Joe Wicks shares five delicious meat-free recipes to help you lose weight (2024)

HIS cookbooks are best­sellers and Joe Wicks reckons his new vegetarian offering will hit the spot too.

On day two of our serialisation of the fitness coach’s latest book, Veggie Lean in 15, Joe tells how the timing feels right to release a collection of weight-loss veg-only dishes as more people are cutting down on meat.

Joe, 32, says: “If you would’ve told me five years ago that I’d be releasing a whole book of veggie and vegan recipes I’d have said, ‘You’re having a larf’, but it’s my best project in years.

“The timing is right. A few years ago I shared a couple of veggie recipes on social media and people weren’t interested.

“It’s not like the world has gone veggie overnight, but people are just up for reducing their meat intake.

“I’ve designed this book mainly for meat-eaters like me. It’s a stepping stone for people who want more plants in their diet, but don’t know how to make that healthy and exciting.

“Whenever I used to pick up a veggie recipe book I found it very daunting. It was foreign to me and the recipes were always complicated. This book is classic Lean in 15 — going back to basics, removing the protein ­sources and showing you recognisable meals, just without meat. It’s about encouraging people to give it a go.”

Joe, whose new book contains 75 veggie and 25 vegan recipes — five of which we have included on this page — says it is all about breaking out of the “meat habit”.

He explains: “I still eat a burger or steak when I go out, but I’ve massively cut down and only eat half the meat I used to.

“Before, I’d have meat with every meal. Eggs and bacon for breakfast, fish for lunch and steak for dinner. When I’ve had a good balanced veggie or vegan meal, I sleep better, feel less bloated and my energy lasts longer. It’s an emotional thing for me. I love food so much, so if I know I’m being more mindful, more sustainable and I’m spending less money, it’s a good feeling.”

Smoky sweet potato chilli

(Serves 1)

YOU NEED:

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1½ tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• ½ red onion, finely sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp chipotle paste
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 400g kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• Dollop of sour cream
• A few coriander leaves
• Grated cheddar, to serve

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 220C (fan 200C, gas 7).
2. Put your sweet potato on a baking tray. Mix with ½ tbsp of the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Spread out into a single layer so it cooks evenly, then whack in the oven for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, pour the remaining oil into a saucepan over a medium heat. Tip in the sliced red onion and red pepper, along with a pinch of salt and cook for 7 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, chipotle paste and ground cumin to the pan.
4. Stir, then cook for 1 minute until it smells fragrant.
5. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and kidney beans. Simmer away for 10 minutes.
6. Come back to your sweet potato, which should now be soft. Scrape it into the chilli, then season to taste.
7. Spoon the chilli into your bowl, dollop on the sour cream, then top with a few coriander leaves and the grated cheese.

Tuscan bread soup

(Serves 1 – good to freeze)

YOU NEED:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 fat clove garlic, crushed
• Big pinch of dried chilli flakes
• ½ bunch of basil, leaves picked and stalks finely sliced
• 200g chopped tinned tomatoes (½ tin)
• 100g tinned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• Salt and pepper
• 1 slice sourdough bread – the staler the better
• Splash of red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp sundried tomato pesto
• 1 tbsp ricotta

METHOD:

1. Put the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat.
2. Add the garlic, chilli flakes and basil stalks. Then cook for 30 seconds or so, until the garlic has turned golden.
3. Tip in the chopped ­tomatoes, cannellini beans and most of the basil leaves, along with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil.
4. Tear in the bread – if it isn’t very stale, toast it briefly first. Cook on high for 10 minutes.
5. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the red wine vinegar and 100ml cold water, then blitz with a soup blender or in a food processor, adding a splash of water if the soup is too thick.
6. Spoon into a bowl and swirl through the pesto.
7. Top with the dollop of ricotta and remaining basil leaves.

Sesame falafel wrap

(Serves 1)

YOU NEED:

• ¼ cucumber
• ½ tbsp white wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• 150g falafel
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 50g Greek yoghurt
• Juice of ½ lemon
• A sixth of a red cabbage
• 1 large tortilla wrap
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• Olive oil, to drizzle – optional

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 200C (fan 180C/gas 6).
2. Slice the cucumber in half lengthways and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds, then cut into half-moon pieces.
3. Put cucumber in a bowl and pour over the white wine vinegar and a pinch of salt.
4. Give everything a stir, then leave to pickle. Put falafel on a baking tray. Reheat in oven according to pack instructions, around 8 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, mix together the tahini, Greek yoghurt and some salt and pepper. Add as much of the lemon juice as you want, to taste, and a splash of water to get a thick drizzling consistency.
6. Use the coarse side of the grater to shred the red cabbage into a bowl. Mix half the tahini yoghurt through the red cabbage in the bowl.
7. Either griddle the tortilla on both sides or cover it with foil, then place in the oven briefly to heat up. Spread the remaining tahini yoghurt down the centre, then scatter over the red cabbage mix and pickled cucumber.
8. Top with the falafel, sprinkle over sesame seeds and drizzle with olive oil, if liked.

Fudgy choc cake

(Serves 12 – good to freeze)

YOU NEED:

• 80g coconut oil, melted, plus a smidge for the tin
• 50g self-raising flour
• 100g ground almonds
• 2 scoops (60g) vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Salt
• 80g cocoa powder (over 70 per cent cocoa solids), plus more for dusting
• 150ml maple syrup
• 200ml coconut milk
• Zest of 1 orange
• Coconut yoghurt and strawberries and/or raspberries, to serve – optional

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 160C (fan 140C, gas 3). Grease a 20cm round cake tin with a little coconut oil and line the base with ­baking parchment.
2. Mix the self-raising flour, ground almonds, vanilla ­protein powder, baking ­powder, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the cocoa powder with 150ml boiling water until well combined, then whisk in the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, coconut milk and orange zest.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and give ­everything a good whisk until you have a smooth, runny batter.
5. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the ­centre of the cake comes out clean.
6. Cool in the tin. Then dust with a little cocoa powder and serve topped with coconut yoghurt and berries, if you like.

Lentil bolognese

(Serves 2 – good to freeze)

YOU NEED:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into cubes
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 200g dried green lentils
• Glass of red wine
• 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 60g walnuts
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Cooked pasta of your choice
• Grated cheese, to serve – optional

METHOD:

1. Add the oil to a saucepan over a low heat. Tip in the chopped onion and carrots, along with a pinch of salt and pepper.
2. Cook for 6 minutes until mostly softened. Stir in the garlic and rosemary sprigs. Cook for another minute until it smells fragrant, then tip in the lentils.
3. Give everything a good stir, then pour in the red wine. When most of the wine has bubbled off, chuck in the chopped tomatoes, then re-fill one of the tins with water and pour it in.
4. Stir in the tomato puree then leave to cook for 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and the lentils are soft.
5. When the lentils are nearly cooked, toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until lightly browned and smelling nutty.
6. Allow to cool and roughly chop, then add them to the pan. Stir in the balsamic ­vinegar and season your bolognese to taste, removing the rosemary sprigs.
7. Serve with cooked pasta and, if you’re like me, grated cheese on top!

• Veggie Lean in 15: 15-minute Veggie Meals with Workouts by Joe Wicks (Bluebird, £16.99)

Topics

• Fitness and Exercise
• Food and drink
• Recipes
• Joe Wicks