and 2.89m YouTube subscribers as The Body Coach, getting adept at making a statement and taking a stand. Maybe it’s because he’s 40 now. (“I don’t have this issue with growing old,” he says. “I’m at peace with it, not trying to regenerate my youth and try to be younger. I actually feel like when you get old, you get a bit wiser, and life gets better.”)

Protein In 15 comes off the back of his recent Channel 4 documentary, the horrifying Joe Wicks: Licensed To Kill. Made with Dr Chris van Tulleken, credited with raising awareness of the dangers of ultra-processed foods (UPFs), it saw the duo attempt to legally create the most dangerous ‘health’ bar possible.

It’s us being duped into buying so-called ‘health bars’ when they’re just a collection of chemicals, that is really weird, he explains, not having dinner leftovers for breakfast.

He’s also coming for your snacks. “We’ve been conditioned to eat a certain way,” he says. “Good marketing makes you buy more snacks.” But if you get back to “proper healthy, hearty meals, you won’t want to eat in between meals, you won’t need to”.

When we speak, there’s a slight weariness to Wicks, and in the book, there’s anger that so many of us have been backed into a corner by food companies pushing UPFs.

“The whole food system stresses me out. It’s not just health foods claiming to be healthy. It’s the whole environment, isn’t it? It’s the marketing. It’s the fact it’s everywhere all the time,” he says passionately. “We live in a world where it’s normal to eat hyper-processed foods.”

However, as you’d expect from the man who got a lot of us through covid with his P.E. with Joe videos, Wicks refuses to despair. “I try to focus on the solution,” he says. “If I can get a family cooking one meal from my book or Instagram recipes tonight, that’s a positive step.”

With a busy lifestyle and four kids - with wife, ex-model Rosie Jones - Wicks knows it can be tough though. “I like it when I have a nice bit of music playing and there’s no one in the kitchen. It’s just me. But that happens, like, once a week when the kids are out,” he says wryly. “Most of the time, I’m cooking around them, they’re chopping up the onions. They’re helping me, because I do also see it as an educational thing. I want them to see how food’s made and to be a part of it, and be curious about trying new things.”

Fundamentally, he loves the physical and mental impact of eating home-cooked food. “You can find time to eat healthy and change the way you feel. In the space of a few days, a little bit of shopping, planning and cooking, you really can change the energy in your house and in your mood, because everything links back to the food we’re eating,” he says. “Don’t convince yourself you haven’t got time and that you can’t - you can.”

The recipes in Protein In 15 follow much the same pattern as Wicks’ Lean In 15 cookbooks - speed and simplicity are paramount - and don’t be put off thinking he’s going to tell you to eat steak every night.

“It’d be lovely to have chicken breast and beef mince and salmon in your meals, but that might be a rare occurrence for some families,” says Wicks, which is why he has lots of cheaper, plant-based recipes that feature “lentils, butter beans, chickpeas, switching from potato mash to a butter bean mash, adding quinoa and nuts and seeds”.

A “lentil bolognese isn’t going to taste the same, but it still tastes amazing” he adds, and a bit of planing can help your bank account too. “When you get organised, I don’t think the meals cost as much as you might think,” says Wicks.

Now try three of his recipes here...

Protein In 15, by Joe Wicks, is published in hardback by LEAP. Photography Mike English Photography.

Pulled Pork with Mustard Yoghurt Slaw

Put your slow cooker to excellent use here.

“Slow-cooked pork is one of the most delicious things around. The way the low temperature breaks down the proteins and makes the meat beyond tender keeps me coming back to this recipe at least once a month,” says The Body Coach, Joe Wicks.

“The sweet and smoky BBQ sauce and home-made mustard slaw combo here is quite literally da bomb! The person who invented the slow cooker must have had pork in mind, so I’ve included a method if you have one.”

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the pulled pork:

• 600g thick pork shoulder steaks or pork loin steaks
• 200g passata
• 1tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1tsp smoked paprika
• 1tsp garlic powder
• 1/2tsp dried chilli flakes
• 100g BBQ sauce
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the mustard slaw:

• 100g plain (natural) yoghurt - preferably Greek yoghurt
• 2tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1tsp honey
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 100g savoy cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
• 1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced

To serve (optional):

• 4 seeded buns, buttered

Method

• Put pork steaks in large, deep saucepan and add the passata, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, garlic powder and chilli flakes.
• Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then cover with well-fitting lid and reduce heat to low. Cook for 2-3 hours until pork is tender and easy to shred. Use tongs to carefully transfer the pork into a large bowl. Cover with foil and rest for 20 minutes.
• Cook remaining sauce in pan for 3-6 minutes over high heat until reduced by half, adding BBQ sauce in the last 1-2 minutes. Once thickened, remove pan from the heat.
• Once pork has rested, use two forks to shred the meat. Add the sauce and set aside.
• Meanwhile, make the slaw. Mix the yoghurt, vinegar, mustard, honey and garlic in a large bowl and season with salt & pepper. Add cabbage, carrot and onion and toss well to coat and combine.
• Serve pulled pork with the slaw, or make sandwiches using seeded buns, filling with the pulled pork topped generously with the slaw.

