High Protein Christmas Recipes For Fitness & Muscle Gain (The Festive Way)

It’s Chriiiiiiiistmas (*in a Noddy Holder voice*)...well, nearly. The holidays are a time to kick back, reflect on your year, and spend quality time with the people that matter most. Oh, it’s also about the food and drink.

While indulging in an endless stack of cakes, bakes, and turkey sandwiches is wonderful at this time of year—the calories can start stacking up pretty quickly.

There’s nothing wrong with letting loose and enjoying yourself, but if you have fitness goals in mind and want a healthier Christmas, the festive season can start to become one big snowball of stress. 

But, listen—it doesn’t have to be.

With a little festive balance and the right food choices (including plenty of Brussels sprouts), you can enjoy this year’s festivities while keeping fit and healthy.

So, to help you on your way, here are some protein-packed Christmas recipes that are as delicious as they are ho-ho-healthy.

Let’s go.

Protein-packed Christmas recipes you can count on

From tasty festive breakfast alternatives and protein-packed sweet treats to inspiring tweaks to your big Christmas feast, these simple recipes will allow you to indulge without overdoing it this year.

We’ll kick things off with a sweet little festive smoothie.

The ‘Grinch’ festive protein smoothie

Okay, The Grinch might be known for trying to destroy Christmas—but remember—he came around in the end.

So, in homage to the furry Scrooge-like mountain dweller who learned to love at Christmas, here’s a healthy yet zingy (and decidedly green) protein powder-laced smoothie recipe just for you.

Ingredients

• A full scoop of protein powder (vanilla flavor will be ideal, but the choice is yours)
• A frozen banana
• One cup of low-fat coconut milk (you can also use dairy, oat or nut milk)
• Half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder
• Half a teaspoon of nutmeg
• One teaspoon of matcha powder
• A little pinch of clove powder or ground cloves
• Some ice for blending

Method

1. Cut up the banana, lay out the ingredients, and switch on the blender
   
   
2. Put everything in the blender and switch it on until everything is as smooth as butter
   
   
3. Pour into your favorite festive glass or cup—and enjoy. Yum.
   
   

Sweet potato egg boats, beans, avocado crema & veggie sausages

Now, if you’re looking for a lip-smacking breakfast that’s packed with nutrients and packs a decent protein punch, consider your search over.

This special little twist on sausage, eggs, and beans is perfect for a chilled-out seasonal morning—and will fill your stomach for a full day of festive fun. Perfect.

Ingredients

• One sweet potato
• Two to three eggs (depending on your level of hunger)
• Lime
• Shallots
• One clove of garlic
• Salt
• Cumin

Method

1. Preheat the oven to around 200 degrees. Pierce your sweet potato with a fork over the surface, very lightly brush in olive oil, loosely wrap it in tin foil, and place it in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes.

2. Put your veggie sausages into the oven with the sweet potato after around 40 minutes.

3. Remove your sweet potato from the oven, cut it in half, and fluff it with a fork. Crack an egg into each sweet potato half, and place on a baking tray. Place into the oven for 12 minutes.

4. While the sausages, eggs, and sweet potatoes are cooking, you can make your avocado crema. To make your creamy crema, you need to add your avocado, lime, shallot, salt and cumin in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

5. Finally, cook your beans until warm. Take everything out of the oven, assemble on a plate, and drizzle your avocado crema over your eggs and sweet potato, before wolfing everything down with festive music gently playing in the background.
   
   

Lean lemon & onion turkey

As you no doubt know, turkey is a lean protein. And, if you cook it right—it tastes pretty amazing. Now, while 100 grams of turkey generally comes in at 147 to 160 calories and offers a pretty epic 29 grams of protein—cooking it right will allow you to enjoy more on the day without busting your belt.

This lean turkey recipe is a delight to the tastebuds and will allow you to chow down on this most seasonal of lean protein sources—guilt-free.

