Gentle Day Chicken & Rice Bowl

For the days after an injection when everything smells too strong and nothing sounds appealing. Poached chicken, soft rice and a mild broth, with nothing fried, nothing spiced and nothing sharp. It still gets 46g of protein into you when eating feels like work.

One meal won't hit a daily target on its own — here's how much protein you actually need on a GLP-1.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups cooked white rice
• 2 carrots (finely diced)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 small zucchini (finely diced)
• 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt per bowl
• 1 teaspoon chopped chives

Method

1. 1Bring the broth and bay leaf to a bare simmer in a wide pan, never a rolling boil.
2. 2Lower in the chicken breasts and poach gently for 15 to 18 minutes, until cooked through and completely tender.
3. 3Lift the chicken out to rest, then add the carrots, peas and zucchini to the broth and simmer for 5 minutes until soft.
4. 4Shred the chicken into soft pieces with two forks rather than slicing it.
5. 5Spoon rice into each bowl, add the shredded chicken and soft vegetables, and ladle over enough warm broth to moisten. Top with yogurt and chives.

Tips for GLP-1 appetites

• Deliberately mild: no garlic, onion, chili or strong spice, which are the usual triggers when smells are a problem.
• Shredded rather than sliced, and loosened with broth, so it needs almost no chewing.
• Eat the chicken first and treat the rice as optional. On a difficult day the protein is the part that matters.