FOR SLOW COOKER

• Put pork steaks in a slow cooker and add the passata, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, garlic powder and chilli flakes. Cover with the lid and cook on low for six hours.
• Once done, use tongs to carefully transfer pork into a large bowl. Cover and rest for 20 minutes. Transfer all juices from slow cooker into a large saucepan and cook for 3-6 minutes over a high heat until reduced by half, adding BBQ sauce in the last 1-2 minutes. Once thickened, remove pan from heat. Shred meat and add sauce, as above, then make the slaw and serve.

TIP: Double up the pulled pork mix, portion it out and freeze for quick, tasty meals, for throwing into wraps, salads, grain bowls or stirring through pasta or rice when you’re short on time.

Thai Green Chicken Curry

A fragrant and filling Thai green curry that’ll keep the whole family happy.

“If you ever find yourself craving a takeaway, give this recipe a go. It’s simple and delicious,” says Joe Wicks.

“Avoid the tinned coconut milks, which often contain gums and emulsifiers, and instead opt for the solid block of creamed coconut, which is 99.9% pure coconut. The great thing with curries like this is you can really throw in any of your favourite veg.”

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 100g creamed coconut block, roughly chopped
• 10g desiccated coconut
• 4 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts, or 8 large skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 800g), roughly chopped
• 1tsp ground ginger
• 1tsp garlic powder
• 2-3tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 aubergine, cut into 1-2cm dice
• 170g green Thai curry paste
• 1x400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 280g uncooked basmati rice
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

• 1 red chilli, thinly sliced (deseeded if preferred)
• Handful of coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 lime, cut into wedges or cheeks

Method

• Add 400 millilitres of boiling-hot water to a heatproof jug and add the creamed coconut pieces. Leave to dissolve, whisking if necessary.
• Toast the desiccated coconut in a dry frying pan over a medium high heat for three to four minutes until golden, stirring regularly (be careful: it can burn quickly). Set aside in a bowl.
• Add the chopped chicken to a large bowl and sprinkle over the ginger and garlic. Toss well to evenly coat.
• Heat a tablespoon of oil in large frying pan or wok over a high heat. Fry chicken in batches for 4-5 minutes per batch until golden brown all over, adding another tablespoon of oil for each batch. Transfer to bowl, season and set aside.
• Add more oil to the same pan over a medium-high heat, add aubergine and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until softened and starting to caramelise. Reduce the heat to medium and add the curry paste and coconut milk. Bring to the boil and let it cook for several minutes until the coconut milk reduces by more than half.
• Reduce heat to low, add rinsed chickpeas and return chicken pieces to pan (along with any juices from bowl). Leave to warm through until ready to serve.
• Meanwhile, cook rice according to packet instructions (usually in a saucepan of boiling water for 10-15 minutes). Once cooked, drain the rice in a sieve and season with salt. Stir through half the toasted coconut.
• Serve chicken with the rice, scattering over the remaining coconut. Top the chicken with sliced chilli and coriander and serve with lime wedges or cheeks on the side to squeeze over.

Moroccan Style Lamb and Butternut Squash

This looks fancy, but is straightforward to throw together.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 12 lamb chops, fat trimmed
• 500g peeled and diced butternut squash, cut into 2cm pieces
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 2tsp ground cinnamon
• 2tsp ground cumin
• 2tsp ground coriander
• 1tsp dried chilli flakes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the couscous:

• 2tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 250g couscous
• 500ml boiling-hot chicken stock (made with 1 stock cube)
• Handful of mint leaves
• Handful of coriander leaves

To finish:

Method

• Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan/gas mark 6) and line largest baking tray with baking paper (or two smaller trays if your largest can’t fit all in a single layer).
• Put lamb chops, squash, olive oil, cinnamon, cumin, coriander and chilli flakes into large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then massage the spices into the whole lot with clean hands.
• Spread out spiced lamb and squash evenly on the large tray and roast in the oven for 26 to 30 minutes until the lamb is cooked and the squash is tender.
• Meanwhile, prepare couscous base. Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat, add onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, then reduce heat to low and cook for 15 -20 minutes until onion deeply caramelises and turns golden. Keep an eye on it, stirring occasionally: you may need to reduce heat to avoid onion burning. Stir in the garlic in the last two to three minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• At the same time, make couscous. Put them in a large heatproof bowl and pour over the hot stock. Cover and leave for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Stir in the caramelised onion and garlic mix. Thinly slice most of the mint and coriander leaves and stir in (setting aside some whole leaves to garnish).
• Spread couscous out on a large, warm serving platter and place lamb and squash on top. Drizzle the delicious juices in the roasting tray over the lot.
• Sprinkle with the crumbled feta, toasted almonds and the remaining herbs and serve.