10 Healthy Recipes To Spice Up Your Diet & Get More Protein!

The benefits of protein include metabolism boosting, lean muscle, possible fat loss, increased energy... Here are 10 mouthwatering recipes to spice up your diet, and the healthy foods you've come to love.

Not all of us are on a super hardcore intense bodybuilder diet, but we still watch what goes in our mouths, and care about what we eat. And of the same token, it can be said that we're all equally concerned about getting enough protein in our diets; especially if we're weight training.

The benefits of protein include metabolism boosting, lean muscle, possible fat loss (that comes from boosting metabolism), increased energy... I could go on. However, the same old plain chicken breast, bland egg-whites, and boring fish gets tiresome after a while.

This is where I come in. I have 2 recipes for 5 different kinds of protein sources. Use this as a way to spice up your diet, and the healthy foods you've come to know and love.

Five-Spice Chicken

Ingredients
Directions
  1. In large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, 1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil, honey, five-spice powder and 1/4 tsp (1 ml) each salt and pepper. Remove skin from chicken if desired. Add chicken to marinade, turning to coat; let stand for 5 minutes.
  2. In ovenproof skillet, heat 1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil over medium-high heat; brown chicken, in batches and adding more oil if necessary. Drain fat from skillet.
  3. Return all chicken to skillet. Roast in 425ºF (220ºC) oven until juices run clear when chicken is pierced.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
 
Amount per serving
Calories 850
Total Fat 31 g
Total Carbs 14 g
Protein 182 g

Marinated Grilled Chicken

Ingredients
Directions
  1. In bowl, whisk together oil, lemon rind and juice, garlic, dill weed, salt and pepper. Add chicken, turning to coat; let stand for 10 minutes.

  2. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.) Place chicken on greased grill over medium-high heat; close lid and grill, turning once, until no longer pink inside, about 12 minutes.
  3. Top grilled chicken with lettuce and tomatoes, if desired.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size (1) Recipe yields
Amount per serving
Total Calories 934
Fat 58 g
Carb 12 g
Protein 91 g

Beef

Steak Diane

Ingredients
Directions
  1. Trim excess fat from steak, cut in half, and cut across the grain (or perpendicular to the lines in the meat), into 1/2-inch strips. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In heavy skillet add olive oil; add the steak strips and stir-fry until brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove meat from skillet with slotted spoon to a plate.
  2. To drippings remaining in skillet, add onion and garlic; stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and green beans; stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes longer. In small bowl combine Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, lemon juice, beef broth, and cornstarch. Add to skillet and bring to a simmer.
  3. Return meat to skillet; bring back to a simmer and cook for 4 minutes longer, until meat and vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size (1) Recipe yields
Amount per serving
Total Calories 1380
Fat 74 g
Carb 40 g
Protein 133 g

South Seas Steak

Ingredients
Directions
  1. Prepare and preheat grill. In small saucepan, combine preserves, teriyaki glaze and lime juice and cook over low heat until melted and combined, stirring frequently.
  2. When ready to grill, rub steak with jerk seasoning. Place on grill over medium heat 4-6" from coals. Cook for 12-18 minutes, turning once or twice and brushing with glaze during last 2 minutes of cooking time. Bring any remaining glaze to a rolling boil, boil for 2 minutes, and serve with steaks. 4 servings
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size (1) Recipe yields
Amount per serving
Total Calories 1694
Fat 107 g
Carb 34 g
Protein 150 g

Cottage Cheese

Pancakes

Ingredients
Optional
Directions
  1. In the blender, put the ingredients in, in the order they appear - Eggs in first, then start the blender. As it's blending, pour in the cottage cheese, then the banana if you're using it, then whatever sweeteners and spices you like, then the oatmeal.
  2. Once this is nicely blended, cook as you would pancakes, in a non-stick pan over medium-low heat.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size (1) Recipe yields
Amount per serving
Total Calories 620
Fat 15 g
Carb 44 g
Protein 77 g

Cottage Cheese Smoothie

Ingredients
Directions
  1. For those that use flax oil, you can add a tablespoon to this and it doesn't really change the taste. Blend for 1 to minutes, serve and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size (1) Recipe yields
Amount per serving
Total Calories 374
Fat 5 g
Carb 35 g
Protein 35 g

Protein Powder

Protein Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients
Directions
  1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and form into small 1" balls. Place in the fridge for a few hours and then enjoy.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size (1) Recipe yields
Amount per serving
Total Calories 1665
Fat 101 g
Carb 136 g
Protein 77 g

Oatmeal Pancakes

Ingredients
Directions
  1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend for 30 seconds.
  2. Then pour onto a hot grill and cook like a normal pancake.
  3. An optional addition is to add some frozen fruit after the batter is blended.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size (1) Recipe yields
Amount per serving
Total Calories 471
Fat 4 g
Carb 54 g
Protein 53 g

Fish

Grilled Halibut

Ingredients
Directions
  1. Mix together grapefruit juice, olive oil, 2 teaspoons marjoram, salt, and pepper, in a shallow glass dish. Add fish, turn once to coat both sides, then cover dish.
  2. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours, turning once or twice. Preheat barbecue or gas grill.
  3. Reserve marinade, and place fish in lightly oiled wire basket. Place fish 4 to 6 inches above hot coals.
  4. Grill for 10 to 12 minutes, turning once and brushing twice with reserved marinade, until steaks are barely opaque in thickest part. Arrange on a platter, scatter grapefruit sections around steaks, and garnish with sprigs of marjoram.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size (1) Recipe yields
Amount per serving
Total Calories 1507
Fat 74 g
Carb 11 g
Protein 186 g

Baked Mahi-Mahi

Ingredients
Directions
  1. Rub the fish fillets with the crushed garlic, then place them in a shallow, non-reactive dish.
  2. Spoon the olive oil over the fish until they are coated. Place the onion on top of the fish.
  3. Cover the fish and refrigerate overnight to allow the fish to soak in the marinade.
  4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  5. If baking the fish, transfer it to a 9x13 inch baking dish along with the olive oil, garlic, and onion. Sprinkle the fish with the cayenne or white pepper.
  6. If you are grilling the fish, wrap the fish and oil, garlic, onion, and pepper in aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees F) for 30 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size (1) Recipe yields
Amount per serving
Total Calories 926
Fat 48 g
Carb 25 g
Protein 99 g

Ten Healthy Protein Recipes PDF (112 KB)

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