Delight your taste buds with John & Charlotte's top 6 healthy recipes (2024)

COUPLE John Clark and Charlotte Deniz have shed 15st between them and credit careful meal preparation.

Here, they share their 6 favourite recipes from their book The Meal Prep King Plan, out on December 31, for you to try at home.

BREAKFAST

POPPY-SEED PANCAKES

Serves: 2

Per serving: 273 cals, 29g protein, 8g fat, 20g carbs

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

YOU NEED:

• 50g porridge oats
• 50g vanilla whey protein powder, or your preferred flavour
• 1 egg
• 14 tsp baking powder
• 100ml milk
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• Low-cal spray oil

To serve:

• Fruit of your choice Honey, to drizzle

METHOD: Blend the porridge oats to a fine powder in a food processor. Pour into a bowl along with the protein powder, egg, baking powder, milk and poppy seeds, stirring to combine until smooth.

Heat a small frying pan over a medium heat. Spritz the pan with low-cal oil and spoon in 2 tbsp of the batter. Fry for 1-2 minutes per side until the pancake is golden brown.

The pancakes will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Serve topped with fresh fruit and drizzled with honey (remembering to count the extra calories).

PROTEIN-PACKED SUPERFOOD SHAKE

Serves: 2

Per serving: 443 cals, 32g protein, 11g fat, 49g carbs

Preparation time: 5 minutes

YOU NEED:

• 2 frozen bananas
• 100g frozen blueberries
• 100g frozen strawberries
• 100g frozen raspberries
• 100g frozen cherries
• 60g whey protein
• 40g linseed or flaxseed
• 30g honey
• To serve:
• Chia seeds
• Linseed or flaxseed

METHOD: Blend all of the ingredients together in a food processor with 500ml water.

Once everything is blended, you can adjust the thickness to your desired consistency using water or crushed ice.

This smoothie will keep in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Serve topped with chia seeds and extra flaxseed or linseed.

LUNCH

FULLY-LOADED DIRTY FRIES

Serves: 2

Per serving: 482 cals, 31g protein, 10g fat, 64g carbs

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

YOU NEED:

• 650g white potatoes
• Low-cal spray oil
• ½ red pepper
• ½ green pepper
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 150g 5 per cent-fat lean beef mince
• 40g low-fat Cheddar cheese, grated
• Optional: 1 spring onion, finely sliced
• Optional: Sweety Drop red peppers
• Optional: Drizzle of sriracha sauce

For the spice mix:

• ½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• ½ tsp sweetener
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• ½ tsp white pepper

METHOD: Slice the potatoes into wedges, leaving the skin on – it tastes great! Cook the wedges in a pan of salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Drain the chips and pat them dry with a clean tea towel or kitchen roll. Tip them on to the lined baking tray and spritz them liberally with low-cal spray.

Combine the ingredients for the spice mix in a bowl and add a third of it to the chips so they are thoroughly coated. Cook the chips in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. While the chips cook, finely slice the red and green peppers. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, then add the sliced peppers and mince along with another third of the spice mix. Cook for 3-5 minutes, adding the mince in batches so it browns.

Once the wedges are cooked, sprinkle over the remaining spice mix and divide them between two airtight, paper-lined, air-tight containers. Add the mince mix and top with grated cheese. This will keep in a fridge for up to 3 days or freezer for up to 3 months.

If eating straight away, sprinkle the wedges with the cheese and put them back in the oven for 5 minutes so the cheese melts. Add the spring onions, peppers and a drizzle of sriracha sauce, if using.

BALSAMIC STEAK AND FETA SALAD WITH EDAMAME BEANS

Serves: 2

Per serving: 424 cals, 35g protein, 26g fat, 11g carbs

Preparation time: 10 minutes plus marinating time

Cooking time: 10 minutes

YOU NEED:

• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 20ml balsamic vinegar
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 rump steak
• 40g rocket
• 50g feta cheese
• 100g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 100g edamame beans
• 40g radishes, sliced
• Optional: Drizzle of balsamic glaze; salt and pepper

METHOD: Place the garlic, balsamic vinegar, thyme and half a tablespoon of the olive oil in a bowl, season and mix together. Cover the steak in the mixture, rubbing it in thoroughly so the meat is fully coated. Place in an airtight container and leave in the fridge overnight.

Take your steak out of the fridge 15 minutes before you plan to cook so it comes up to room temperature. Heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat and add any leftover thyme you might have, plus more garlic if you wish. Cook the steak how you like it: 1½ minutes on each side for rare, 2½ minutes on each side for medium and 4–5 minutes on each side for well done.

Allow to rest for 5–10 minutes after cooking. Divide the rocket between two airtight containers, then crumble in the feta cheese and add the cherry tomatoes, edamame beans and radishes.

Slice the steak up into strips and enjoy warm or allow to cool before adding to your meal prep boxes. This will ensure your salad doesn’t get ruined by the heat of the steak. Drizzle over some balsamic glaze, if you like, and enjoy. This salad will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.

DINNER

HONEY MUSTARD SALMON WITH POTATOES & GREEN BEANS

Serves: 4

Per serving: 482 cals, 38g protein, 9g fat , 37g carbs

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes plus resting

YOU NEED:

• ½ a side of fresh salmon or 4 salmon fillets (about 600g in total)
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
• Small handful of fresh dill, finely chopped
• 40g honey
• 50g wholegrain mustard
• 12 tsp paprika
• Juice of a lemon
• 600g Charlotte potatoes
• 200g green beans
• 10g butter
• Small handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper

METHOD: Preheat the oven to 200C. Put the salmon on a large sheet of foil. Mix the garlic, dill, honey, mustard, paprika, lemon juice and seasoning together in a bowl.

Cover the salmon with the mixture, using a spoon to spread it over evenly. Wrap up the foil to form a parcel – not too tightly; leave room to add the green beans later on. Cook the salmon in the oven for 20 minutes. While the salmon cooks, add the potatoes to a saucepan of boiling water for 15 minutes until tender.

Take the salmon out of the oven, add the green beans to the foil parcel and fold it back up. Put it back into the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the salmon parcel from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes – this will help it to firm up, making it easier to portion out. Drain the potatoes and crush with the butter and chopped parsley.

Divide between four airtight containers and top each with a portion of salmon and some green beans. This will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

BUTTER BEAN AND VEGETABLE BIRYANI

Serves: 2

Per serving: 455 cals, 16g protein, 8g fat, 72g carbs

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

YOU NEED:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 red pepper, finely sliced
• 100g green beans, 1 halved carrot, 1 peeled and diced stick of celery, ½ a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 400g tin of butter beans, drained and rinsed
• 100g uncooked basmati rice, washed thoroughly
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• Salt and pepper

For the spice mix:

• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 14 tsp ground nutmeg
• Salt and pepper

To serve:

• 1 lime, cut into wedges

METHOD: Combine the spices in a bowl. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.

Sauté the onions for 2–3 minutes, then add the garlic, ginger and half the spice mix. Fry for 1 minute until the spices are fragrant.

Add the pepper, green beans, carrot and celery to the pan and cook for 4–5 minutes over a low heat, stirring regularly.

Add the tomatoes, butter beans, rice and the rest of the spice mix. Crumble in the stock cube and add 200ml of water.

Simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally to stop the rice sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.

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Season to taste. Add the lime wedges – to squeeze over the top after you have reheated the meal – and divide between two airtight containers.

This will keep in the fridge for a day or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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