- Preparing meals to help you lose fat doesn't have to be time-consuming.
- Angela Clucas, a nutritionist, shares her favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes.
Eating for fat loss doesn't have to mean spending hours in the kitchen.
That's the principle Angela Clucas, a registered nutritionist, lives by and helps her clients do the same. She creates balanced, delicious meals that are simple to prepare, helping to make healthy eating easy.
"I'm a big fan of what can you do that's quick and simple," Clucas told Business Insider.
Eating enough protein is a big part of that because it helps keep you feeling full and therefore helps you be less likely to overeat and jeopardize fat loss. It also has other benefits, including repairing muscles after workouts and helping the body hold on to muscle while in a calorie deficit.
Clucas shared three of her favorite meals with BI.
Breakfast: Cherry Bakewell protein oatmeal
Clucas eats quick, warming oats for breakfast most weekdays but switches up the fruit to ensure she's getting a range of nutrients, she said.
Serves one
Ingredients
40 to 60 grams oats
80 grams frozen cherries or blueberries
30 grams protein powder, such as coconut or marzipan flavor
Method
Mix the oats and fruit with about 100 milliliters of water and microwave for 2 ½ minutes.
Stir in the protein powder and enjoy.
If the protein powder makes your oatmeal gritty, try mixing it with a dash of water or milk and stirring it into a paste before mixing it into the oats. If your oatmeal isn't hot enough after adding your protein powder, give it another short blast in a microwave, but be careful because heating protein powder can change the texture again.
Lunch: Speedy chicken, couscous, and vegetables
This lunch makes the most of convenience foods but you can prepare the different elements yourself if you have time. Clucas likes pre-prepared Moroccan-style couscous, but you can make or get whatever flavor you prefer.
Serves one
Ingredients
1 pre-cooked chicken breast
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
A sprinkle of dried dill
About 100 grams pre-cooked couscous
1 large handful spinach
1 bag (about 125 grams) microwaved vegetables
Method
Microwave the spinach and the vegetables if desired. Warm the couscous if desired.
Add all the vegetables to a bowl or plate. Top with couscous.
Top the chicken with the mustard and dill, then add to the dish and serve.
Dinner: Roasted pesto salmon with potatoes and broccoli
Clucas likes to mix up her dinners by getting delivery-recipe boxes but also relies on staple recipes such as this.
Serves one
Ingredients
1 salmon fillet
About 1 teaspoon pesto
New potatoes (quantity to suit your goals and hunger)
Garlic powder
Fresh rosemary
Broccoli florets (as much as you like)
Method
Preheat your oven to 200°C/392°F.
Top the salmon with the pesto.
Season the potatoes with salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary, and bake in the oven for 35 minutes.
After 15 minutes, add the pesto and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
Steam the broccoli for a few minutes then add to the oven tray for the last 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy.