When you’re on a program like Hack Your Fitness, finding viable food choices can be challenging since all your old favorites have the potential to wreck your calorie budget.
Usually, you just end up eating the same dry chicken breast…every…single…day.
What you need to find are lean meals (high protein, low fat) that are delicious and easy to make (easy to make is key!). I call these “hacker friendly” meals.
Here are two of my favorite “hacker friendly” recipes that use chicken tenderloins, taste amazing, have killer macros, and best of all, can be prepared in under 10 minutes.
I promise these recipes will transform lean chicken into a meal you actually want to eat.
For those of you who have more time or actually enjoy cooking, I’ve included a third recipe from a fellow fitness hacker that uses lean ground turkey and also tastes amazing.
Any of these recipes can be supplemented with good complex carbs like potatoes, brown rice, or even whole wheat bread.
I hope you enjoy and bon appetite!
10-Minute Lemongrass Chicken
Ingredients
- 500g of chicken tenderloins
- 1 shallot
- Juice of half a lime
- 1 stick of lemongrass (peel and discard the first layer of the lemongrass and use 3 inches of the stick from the root/thicker end)
- 1 medium sized tomato
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp light soy
- Pinch of salt
Directions for chicken
- Season chicken tenderloins with salt and pepper.
- Spray grill pan with 0 calorie cooking spray and grill the tenderloin for 3.5 mins on each side, turning only once.
- Remove from the heat and plate.
Directions for lemongrass sauce
- Spray saucepan with 0 calorie cooking spray over stove on medium heat.
- Chop the shallots and lemongrass into small pieces and fry until fragrant. (~45 seconds)
- Add chopped tomato, juice of lime, fish sauce, and light soy to the sauce. Season with a bit of salt.
- Cook for 1 minute over low to medium heat.
- Spread sauce generously over tenderloins.
Nutrition:
Calories: 510
Protein: 102
Carbohydrate: 13
Fat: 3
10-Minute Mustard Caper Chicken
Ingredients
- 500g of chicken tenderloins
- 1 shallot
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 tbsp capers
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- Pinch of salt
- 1 lemon (optional)
Directions for chicken
- Season chicken tenderloins with salt and pepper.
- Spray grill pan with 0 calorie cooking spray and grill the tenderloin for 3.5 mins on each side, turning only once.
- Remove from heat and plate.
Directions for mustard caper sauce
- Spray saucepan with 0 calorie cooking spray over stove on medium heat.
- Chop the shallot and sauté in the saucepan on low to medium heat until fragrant.
- Stir in capers, mustard, water, and salt (with sliced lemon, if applicable).
- Cook for 1 minute.
- Spread sauce generously over tenderloins.
Nutrition
Calories: 466
Protein: 99
Carbohydrate: 5
Fat: 2
Asian Stir Fry Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 500g minced ground turkey
- 1 head of lettuce (I prefer iceberg but any lettuce works)
- 1/2 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 cup of green peas
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 Thai chili minced (remove seeds unless you like it hot!)
- 3 tablespoons Chinese light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- Fresh basil leaves (6 or 7, tear into smaller pieces)
- Finely ground white pepper
- Pinch of salt
Directions
- Spray pan with 0 calorie cooking spray over stove on medium heat.
- Add garlic and onions to pan, then reduce heat and sauté until onions are translucent.
- Bring the heat back up to medium, add minced turkey, and stir briskly to break up any clumps. Add soya sauce before meat is cooked through.
- Add sugar, chili, and basil leaves and continue to stir. Season with white pepper and salt to taste. (A few pinches should suffice—don’t overdo it.)
- Add green peas in at the end so they don’t overcook.
- Remove from heat and allow stir fry to rest on the counter for 5 minutes while you wash and prepare the lettuce wraps. (No need to use a knife, just separate into individual leaves with hands.)
- Plate lettuce and stir fry separately and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 914
Protein: 177g
Carbohydrate: 38g
Fat: 6g