Caroline’s Circuits: My top 3 high protein breakfasts to fuel your workouts

If you’re one of the 2.1 million Instagram followers of @Carolinescircuits or the thousands of women signed up to the UK PT’s 30-minute online strength workouts, you’ll already know that Caroline Idiens is all about making exercise targeted effective, and totally doable – especially for women 40-plus.

Dubbed “the midlife women’s answer to Joe Wicks” by Get the Gloss deputy editor, Kerry Potter, Caroline is a 52-year-old personal trainer and mother of two from Berkshire who has built a global online fitness community that started in the park after the school run, when women would ask, “are you going to Caroline’s circuits?” The title became her famous social media handle –  and many are surprised to learn that Circuits isn’t actually her surname.

With more than 20 years as a PT, she has honed a ’30 minutes-and-done’ workout formula loved by time-pressed women across the world, particularly those who are perimenopausal, wanting to build muscle, boost mood, and to look and feel as toned as Caroline. A Get The Gloss contributor over the years (find more of her fitness inspiration here), Caroline has told us many times the only workouts she does are her own (plus running) –  she really does practice what she preaches.

Idiens fuels her workouts with good nutrition – you’ll find her snacking on her own vitamin-dense Protein Trail Mix (below, right) with popcorn and chia, serving up Socca Pizza (a gluten-free chickpea ‘pancake’) or making Sausage and Kimchee Traybake for dinner. She’s brought these and other go-to recipes together with a fitness programme in her first book, Fit at 50: Your Guide to a Stronger, Fitter, and Happier (Mid) Life in Just 6 Weeks.

Inside the chunky hardback is a weekly workout plan with light weights, HIIT and bodyweight circuits to help you feel the burn in all the right places, plus 60 nutritionally-balanced recipes created with the registered dietitian Laura Clark @menopause.dietitian.

Caroline’s Circuits Fit at 50 book (left) and making Protein Trail mix (right)

There are tips on how to eat for strength, energy, and hormonal balance, taking the confusion out of food choices and ensuring you’re fuelling your body for your workouts and daily life.

“It is so important to fuel our bodies with the right foods to maintain healthy habits,” explains Idiens in the book. “It is so easy to fall into negative food patterns where we consider exercise as a way of burning off our food intake or earning the right to eat whatever we want post-workout.” Her approach is to share “how healthy eating can reframe our thinking and make food exciting.”

To get you started, we’ve got a sneak peek at three delicious, high-protein breakfast recipes from Fit at 50. Discover them all below!

1. Cheesy Beans on Toast with Cavolo Nero

Protein 29g, carbohydrate 57g, fibre 23g per portion

Serves 2 | Total time: 25 minutes

Why Caroline loves it: “These are a fantastic source of protein. Super quick to prepare, they are way more nutritious than sugary beans from a can.”

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• pinch of chilli flakes
• 570g (1lb 5oz) jar of butter beans, plus their liquid
• 150g (51⁄2oz) cavolo nero, tough stems removed and roughly chopped
• juice of 1⁄2 lemon
• 40g (1 1⁄4oz) Parmesan, grated
• 2 eggs (optional)
• 2 slices of seeded wholegrain bread of your choice

Set a large frying pan on a medium heat and add the olive oil and shallots. Fry for 8 minutes until softened, then add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add the butter beans to the pan along with their liquid and stir to combine. Add the cavolo nero to the pan and squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes to wilt the greens. Remove the lid and stir through most of the Parmesan.

If you feel like it, you can also add a boiled egg. Add one egg per person to a small pan of boiling water and cook for 61⁄2 minutes for a jammy egg. Refresh under cold water. Toast the bread.

Serve the beans on top of the toast, topped with an egg, if using. Finish with the remaining Parmesan and an extra pinch of chilli flakes, if you feel like it.

2. Better Avocado Toast

Protein 17g, carbohydrate 27g, fibre 7.4g per portion

Serves 2 | Total time: 20 minutes

Why Caroline loves it: “I absolutely adore avocado… I wanted to find a way of adding extra protein and greens at breakfast to balance out healthy fats. Blending the avocado with edamame beans makes the avocado go further too, saving you money and increasing the nutritional value overall.”

• 150g (51⁄2oz) cherry tomatoes
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 avocado
• 100g (31⁄2oz) edamame beans
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 slices of seeded sourdough, or high-protein bread
• 100g (31⁄2oz) spinach
• 11⁄2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp mixed seeds (I used sunflower, pumpkin, linseed, and sesame)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Drizzle the cherry tomatoes with the olive oil and place in an air fryer at 180°C (350°F) for 12 minutes. Alternatively, you can roast in the oven at 180°C (160oC fan/350°F/Gas 4) for 16–18 minutes.

In the meantime, blitz the avocado and edamame beans together with the lemon juice and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper in a food processor, or mash by hand for a chunkier result. Pop the sourdough in the toaster and toast to your liking.

Boil a kettle. Put the spinach in a small saucepan with a splash of water and cook for 1–2 minutes until wilted. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Fill the pan with the boiling water from the kettle and add the white wine vinegar, then reduce the heat to low. Crack the eggs directly into the water, staying very close to the surface. Allow the eggs to poach for 2–3 minutes – use a slotted spoon to poke the egg to see when the white is set but the yolk will still be runny.

Spread the avocado on the toast and top with two eggs, and a sprinkling of seeds. Serve with the wilted spinach and roasted cherry tomatoes. Enjoy.

3. High-Protein Banana Pancakes

Protein 17g, carbohydrate 35g, fibre 4.5g per portion

Serves 3 | Total time: 20 minutes

Why Caroline loves it: “These pancakes sneak in cottage cheese for an extra hit of protein but you can also swap it for thick Greek yogurt.”

• 1 banana, plus extra slices to serve
• 2 eggs
• 150g (51⁄2oz) cottage cheese
• 100g (31⁄2oz/1 cup) rolled oats
• 125ml (4fl oz/1⁄2 cup) soy milk or milk of your choice
• 1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1⁄4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 tbsp honey or maple syrup, plus extra to serve
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp butter
• handful of pecans, roughly chopped, to serve

Add the banana, eggs, cottage cheese, oats, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, maple syrup, baking powder, and salt to a blender and whizz until combined.

Heat a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat, then add a little bit of the butter, brushing it around with the back of your spoon.

Fry the pancakes in batches, allowing them to cook for 1–2 minutes on each side until golden and puffy. Add more butter to the pan for frying as needed. You should be able to make nine pancakes in total.

Serve with extra banana slices, chopped pecans, and a little drizzle of honey or maple syrup.

Fit at 50 by Caroline Idiens, £22, published by DK UK, is out now. Order your copy here.