Struggling to burn fat and build muscle? Can’t face an evening without stodge? Then carb backloading is your friend. As the name suggests, it limits your consumption of carbs until later in the day – ideally after an evening workout – when your body is primed to use them for building muscle rather than fat storage. One caveat: you’ll get better results if you keep the carbs healthy, rather than stuffing yourself with doughnuts. That’s where our paella comes in.
Chicken is a great source of vitamin B3, which prevents fat storage.
Prawns contain protein and vitamin B12, to help you pack on muscle.
Rice is full of carbs to help you build muscle after your evening workout.
Tomatoes will give you a dose of bone-strengthening vitamin K.
Breakfast
Mushroom and spinach omelette provides filling fibre and essential amino acids.
Lunch
Tuna salad with avocado and black olives is packed with protein to build muscles and unsaturated fats to keep your heart healthy.
Dinner
Paella (serves 3-4)
1tbsp olive oil / 2 chicken breasts / 4-6 chicken wings / 2 cloves garlic, crushed / 1 red pepper, sliced / ½tsp smoked paprika / 300g paella rice / 200g chorizo / 1 litre chicken stock / 8 cherry tomatoes, halved / Pinch of saffron / 400g can cannellini beans / 50g frozen peas / 12 prawns / 12 mussels
To make
- Warm the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
- Add the chicken and fry, turning occasionally, until it’s slightly browned on all sides.
- Add the garlic, peppers, paprika and rice and fry for two to three minutes.
- Add the chorizo, stock, cherry tomatoes and saffron and cook for ten minutes.
- Add the cannellini beans and peas and cook for another ten minutes.
- Add the seafood and cook for a further ten minutes. If the liquid fully reduces, top up with boiling water to ensure the paella doesn’t dry out and stick.
Snacks
Satsumas and cashew nuts provide immunity-boosting vitamins A and C, plus a decent serving of muscle-repairing protein.
