Vince Delmonte asked: Think putting yourself on a muscle building diet has to be a painful process? Whether your goal is fat loss or muscle building, getting proper nutrition is at least 80% of the game. If you don’t have that figured out, you are going to be a long time away from seeing results.
The good news is that your tastebuds don’t have to suffer if you don’t want them to. There are plenty of ways to get in your proper nutrition while keeping things interesting. If you think gaining muscle means suffering through can of tuna after can of tuna or pounding back a protein shake as fast as humanly possible, you need to think again.
Give one of these recipes a try and you’ll be surprised just how easy it is to eat right, achieve your goals and actually ENJOY your food at the same time.
——————————————————————————–
Protein Fudge Nuggets
These are great to take to the gym as a post-workout treat or just for a snack to eat between meals. When you are trying to gain weight many of you really need to packing in the calories so you need calorie dense foods. These chocolate treats have it all.
8 scoops chocolate protein powder
1 cup oatmeal (can be ground depending on the consistency you’d like)
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
3 tbsp honey
½ cup milk
3 tbsp crushed peanuts
First mix together the protein powder, oatmeal, peanut butter, honey and milk. Form into small balls and then roll in the crushed peanuts to finish. Note that these can easily be frozen in plastic bags and consumed on a later date.
Nutritional Info (1/10 of the recipe)
234 calories
6.7 grams fat
18 grams carbohydrates
25 grams protein
——————————————————————————–
Pumpkin Pancakes
When you’re craving a good home-made pancake breakfast, give these a try. They are filled with slow digesting carbohydrates that will keep your blood sugar steady throughout the morning.
¼ cup oats
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
5 egg whites
1 tbsp ground flax
½ tbsp cinnamon
Splenda to taste
First heat a frying pan until hot and then reduce to medium temperature. After mixing together all the ingredients drop by spoonful onto the plan, flipping when bubbles start to form.
Makes about 5 - 4″ pancakes.
Nutritional Info (per recipe)
217 calories
23 grams protein
26 grams carbohydrates
4 grams fat
——————————————————————————–
Protein Jell-O
When you’re craving something sweet but are on a very low carb diet, there often is not a lot of options. This recipe is the perfect dessert that will give you plenty of protein and not much else. Great for those on a very strict diet.
1 package sugar-free Jell-O (any flavour)
1 scoop Syntrax Nectar protein powder (any flavour - to match Jell-O)
Mix 1 cup boiling water with the Jell-O powder then stir in one scoop of the protein powder until dissolved. Once that’s finished, mix in one cup of cold water and allow to set. Serve with low fat Cool Whip if desired.
——————————————————————————–
Blueberry Cookies
Everyone needs a good cookie now and then but not everyone needs the damage to their diet. Luckily with these not only will you be getting a great dose of protein, you will be getting plenty of antioxidants from the blueberries.
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
4 egg whites
½ cup oats
1 cup blueberries
First combine all three ingredients so they are blended well. Then mix in blueberries and drop by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degree Celsius for approximately thirteen minutes. Makes 10 cookies.
Nutritional Info (per cookie)
54 calories
6.5 grams protein
0.7 grams fat
5.5 grams carbs
——————————————————————————–
Protein Waffles
These are a very convenient way to get your protein and carbs in. They make for the perfect transportable post-workout meal if you would rather do something other than a shake. To make a complete meal out of them, spread some peanut butter between two waffles.
1.5 scoops of vanilla protein powder (note that other flavours can be used if desired)
1/3 cups of cooked oats (cooked in the microwave with slightly more water than called for)
1 egg white
1/8 tsp (or a few drops) of maple extract
1/8 tsp of baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar free maple syrup (optional)
Combine all the ingredients into a sticky batter and then pour into a waffle iron. Cook as usual, until golden brown. Drizzle with sugar free maple syrup if desired.
Nutritional Info (per recipe)
300 calories
41 grams protein
5 grams fat
22.7 grams carbs
——————————————————————————–
Mock Cinnamon Buns
While this probably won’t taste exactly like a Cinnabon, it might just do the trick to quell the craving for something sweet and cinnamony.
6 egg whites
1-2 packets artificial Sweetener
½ tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon (can use more if desired)
Fat free vanilla coffee creamer
First separate egg whites from yolks and place whites in a bowl. Next add in one packet of sweetener along with vanilla extract. Whisk this together well. Place in the microwave for about 3 minutes and thirty seconds, stirring half-way through. Once finished, let sit for one to two minutes and then chop with a fork. Sprinkle on cinnamon and more sweetener until evenly distributed over eggs. Finally, drizzle with some fat free vanilla coffee creamer.
Nutritional Info (without creamer)
95 calories
21 grams protein
1 gram carb
0.7 gram fat
——————————————————————————–
Muscle Building - Low Carb Cheesecake
This is the perfect way to replace an otherwise diet-damaging dessert with something that is more nutrition friendly.
2 cups cottage cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vanilla powder
1/4 cup Splenda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tbsp sugar free jam
First preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Next, beat together the cottage cheese, eggs, sour cream, protein powder, vanilla extract and Splenda until smooth. Pour this into a sprayed pie pan and then swirl the sugar free jam through with a knife. Place the cake on the top rack of the oven with another pan filled with water on the bottom. Bake this for 30-40 minutes and then allow to cool after cooking. Makes 8 servings
Nutritional Info (per serving)
110 calories
4 grams fat
4.5 grams carbs
14 grams protein
——————————————————————————–
High Protein Bread
For those of you who have trouble getting in all your protein requirements, it helps if you can sneak it into other foods that are normally lower in protein content. The following is a recipe for protein bread, which works great for those who are also dieting and trying to reduce their carb count. If you are not dieting but rather trying to gain muscle, up the calorie content of the bread by spreading a thick layer of natural peanut butter on top. You’ll have a high calorie snack that won’t lead to an increase in insulin levels, which can promote fat storage in certain situations.
1 tsp yeast
1 cup vital wheat gluten
¼ cup protein powder (any flavour however if you are planning on using spreads, vanilla or unflavored will likely work best)
1/3 cup wheat bran
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp flaxmeal
2 packets of sweetener
1 tbsp olive oil
1 egg
½ cup water
Combine yeast, wheat gluten, protein powder, wheat bran, salt, flaxmeal and sweetener in a bowl until well blended. In a separate bowl stir together the olive oil, egg and water. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Transfer to a greased bread loaf pan and bake at 375 degree Celsius for 20 minutes or until brown. Makes 12 slices.
Nutritional Info (per slice):
80 calories
2 grams fat
11 grams protein
13.5 grams carbs
——————————————————————————–
Protein Crepes
Looking for something different for dessert? Why not try a high-protein crepe. Fill these with your favourite fruit and top with whip cream, peanut butter or cottage cheese, or alternatively use them as part of a main course as a wrap for tuna salad, chicken ******* and veggies or whatever favourite creation you come up with.
1 cup egg whites
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (if using these for dessert, you may want to use strawberry or chocolate flavoured powder instead)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Begin by whipping together the egg whites and protein powder. Then stir in vanilla extract. Next heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and then once heated, pour the batter into the skillet so there is just enough to thinly cover the bottom. It is a good idea to remove the pan from the heat while doing this so the batter will spread evenly.
Allow to cook over medium heat until small bubbles begin to form on the top. Then flip it over and cook once again until finished.
So next time you’re looking for some good muscle building recipes, packed with protein to give your body the amino acids it needs, give one of these a try.
Florence
