Muscle Meals Recipes

Every fitness enthusiast has consulted at least three sources for their workout and diet plan. And though there might be different approaches to muscle building and weight loss, what is common among all these sources is the truth that protein is very much essential in losing excess fat and increasing muscle mass.

Aside from that, recent studies have shown that there are other benefits that protein brings to the table aside from its muscle building properties. One example of these benefits is improved quality of sleep.

Protein is indeed very important, but it doesn’t mean that you have to consume it all at once or in large amounts. It has to be consumed gradually all throughout the day. It doesn’t matter whether your main goal is weight loss, muscle gain, or improved stamina, your body will get the optimum benefits of protein if you stretch your protein intake across your meals.

Moreover, adding protein into your diet will make you crave food less. Since it takes time for the digestive system to process protein, you don’t get hungry as quickly.

Integrating protein into your daily meal

Not everyone has the luxury of having the fancy foods and ingredients necessary for body building. They may not be readily available at your local grocery store or supermarket; or maybe they are but are sold at an expensive price.

Limitation when it comes to food budget may become as issue as well. It’s totally understandable for some people who are going through a tough time to be more flexible with their food budget. That makes it even more challenging to come up with a dish that works for your body building goal as well as your taste buds.

But, there’s really nothing to worry about. So what if you don’t have access to some ingredients? You can actually work on whatever food you have available, you just have to be creative in order to come up with a dish that will serve your goal. While not everyone is gifted with a talent for cooking, as long as you can follow instructions on a recipe guide, you’ll be fine.

Here are some sample recipes that you can work on for starters.

Muscle Meal Recipe #1: Steak Sandwich

The main component of this recipe is the skirt steak, which is very affordable and ideal for sandwiches. It’s conveniently cut to go in a sandwich (only about half an inch thick). The steak is tender enough that it cooks fast and easy; and the result is easy on the jaw with intense and savory beef flavour. A slab of this meat goes perfectly with two slices of bread, together with horseradish, mayonnaise, and pepper.

Ingredients for skirt steak sandwich are:

Skirt steak, ciabatta, unsalted butter, arugula, horseradish, mayonnaise, steak marinade, olive oil, chopped garlic, fresh thyme, rosemary, and parsley, lemon

How to make

• Remove the excess fat off the meat, soak it in the marinade, and then seal it in a zip-lock bag.
• Put it in a refrigerator for 2-7 hours. Remember not to over-refrigerate the steak, otherwise it will become mushy when cooking.
• Set up your skillet or a cast-iron pan, place it over high heat for 4-5 minutes.
• Take the steak out of the zip-locked bag, scrape the extra herbs and ingredients on it, season with salt and pepper to taste, then start grilling the meat to your preference. You don’t want to over-expose it to heat if you want medium-rare. A minute on each side will do.
• You can choose to toast your bread or not. Meanwhile, the mayo and the horseradish go into a mixing bowl.
• Arrange your sandwich as such: horseradish mayo first on top of the bottom slice of bread, add a layer of arugula, place your steak, season with black pepper and a little salt, place the top slice of the bread.

Nutritional value

About 350 g of steak contains about 80 g of protein and B vitamins. The bread is better than other breads when it comes to good fat. Butter, unlike other sandwich spread is abundant with vitamins A and D. Antioxidant vitamin C is also present in the dish coming from the horseradish. The monounsaturated fats in olive oil are very good for the heart.

This dish is an example of many other recipes that you can prepare with only the simple ingredients that are readily available in your kitchen. You don’t have to fail in nourishing your body while you’re doing the training to build up your muscles, just because you can’t afford or you can’t get some of the ingredients in the recipe you’re working on. It’s okay to be creative. What’s really important is to get your body properly nourished.

That being said, the Anabolic cooking book is actually a very helpful guide in creating your meals and managing your food intake. The dishes featured in the book are cheap, nutritious, and definitely delicious. The recipes are designed to support muscle growth, repair, and recovery.