Steamed cod with lemony broccoli

If one dish had to sum up cutting, it would be this one: 32 g of protein for 254 kcal, with barely 9 g of fat. Cod is one of the leanest fish there is — almost only protein and water — and steaming adds no fat at all. The broccoli completes it with volume, fibre and very few calories.

The result: a meal that fills you up through its volume while leaving huge calorie room for the rest of the day. That is exactly what you want in a deficit: keeping protein high to protect muscle without blowing the counter.

254 kcal is deliberately low: this is a cutting dish. If you need more energy, add a clean carb source — brown rice, sweet potato, quinoa — without touching the cod. You go from a cutting meal to a balanced or maintenance meal with one starch portion.

Cod is also very easy to digest, which makes it a good evening meal: light on the stomach, rich in steadily absorbed protein for the night. A squeeze of lemon and a little dill are enough to make it tasty.

Cod is delicate: overcooked, it turns dry and falls apart. Steamed, 8 to 10 minutes are enough depending on the fillet's thickness — it is ready when the flesh turns opaque and flakes into large pieces. Lay it on the half-cooked broccoli so everything finishes together.

To lift such a pared-back dish, lean on aromatics rather than fat: garlic, dill, parsley, lemon zest and juice, a pinch of chili. You get flavour without adding calories, which is the whole point when cutting.

Steaming is not the only fat-free method. Baked in a parcel (200 °C, 12 to 15 minutes), cod cooks in its own steam with lemon, tomatoes and herbs: zero added fat, maximum flavour. In a non-stick pan, one minute each side over high heat is enough to sear it with little or no oil.

The oven also lets you lightly gratin the fish with a mustard-and-herb crust, or cook it straight on a bed of vegetables that soak up its juices. Varying the cooking avoids the boredom of 'steamed every night' while keeping the dish just as lean — often what makes a cut sustainable without cracking.

Steamed cod keeps for 1 to 2 days in the fridge in an airtight container, but it loses texture quickly: the flesh turns firmer and slightly rubbery on reheating. If you prep this dish ahead, cook it the day before rather than in a three- or four-day batch, and reheat it gently, covered, to avoid drying it out further.

Broccoli, on the other hand, handles meal-prep much better: cook a big batch at the start of the week, keep it chilled, and pair it with a fresh protein each day. For freezing, only the broccoli is really suited to it (blanched then frozen, it keeps 2 to 3 months); avoid freezing already-cooked cod, whose texture degrades noticeably on thawing. Buy it frozen raw instead if you want it always on hand.