P90X Phase 1 Recipes

We begin Week 4 tomorrow, which marks the final week of Phase 1, Fat Shredder. Fat Shredder only allows one serving of a traditional carbohydrate per day (ie bread or pasta), and therefore we are fairly limited on what we can eat. We eat eggs for breakfast every day and we eat a salad with plenty of meat for lunch. We always reserve our carbohydrate for dinner since we usually workout in the morning and it’s easier to eat a salad for lunch than it is for dinner. I am going to share some of my favorite P90X Phase 1 recipes with you in this post.

As mentioned in a previous post, we buy most of our meat at Costco and the majority of our vegetables and sauces at Trader Joes, so some of these recipes have ingredients from those stores.  All recipes were made with 18 ounces of meat, 6 ounces for me (Level) and 12 ounces for Mike (Level 3). I don’t measure vegetables so measurements aren’t exact! Go with what you prefer.

Rosemary Pork Tenderloin and Savory Sweet Potato “Fries” with Asparagus  

Pork:

• 18 ounce pork tenderloin
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp dried rosemary
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Mix garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper together and coat tenderloin well with the mixture. Bake covered in foil at 350 degrees until the center temperature reaches 160 degrees (buy a meat thermometer – they are only about $4).

Sweet Potatoes

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil (1 tbsp per person)
• 2 tsp taco seasoning

Puncture a sweet potatoes a couple times with a knife and microwave for about five –eight minutes, until sweet potatoes are soft but not fully cooked. Let cool (while pork cooks) and then slice into french-fry like portions.  Mix olive oil and taco seasoning together well. Put sweet potato slices into a gallon-size zip lock bag and pour the taco seasoning mix over it. Shake until all fries are coated. Place fries onto a foil-covered baking sheet.

Once the pork has reached 160, remove it and leave covered. Turn oven to 425 degrees and put fries in. At this point, start the asparagus (either use a steamer or place them in shallow water in a frying pan and boil).

Remove fries from oven when they appear to be getting crispy (about fifteen minutes). Slice pork and serve!

Portions:  1 Carb, 2 Protein (Level 1) or 4 Protein (Level 3), 1 Vegetable, 1 Fat.  

(Approximately 570 calories for Level 1, 770 for Level 3)

Yellow Chicken Curry with Brown Rice

 

• 18 ounces chicken
• 1 cup brown rice, uncooked
• ½ cup chicken broth
• Frozen stir-fry veggies
• 2 cloves garlic (optional)
• Yellow curry powder (optional)
• Trader Joe’s Yellow Curry Sauce
• Garlic Salt

Cook brown rice according to directions on the bag (or use Trader Joe’s pre-cooked organic brown rice).

Cut chicken into tender size slices and place in a skillet with the chicken broth. Sprinkle garlic salt and yellow curry powder over the chicken and cook on medium heat until the chicken is cooked through.

In a separate skillet, sauté the stir-fry veggies with the garlic. The water should produce enough moisture so that you don’t have to use olive oil, but if necessary, use a small amount of olive oil (1/2 tsp).  

After everything is cooked, mix veggies and chicken and add 4 tbsp of Trader Joe’s Yellow Curry Sauce and serve over 1 cup of rice.

Servings: 1 Carb, 2 Protein (6 oz, Level 1) or 4 Protein (12 oz, Level 3), 1 Condiment, 1 Vegetable

(Approximately 500 calories for Level 1, 700 for Level 3)

Salmon & Mediterranean Couscous with Asparagus

• Three 6-ounce packages of Morey’s Marinated Wild Alaskan Salmon (or 18 ounces of salmon with lemon, salt, pepper)
• 1 cup dry whole-wheat couscous
• 2 ounces feta cheese
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup chopped cucumber
• 1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper (or roasted red peppers)
• 1/3 cup chopped red onion
• Salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning          
• Asparagus

Bake salmon at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, until salmon is fully cooked through the center. With about 15 minutes to go, begin steaming asparagus. Then, mix feta, chopped cucumber, bell pepper, onion and seasonings (season to your liking) together. In a large sauce pan, bring 1 cup water and 1 tbsp olive oil to a boil. Remove from heat and pour 1 cup dry couscous into the sauce pan. Stir well and cover. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add veggie and cheese mixture and fluff. Measure 1 cup couscous mixture and serve with salmon and asparagus.

Servings:  1 Carb, 2 Protein (Level 1) or 4 Protein (Level 2), 1.5 Vegetable, 1 dairy, 1 fat (1/2 from oil, half from marinade on Morey’s salmon. Reduce fat and about 120 calories by using fresh salmon flavored with lemon and don’t use olive oil in the couscous).

(Approximately 700 calories for Level 1, 900 for Level 3)

Chicken Fajita Burritos

 

• 18 ounces chicken, cut into small chunks
• ¼ packet fajita seasoning mix
• ½ bell pepper (I like red)
• 2 cloves garlic
• Mushrooms
• Several slices of white onion (you decide how much)
• 2 whole-wheat tortillas (we like Mission whole-wheat wraps)
• Guacamole:  1 avocado, ½ medium tomato, chopped red onion, a few shakes of Lawry’s salt.
• Salsa

Sprinkle chicken with salt and some fajita mix and cook in a skillet. In a separate skillet, sauté garlic, bell peppers, onion and mushrooms (use a small amount of olive oil if necessary). Meanwhile, prepare guacamole (mix all ingredients above). When vegetables are fully cooked, mix a small amount of fajita mix with ¼ cup water and pour on vegetables. Increase heat and boil off the water. Heat tortillas on a clean skillet over medium-high heat for 15 seconds per side. Add ingredients on top the tortilla (for Level 3 you may need to have some of that chicken on the side since it probably won’t fit into one tortilla), attempt to form into a burrito, and enjoy!

Portions: 1 Carbohydrate, 2 Protein (Level 1) or 4 Protein (Level 3), 1 Fat, 1 Vegetable

(Approximately 550 calories for Level 1, 750 calories for Level 3)

Obviously all of these recipes can be modified to meet your caloric and portion-size needs as well as personal taste preferences (I like garlic and onion- not everyone does!). For example, I don’t always use the feta in the couscous because I typically get my two dairy servings earlier in the day. I also have to make sure to save my fat serving for days that we have the salmon or sweet potato fries.

Bon Appetite!