2 Easy 15-Minute Recipes From Joe Wicks

Lots of us want to incorporate more healthy habits into our lives, but simply don’t have time to spend two hours everyday in the gym or labouring over a complex recipe in the kitchen. That’s why fitness coach and health personality Joe Wicks believes in adding 15-minute ‘small daily wins’ into our day – such as cooking a quick, nutritious and delicious meal. This is the premise for his new book Feel Good In 15, which features 60 15-minute recipes alongside life hacks and tips for a healthier lifestyle.

‘The inspiration for this book really has come from being aware of how difficult it is for people to stay on top of their physical and mental health, especially with families, busy lives and stressful jobs,’ he says. ‘If someone can find just 15 minutes a day to do any one of these little activities, it can have such an amazing effect on their mental health and mood,’ he says. 

His favourite recipe in the book? The saucy spring onion chicken, which he describes as ‘essentially rice with chicken in a pan with soy sauce, honey, spring onion – and you really go hard on the spring onion, so the main flavour comes from the spring onions – little bit of garlic, bit of lime. Then you make a silky, sort of smooth, spring onion sauce. It’s really yummy, and it’s really quick.’ We’ve shared the recipe below, plus another: cacio e pepe beans.

2 Easy 15-Minute Recipes From Joe Wicks

Joe Wicks Recipe: Saucy Spring Onion Chicken

This is one of my family’s favourite recipes, and it went down a storm when I shared it on Instagram. Everyone loved it. It takes spring onions and makes them the star of the dish, which creates so much flavour. It’s halfway between a stir-fry and a curry, with a lovely thick sauce that coats the whole lot and will have you licking the plate clean.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil 
• 640g (1lb 6oz) chicken mini fillets
• 40g (11/2oz) cornflour
• 5 tbsp oyster sauce
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey 
• 2 bunches of spring onions, finely sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 200–400ml (7–14fl oz) water
• Juice of 1–2 limes, plus wedges to serve

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok and fry the chicken over a high heat for 3–4 minutes, so it gets some nice golden colour. 
2. While the chicken is browning, whisk together the cornflour, oyster sauce, soy sauce and honey in a small bowl. Set aside. 
3. Scatter in most of the spring onions, setting aside some to garnish, along with the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant. 
4. Pour in the cornflour-soy mixture and coat the chicken and veg, then add the water, bring up to the boil and let the whole thing bubble away and get thick and glossy. 
5. Season with lime juice, to taste. Serve with rice and lime wedges and scatter with the remaining spring onions.

Joe Wicks Recipe: Cacio E Pepe Beans ‘N’ Greens

Oh hello, Captain Farty Pants! Fancy some more beans? This is probably one of the stranger-looking recipes in this book, but don’t judge it on its looks alone, because this cheesy dish tastes magnificent and it’s another great one for the all-important gut health.

Ingredients:

Serves 2

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 shallot, finely chopped 
• 4 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped 
• 400g (14oz) tin of butter beans 
• 1/2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper 
• 40g (11/2oz) Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve 
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 
• 150g tender stem broccoli 
• 100g kale

Method:

1. Get the kettle on. 
2. Heat the oil into a deep frying pan, then sauté the shallot for 2–3 minutes until softened, stirring regularly. Add the garlic and fry for 1 minute until fragrant, then throw in the tin of butter beans, along with any liquid from the tin. Bring up to a simmer, add the pepper, Parmesan and red wine vinegar. Don’t skimp on the pepper here – it’s the main flavour, and you want it to be almost spicy. 
3. Pour the boiling water into a saucepan and boil the broccoli and kale for 2–3 minutes until tender. Drain, season well and set aside. 
4. Serve the beans in two bowls, topped with broccoli and kale with a little bit of extra Parmesan.

Feel Good in 15 by Joe Wicks is published by HQ, HarperCollins on 7 December in hardback (£22), eBook and audiobook.