Joe Wicks says we’ve been ‘duped’ by health foods – and wants families eating protein for breakfast instead

In his new cookbook ‘Protein in 15’, the Body Coach takes aim at UPFs, so-called healthy snacks and the myths around ‘good’ breakfasts. Sophieg speaks to Wicks about leftovers at 7am, feeding four kids real food and why cooking from scratch is his quiet rebellion

The Body Coach in his natural habitat: proving that feeding a family well starts with actually lighting the hob (Mike English Photography)

My little boy, he had leftover Thai green curry for breakfast yesterday,” says Joe Wicks, 40, deadly serious. “It had baby corn, mangetout, chicken, not even any rice, it was 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 yoghurt, 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 Epsom-born Wicks, best known to the world and his 4.7m Instagram followers and 2.89m YouTube subscribers as The Body Coach, getting rather 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 a stunt that will turn many a gym bunny’s stomach the next time they reach for a protein bar. “I used to drink whey protein, but my tummy didn’t feel great afterwards, so I stopped,” says Wicks. “It wasn’t until the documentary when we went to manufacture one of these bars, and I was like, ‘Where’s all the oats and nuts and seeds?’ [and was told] ‘Oh, no, it doesn’t have that.’ It’s just powders and glycerin and fats and all these weird things. None of it’s real.”

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.”

Protein’ in 15’ – Wicks’ manifesto for swapping UPFs and snack culture for real food that actually fills you up (LEAP)

However, as you’d expect from the man who got a lot of us through Covid lockdowns with his “PE 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.”

“The documentary was all about pushing the government to put health warnings on those foods, but that might take years and years and years,” he continues. “Until that point, let’s really do the one thing that makes a difference, which is cooking ourselves,” because, cooking from scratch, you are, by default, replacing UPFs in your diet”.

With a busy lifestyle and four kids – with wife, former model Rosie Jones – Wicks knows it can be tough. “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 the kids, they’re sitting on the side, 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 you can change the way you feel. In the space of a few days, a little bit of food 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, because you can.”

One of Wicks’ protein-packed tacos, the sort he says keeps you fuller than any so-called ‘health’ bar (Mike English Photography)

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. He’s well aware that a meat-heavy diet is exorbitant. “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 planning 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. “[Especially] once you’ve got the base, core essentials, and you remove all those daily purchases of meal deals, takeaways, processed snacks – they all add up. Even cheap food isn’t that cheap anymore.”

These might even just fall by the wayside. “It’s almost like you’ve got to clean your diet up a little bit, start cooking more, and then those temptations and cravings, they start to go. That’s quite a nice feeling, really,” he says.

That’s not to say he doesn’t cave occasionally. “Sometimes I’m stressed and all I want is a massive bar of Tony’s Chocolonely and I’ll go and get it, and that’s it. But it’s not in my house every day,” Wicks explains. “I remind myself, actually, if I want to feel better, go in the kitchen and quickly cook some food or do a workout. It changes how you feel way more than a chocolate bar would.”

Pulled pork with mustard yoghurt slaw

Slow-cooked pulled pork the Wicks way: big flavour, simple prep and plenty for tomorrow’s lunch (Mike English Photography)

“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 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 in case you have one.”

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

For the pulled pork:

600g thick pork shoulder steaks or pork loin steaks

200g passata

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp dried chilli flakes

100g BBQ sauce

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the mustard slaw:

100g plain (natural) yoghurt, preferably Greek yoghurt

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

1 tsp honey

2 garlic cloves, crushed

100g savoy cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced

1 medium carrot, peeled and grated

¼ red onion, very thinly sliced

To serve (optional):

4 seeded buns, buttered

Method:

1. Put the pork steaks in a large, deep saucepan and add the passata, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, garlic powder and chilli flakes. Bring to a gentle simmer over a medium heat, then cover with a well-fitting lid and reduce the heat to low. Cook for two to three hours until the 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.