Ingredients

• A whole turkey
• A lemon
• An onion
• Rosemary and thyme
• Vegetable stock (around one pint)
• Pepper
• A little melted butter or spread
  
  

Method

1. Pat your turkey dry with a paper towel. Season the outside of the bird with a little pepper and very lightly brush with melted butter or spread. Halve the lemon and the onion, roughly chop your herbs—and place everything into the cavity evenly.

2. Pour your vegetable stock into the bottom of a roasting pan and sit your turkey in the liquid, breast side up. Preheat your oven to around 400 degrees, add a tin foil tent over the top of your turkey, and put it in to cook.

3. Cook slowly at a rate of 20 minutes per kilogram of weight. Check regularly and add a tiny bit of butter to your bird if necessary. Notch up the heat by around 20 degrees for the last 20 minutes to make the skin nice and crispy!

4. Remove from the oven, place on a presentable tray, and enjoy with a stack of healthy festive trimmings. Lovely.
   
   

Mushroom and garlic-chili butter beans

Perfect for plant-based health lovers, this moreish dish is a real festive treat. The amazing thing about this tasty little seasonal dish is its versatility.

You can enjoy these butter beans as a light lunch, a snack or as part of your main Christmas meal. It’s rich in protein, packed full of nutrients, and it tastes out of this world. 

Let’s dive in.

Ingredients

• Two large heads of garlic
• One red chili
• 350 ml of extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• A sprig of rosemary
• A tin of butter beans
• A tablespoon of chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

1. Separate and peel the garlic cloves. Put them in a small pan along with your rosemary and chili. Drizzle your olive oil over the ingredients.

2. Fire up the pan on its lowest heat setting. Cook the garlic for around 45 minutes and remove the rosemary after the first 20 minutes. Leave your now soft and aromatic garlic cloves to cool on the side for a little. 

3. Drain your tin of butter beans and then sit them in your lemon juice to marinate for a little while. Season after around 15 minutes before seasoning with salt and pepper and add everything to the pan.

4. Cook through until warm and serve up on a festive plate with a sprinkling of parsley on the top. Tasty.
   
   

White chocolate protein snowballs

Now for a little pudding. These decidedly seasonal white chocolate protein snowballs are swift, simple, and will make you salivate. 

They contain slightly fewer calories than your typical Christmas treat—and the protein punch they offer will contribute to your muscle-building or maintenance goals.

Ingredients

• 90 grams of quality white chocolate
• Two scoops of vanilla protein powder
• Desiccated coconut
• One tablespoon of coconut powder
  
  

Method

1. Grab all of your ingredients (excluding the desiccated coconut) and place them into a big mixing bowl. Mix them all together thoroughly until they’re completely combined.

2. Take around one tablespoon of your creamy mixture at a time and roll them into neat balls with your hands.

3. Roll your balls in the desiccated coconut until they’re completely coated.

4. Enjoy them with loved ones or keep them in the fridge for a tasty little protein-packed treat after a jolly festive workout.
   
   

Lip-smacking festive snack swaps

Now that you have a few healthy Christmas recipes up your sleeve, we’re going to have a quick glance at a few tastebud-tingling snack swaps you can make to indulge without the stress this season. 

Oh, and when it comes to mince pies, there really is no substitute. All we can say is enjoy them—just don’t eat six at a time! 

Simple seasonal snacking swaps…

• Swap crisps for seasoned olives
• Swap cheese straws for wholegrain bread breadsticks and hummus
• Swap mini chocolates for fruit salad or naturally sweet dried fruit
• Swap cheese and crackers for bruschetta with Mediterranean veggies and olive oil
• Swap some of your booze for tasty, non-alcoholic alternatives

Read: Our practical guide on how to gain more exercise motivation to keep your fitness goals on track this holiday season.

Get your festive fill with Crazy Nutrition

Make this holiday season your most epic yet by treating yourself or the fitness fanatics in your life to something they can add to their healthy Christmas recipes.

With a whopping 25.3 grams of protein per serving and a choice of four lip-smacking flavors, our 100% Tri-Protein powder offers the gift of performance-boosting health.

You can add it to your favorite festive smoothies or sweet treats for that extra protein-packed punch this holiday season. Good times all around. Go get some.