How to make quick, healthy and easy family dinners from Joe Wicks' new cookbook 

A sausage traybake and sweet potato nachos are on the menu 

Joe Wicks is focusing on delicious and nutritious meals in his new book Feel Good Food.

“Some people think, ‘If I exercise, I can eat what I want, it won’t make a difference’, but it does really make a difference. If you’re exercising, but you’re putting really heavily processed or junk food in your body, then you’re going to find it hard to feel that energy and happiness you get from a healthy diet.” 

Joe Wicks is talking about the motivation for his new cookbook Feel Good Food, which highlights the link between diet and mood. 

It recommends seven building blocks for a healthy diet, including ‘eat more plants’ and ‘minimise ultra-processed foods’.

It’s a message he wants to pass on to Indie and Marley as they grow up (“I do believe the most powerful thing you can do as a parent is exercise with your kids and cook with your kids”), which means fun in the kitchen and meals enjoyed together – a distinct contrast to his own childhood.

“My mealtimes were sandwiches and frozen meals thrown in the oven, then you’d come back, sit at the table or quickly eat and go to your room, or take it to your bedroom,” says Wicks, who has spoken about his father Gary’s heroin addiction, and his mother Raquela’s struggles with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and eating disorders.

“So now I really appreciate that family time. I think it’s wonderful to sit down and talk for five minutes and say, ‘How was your day?’,” he adds.

Sweet potato nachos

recipe by:Joe Wicks

This is one of the best things to make as a family, and then all just steam into when it comes out of the oven. Cheese all dripping down your chin… Mess everywhere… Fighting over the last crispy bits!

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 55 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 4 medium sweet potatoes (around 600g), peeled and sliced into 5mm thick coins

• 1tbsp light olive oil

• 1tsp salt

• 60g Cheddar cheese, grated

• 4tbsp low-fat natural yoghurt, to serve

• For the spiced mince:

• 1tbsp oil

• 1 red onion, diced

• 100g veggie mince (or minced beef)

• ½tsp ground cumin

• ½tsp ground coriander

• ½tsp smoked paprika

• Pinch of chilli powder

• 130g frozen sliced bell pepper (or the same amount of fresh, sliced)

• For the refried beans:

• 400g tin of black beans, drained but liquid reserved

• Pinch of salt

• 1tsp ground cumin

• For the salsa:

• 200g cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped

• Big handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped

• Juice of 1 lime

• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan.

2. Toss the sliced sweet potatoes with the oil and salt on a large baking tray, then spread them out into a single layer (you may need a second baking tray). Roast for 30–40 minutes, flipping them over halfway through, until starting to turn golden.

3. For the spiced mince, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook for about five minutes until translucent. Add the mince, breaking it up with your spoon, and cook for a few minutes according to the packet instructions, or until the mince is no longer pink if using beef. Stir in the cumin, coriander, paprika, chilli powder and frozen (or fresh) sliced peppers. Stir until the peppers have defrosted and warmed through (about five minutes if using fresh, until softened). Tip into a bowl and set aside.

4. For the refried beans, return the same pan to the heat and add the drained beans along with 100 millilitres of the liquid reserved from the tin, the salt and cumin. Mash with a potato masher in the pan, loosening with more bean liquid as needed, to make a creamy, slightly chunky paste. Remove from the heat and set aside.

5. Mix together all of the salsa ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

6. Once the potato nachos are roasted, top with spoonfuls of the refried beans, followed by a layer of the mince mixture and finally sprinkle over the grated cheese.

7. Return to the oven for 10–15 minutes until the cheese has melted and crisped up in places.

8. Remove from the oven, top with the salsa and some dollops of yoghurt, then serve.
   
   Feel Good Food by Joe Wicks is published by HQ, priced £20. Photography by Dan Jones. Available March 17.

Sausage, sweet potato and mustard tray bake

recipe by:Joe Wicks

Simple but satisfying, this tray bake is so easy to chuck in the oven and so tasty

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 50 mins

Total Time

 55 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3cm cubes

• 2 red onions, peeled and cut into 6 wedges

• 2 sprigs of rosemary

• 2tbsp olive oil

• 8 pork sausages

• 500g Brussels sprouts, halved

• For the dressing:

• 1tbsp wholegrain mustard

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 garlic clove, finely grated

• Pinch of salt

• Pinch of black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan.

2. Spread the sweet potatoes, red onions and rosemary over a large, rimmed baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss together to coat, then lay the sausages on top.

3. Bake for 20 minutes until the sweet potatoes are starting to soften. Remove from the oven and add the Brussels sprouts, using a metal spatula to mix them into the vegetables on the tray. Flip the sausages over and return the tray to the oven for a further 20–30 minutes until the vegetables are becoming golden and the sausages are browned.

4. Combine the dressing ingredients in a jam jar, screw on the lid and shake. Pour over the contents of the tray and serve.
   
   Feel Good Food by Joe Wicks is published by HQ, priced £20. Photography by Dan Jones. Available March 17.