2. Cook the remaining sauce in the pan for three to six minutes over a high heat until reduced by half, adding the BBQ sauce in the last  one to two minutes. Once thickened, remove the pan from the heat.

3. Once the pork has rested, use two forks to shred the meat. Add the sauce and set aside.

4. Meanwhile, make the slaw. Mix the yoghurt, vinegar, mustard, honey and garlic in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the cabbage, carrot and onion and toss well to coat and combine.

5. Serve the pulled pork with the slaw, or make sandwiches using seeded buns, filling them with the pulled pork topped generously with the slaw.

For the slow cooker:

Put the 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 the pork into a large bowl. Cover and rest for 20 minutes. Transfer all the juices from the slow cooker into a large saucepan and cook for three to six minutes over a high heat until reduced by half, adding the BBQ sauce in the last one to two minutes. Once thickened, remove the pan from the heat. Shred the meat and add the 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 Me Up, Baby

Thai green curry that doubles as breakfast in the Wicks household – and he swears the kids love it (Mike English Photography)

“If you ever find yourself craving a takeaway, give this recipe a go. It’s simple and delicious,” says 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 per cent pure coconut. The great thing with curries like this is you can really throw in any of your favourite veg. So, if you don’t enjoy the texture of aubergine, you could use courgette, baby corn or mangetout. Whatever you go for, it’s guaranteed to taste incredible.”

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

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

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp garlic powder

2-3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 aubergine, cut into 1-2cm dice

170g green Thai curry paste

1 x 400g 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:

1. Add 400 millilitres of boiling-hot water to a heatproof jug and add the creamed coconut pieces. Leave to dissolve, whisking if necessary.

2. 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.

3. Add the chopped chicken to a large bowl and sprinkle over the ginger and garlic. Toss well to evenly coat.

4. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan or wok over a high heat. Fry the chicken in batches for four to five minutes per batch until golden brown all over, adding another tablespoon of oil for each batch. Transfer to a bowl, season and set aside.

5. Add more oil to the same pan over a medium-high heat, add the aubergine and stir-fry for three to four 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.

6. Reduce the heat to low, add the rinsed chickpeas and return the chicken pieces to the pan (along with any juices from the bowl). Leave to warm through until ready to serve.

7. Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the packet instructions (usually in a saucepan of boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes). Once cooked, drain the rice in a sieve and season with salt. Stir through half the toasted coconut.

8. Serve the 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

A Moroccan-style lamb dish from ‘Protein in 15’, built on spices, squash and the kind of couscous that keeps you away from the snack aisle (Mike English Photography)

“This is a proper crowd-pleaser, with unbelievable levels of flavour from the flaked almonds and crumbled feta cheese,” says Wicks. “It’s all these little extra touches that really make this a standout dish for me. Friends and family will be well impressed if you make the effort with this.”

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

12 lamb chops, fat trimmed

500g peeled and diced butternut squash, cut into 2cm pieces

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the couscous:

2 tbsp 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:

30g feta cheese, crumbled

15g flaked almonds, toasted

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan/gas mark 6) and line your largest baking tray with baking paper (or two smaller trays if your largest can’t fit everything in a single layer).

2. Put the lamb chops, squash, olive oil, cinnamon, cumin, coriander and chilli flakes into a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then massage the spices into the whole lot with clean hands.

3. Spread out the 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.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the couscous base. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook for four to five minutes, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the onion deeply caramelises and turns golden. Keep an eye on it, stirring occasionally: you may need to reduce the heat to avoid the onion burning. Stir in the garlic in the last two to three minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

5. At the same time, make the couscous. Put the couscous 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).

6. Spread the couscous out on a large, warm serving platter and place the lamb and squash on top of the couscous. Drizzle the delicious juices in the roasting tray over the whole lot.

7. Sprinkle with the crumbled feta, toasted almonds and the remaining herbs and serve.

‘Protein in 15’ by Joe Wicks (LEAP, £22).