A muscle-building recipe as a whole meal: chicken breast in a crust of parmesan, wheat germ and tarragon, on warm lentils. 73 g of protein per serving, baked rather than fried – and in the Food Secrets app the plate lands in the Top 50 of over a thousand rated foods for the muscles goal.
Open the recipe straight in the Food Secrets app. The app reads the ingredients, links each one to the nutrient database and recalculates the rank for your goal.
Ingredients for 2 servings
- Chicken breasts2 (300 g)
- Lentils, dried (beluga or brown)100 g
- Wheat germ40 g
- Parmesan, freshly grated40 g
- Anchovy fillets4 (15 g)
- Egg yolk1
- Mustard seed, ground1 tsp
- Tarragon, dried1 tsp
Plus pepper. You will hardly need salt – the anchovies and parmesan bring enough. Oil is deliberately not on the list. Step 6 says why.
Method
- Simmer the lentils in plenty of unsalted water for 20–25 minutes until tender, then drain and keep warm. Salt only afterwards: in salted water lentils stay hard.
- Heat the oven to 200 °C, conventional. Line a tray with baking paper.
- Chop the anchovy fillets finely. Stir them with the egg yolk and the ground mustard seed into a smooth paste.
- Mix the wheat germ, parmesan and tarragon in a deep plate.
- Pat the chicken breasts dry and brush them thinly all over with the anchovy paste. Turn them in the wheat germ mix and press the crust on firmly with your hand.
- Bake on the paper for 18–22 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. No oil – the egg yolk holds the crust by itself, and added oil is the single most expensive item for the muscles goal. How expensive is further down.
- Rest the meat for 5 minutes, then slice across. Arrange on the warm lentils and season with pepper.
Why this plate works for your muscles
Every ingredient carries its band from the Food Secrets muscle ranking. A band is stable – a place number changes with every data release, and the app shows you the exact figure.
- Top 10Egg yolkThe densest nutrient package in the database: choline, vitamin B12, vitamin D and every essential amino acid.
- Top 10AnchoviesThey season and salt at once, and bring omega-3 and vitamin D with them. Four fillets are enough.
- Top 20TarragonDried herbs are mineral concentrates. Tarragon delivers potassium and manganese.
- Top 20Mustard seedSelenium and magnesium – both are involved in muscle contraction.
- Top 50Wheat germThe germ of the wheat grain. Protein, vitamin E and B6 – everything white flour leaves behind.
- Top 50ParmesanLong matured: plenty of calcium, plenty of glutamate for flavour, almost no lactose.
- Top 250Chicken breastThe lean bulk protein. On its own no top score – in the mix it carries the satiety.
- Top 250LentilsThe slow carbohydrates, so the body turns the protein into muscle rather than energy.
Averaged and weighted by category, the plate lands in the Top 50. Of all eleven goals in the app, muscles is the one it scores best for. One serving brings 73 g of protein at 560 kcal.
For more enjoyment – and what it costs
The crust and the lentils are hearty, but brown. These three additions bring colour and freshness. We calculated each one so you can decide for yourself:
- Baby spinach, 100 g – almost free. 30 seconds in the hot pan, then folded into the lentils. Green on the plate, and it stays in the Top 50. If you add only one thing, add this.
- Lemon, a squeeze over the crust – fresh and classic. It costs the step down into the Top 100. The flavour is usually worth it.
- Cherry tomatoes, 100 g halved – sweet and juicy. Also Top 100. Take lemon or tomato, not both, or it costs two bands instead of one.
All three stay inside the best hundred of over a thousand foods. A plate you enjoy beats the perfect one you leave standing.
Variations
Every variation is calculated. Where the band changes, it says so.
- Without anchovies: Make the paste from egg yolk and mustard alone. The plate stays in the Top 50 – it loses a few places, not its band. You will then need a pinch of salt.
- Vegetarian: Replace the chicken with 300 g of firm tofu, same paste, same crust, same bake. Stays in the Top 50 and even improves it slightly.
- Gluten-free: Replace the wheat germ with 40 g of finely ground sunflower seeds. Similarly nutty, and the band holds – measured, it is even one place better.
- Pan-fried instead of baked: 2 tbsp of olive oil, 4 minutes a side. That costs the plate the Top 50 and drops it into the Top 100. The same olive oil is a top ingredient for inflammation and the heart – for muscles it sits at rank 1009 of 1036. It is the single biggest lever on this page.
Ingredients onto the shopping list, recipe into the week plan – in one step.
Frequently asked questions about this recipe
Which foods do the most for muscle growth?
At the top of the Food Secrets muscle ranking sit liver, nori seaweed, egg yolk, soybeans, brewer's yeast and small oily fish such as sardine and anchovy. Chicken breast sits at rank 199 of over a thousand – solid, but not at the top. That is exactly why this recipe combines the chicken with egg yolk, anchovies and wheat germ: only together does the plate reach the Top 50.
Why is there no oil in this recipe?
Because added oil is the most expensive item for the muscles goal. Olive oil sits at rank 1009 of 1036 in the muscle ranking, and butter and rapeseed oil are barely better. Two tablespoons drop the plate from the Top 50 into the Top 100. For inflammation and the heart the same olive oil is a top ingredient – which rank applies depends on the goal.
How much protein does one serving have?
Around 73 g per serving at 560 kcal, from chicken, lentils, parmesan, egg yolk and wheat germ, plus 15 g of fibre from the lentils. The app works out the exact figure for your amounts after the import.
Can I prepare the crust in advance?
Yes. The dry mix of wheat germ, parmesan and tarragon keeps for a week in a closed jar. Make the anchovy paste fresh, because it contains raw egg yolk.
How much protein do you need to build muscle?
The common recommendation is 1.4 to 2.0 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, spread over several meals. For a 75 kg person one serving of this plate covers roughly half of that. What matters is the total across the day, not the single meal.
What does „Top 50“ mean at Food Secrets?
The app rates over a thousand foods against more than 25 scientific metrics and gives each a rank per goal. Top 50 means: averaged across all its ingredients, this recipe sits among the best fifty for the muscles goal. We name ranges rather than place numbers because the database keeps growing.
More healthy recipes and food rankings
- Nutrition for muscle building: app and food list – the groundwork and the full ranking of foods for muscle growth.
- Recipe generator: import and analyse healthy recipes – read in any recipe from the web, calculate the nutrients and build the shopping list automatically.
- All healthy recipes by goal – recipes for muscles, inflammation, heart, immune system, blood sugar and other health goals.
- The healing effects of our foods – the compounds behind the ranks, and the studies for them.
The bands on this page are a snapshot of the Food Secrets ranking. The database keeps growing, which is why we name ranges rather than place numbers – the app works out the current value at any time. The information provided is for general education and does not replace medical advice or treatment.
