I don’t know about you, but after a long day and a challenging workout, I stared blankly into the fridge, wondering what to cook. The takeaway menu looks good around 8 p.m. when you’re knackered and hangry.
But let’s be honest. Most of us know we need high-protein recipes for dinner if we want to see actual results from all that sweating in the gym. The problem? Most protein-focused meals taste like cardboard – or worse, like nothing at all with a side of disappointment.
Recipes That Don’t Taste Like “Fitness Food”
Right, enough chat. Here are four dinner recipes I make regularly. They’re not Instagram-perfect or faffy to make. They’re just solid, tasty meals with enough protein to do the job.
1. Proper Steak and Sweet Potato Wedges
This is my Friday night reward after a week of training. Simple but brilliant.
What you’ll need:
- 200g sirloin steak (rump works, too, if you’re on a budget)
- 1 massive sweet potato
- Bit of olive oil
- Couple cloves of garlic
- Whatever herbs you’ve got lying around
- Some green stuff for the plate
What to do:
- Heat your oven to 200°C. Cut sweet potato into chunky wedges. Mix in a bowl with oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a baking tray and bake for 25 minutes.
- Get your steak out of the fridge early – cold steak in a hot pan equals tough steak.
- Season it – with salt, pepper, and maybe some garlic if you’re feeling fancy.
- Get a pan properly hot—like, really hot. Sear the steak for 2-3 minutes on each side.
- REST THE STEAK. Seriously. Five minutes under foil. Don’t skip this bit.
- Serve with those wedges and something green if you’re feeling virtuous.
This gives you roughly 56g of protein, plus it feels like a proper meal, not diet food.
2. Mediterranean Fish Thing
I made this up one day when I couldn’t be bothered to go shopping, and it’s become a regular. The beauty is that you can chuck in whatever vegetables you need.
What you’ll need:
- 200g white fish (cod, haddock, whatever’s on offer)
- Handful of prawns if you’re feeling flush
- Random veg – peppers, courgette, tomatoes all work
- Few olives for the salty hit
- Lemon
- Olive oil
- Mixed herbs from that jar that’s been in your cupboard forever
What to do:
- Heat the oven to 180°C.
- Chop veg and throw in a baking tray with a glug of oil.
- Roast for 10 mins, then place fish on top.
- Squeeze over lemon, sprinkle herbs, and drizzle more oil if you’re not counting calories too strictly.
- Back in the oven for 12-15 mins ’til fish flakes easily.
It contains about 40-60g of protein, depending on your fish choices, and it feels like something you’d order on holiday.
3. Spicy Turkey Lettuce Wraps
When I can’t face another plate of food, these hand-held protein bombs hit the spot.
What you’ll need:
- 250g turkey mince (cheap as chips and leaner than beef)
- A chilli, chopped (seeds in or out, depends on how brave you’re feeling)
- Garlic, ginger – fresh if you have it, lazy stuff from a jar if not
- Couple spring onions
- Splash of fish sauce and soy sauce
- Lime
- Coriander (if you’re not one of those weirdos who thinks it tastes like soap)
- Iceberg lettuce
What to do:
- Fry turkey mince until it is no longer pink.
- Chuck in chilli, garlic, ginger. Stir about a bit.
- Add spring onions, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Don’t measure; splash it in.
- Once cooked, remove the heat, squeeze in lime juice, and throw in the chopped coriander.
- Spoon into lettuce leaves, eat with your hands, and make a mess.
About 50g of protein is a proper treat rather than diet food.
4. Pesto Chicken with Bits
This is my go-to when trying to impress someone with my “cooking skills” while secretly doing minimal work.
What you’ll need:
- 200g chicken breast
- Jar of pesto (green is classic, red is a nice change)
- Whatever roastable veg you’ve got
- 50g quinoa (or rice if that’s all you have)
- Bit of feta
- Lemon
What to do:
- Oven to 190°C.
- Butterfly the chicken breast (cut it open like a book, but not all through).
- Spoon pesto is inside; close it up and spread more on top.
- Bake for 25 mins or until no longer pink in the middle.
- Meanwhile, cook quinoa according to the packet.
- Mix veg with quinoa, whack chicken on top, and crumble over the feta.
It contains nearly 60 g of protein and looks dead impressive on the plate. No one needs to know it took minimal effort.
What Now?
Try one of these tonight. Not tomorrow, not “when I’ve been shopping.” Tonight. Use what you’ve got, adapt if needed, and just make something with a decent hit of protein.
Your training results come from what you do most days, not what you do once. These five recipes are your starting point – the dinners that’ll power your progress without making you hate your life.
Now, put your phone down and cook something decent. Your muscles (and taste buds) will thank you.
