Bodybuilding recipes - Cheap and Nutritious

[Ensam]

Take a couple heads of broccoli, separate the florets from the stalks. Cut the stalks into 1/4 - 1/2" chunks. Put some oil over high heat. Fry some garlic until it gets aromatic. Add the stalks and let them cook until they start to turn golden on the edges. Add the florets and let them cook for a minute or so. Mean while mix a 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and ground pepper into 2 tablespoons of water. Then toss the water into the pan and put a lid over it. Let the water steam the broccoli until the florets turn dark green - 2-3 minutes. Enjoy with a nice steak.

 

[redbeard]

I've been eating the same lunch everyday for at least the past six months.

12 - 16oz 85% ground beef (depending on current diet)
One of these salads

1. Cook ground beef the night before with random spices
2. Add to salad

Simple, quick, easy way to get fresh greens, and fucking delicious.

 

[the Thing]

Here's a 10 minute video of what I'm planning to do tonight:

 

[Orwellsboot]

Chicken breast, if you cook the whole fillet will quickly dry out and taste like crap after you cook. I've found a way that makes it pretty damn delicious and whilst retaining it's moistness as well.

Halve the chicken fillet so it's about .5 to 1cm thick.

Smash it more to the point just before it starts breaking apart.

Drizzle in lemon.

Season. I personally use cayenne pepper and garlic.

I then sear it on a very hot grill (about 400c) for a few minutes and then turn the heat off, letting the chicken sit on the rack for about 10 minutes. I've found the key to cooking chicken breast is letting it cook with a dropping temperature. As in, once not too hot handle it has cooked nice and gently. I keep my chicken in the fridge over night and snack on it throughout the day.

And the best thing, for about $10AUD ($7USD), I'm getting 320G of protein. This kind of cooking is perfect on a bulk or a cut. It's allowed me to control my diet, on the cheap.

 

[Roadrunner]

If you think you don't have enough time to cook; think again:
Easy as fuck, no time commitment and instant weight loss.
Beef, eggs and cheese:
Ingredients:
2 pounds of ground beef ;I use 80% lean to save money
4 eggs
400 calories worth of goat cheese
Butter
Any spice you can think of.
I also use ghost pepper for the spice
Directions:
Easy as fuck
Start cooking the beef with the spices and butter; as much as you think you need. Obviously don't use half a stick.
A little more than Halfway through put in half the amount of Goat cheese you have into the pan
when it seems about 80% done crack 4 eggs on top of the beef.
When it's all well and cooked take it out of the pan and put into a bowl along with the half of the cheese you haven't used.
Boom; fuck ton of calories, one meal and an a better alternative than living at mcdonalds/starbucks during finals week.

 

[Pornopung]

I've been making tuna fried rice a few times lately. It's very quick if you already have cooked rice (I've made it a habit to cook double portion of rice and then use the remaining half for night meal/breakfast/lunch), quite tasty (and I'm no big fan of canned tuna) and ridiculously cheap. Even with Norway's very high grocery prices it comes out at around $1 for a big portion. Hard to beat that for a full, high protein meal.

I use

1 cup/180 grams of cooked rice (amount/weight of uncooked rice)
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 small chopped onion (and whatever other vegetables you have)
1 can of tuna (the ones I use contain 120 g of tuna when drained)
1 or 2 eggs
Soy sauce to taste for seasoning (I also use some vietnamese fish sauce, some chili sauce and a splash of lemon juice)
Oil

Start with onions, fry until they soften. Add the garlic for 30 s, then add rice and cook for a minute. Add tuna. Make a well in the center, add 1 or 2 eggs and stir until they thicken, then mix with the rice (can also fry eggs separately). Season with soy sauce, and other sauces if you wish.

 

[Orwellsboot]

Not necessarily a bodybuilding recipe but good if you're trying to cut or drop weight quickly

Just wanted to share with you guys what I've been eating lately.

Disclaimer: I pick and choose between metric and imperial. I think in Calories but measure in Grams.

Daily Cost: $15AUD
From: Coles Supermarkets
Diet: Protein Sparing (Low Calorie, main source of energy from Proteins)
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 2 minutes Microwave

Height: 183cm (6'0")
Weight: 96KG (211 lbs)
(I'm using height and weight to give context on my daily macros)

Calories: 980 (Daily limit is 1100 to 1240 depending on working out or not)
Protein: 208.5g
Fat: 13.5G (Limit 23)
Carbs: 4-7G (Mainly Sugars in the egg whites) (As low as possible)
Sodium: 3400MG
Very high in Calcium
Very high in Potassium
Very Little Fiber (take your husk supps / eat your vegetables)

Egg Whites in a Carton x2 at about $5 each
Kraft Higher Protein Cheese x1 at about $5
Mixed Italian Herbs (Neg. Cost)
Chilli Powder (Neg. Cost)
Basil Paste or Fresh Basil (Neg. Cost)
Minced or Fresh Garlic (Neg. Cost)

This isn't the most delicious meal I've ever made, but with that being said it's ticking off some very important boxes for me.

A) It's very rich - obviously in the making of this higher protein cheese they've matured it
B) It's very filling, especially with a plate of greens on the side
C) It basically smashes all of my daily macro requirements for protein

The basil and garlic really moderates the Cheesiness/Sodium. And it tastes good. I have very complex taste buds from a lifetime of Garlic, Thai/Indian food and all sorts of crazy shit, this keeps my desire (so to speak) for strong tasting food.

My ratio of Egg White(1kg) to Cheese(250g) is 4:1. If you aren't so keen on the cheesiness you could go 1:6 or 1:8. I do it this because it's simple and I'm just using the full volumes from the packets/cartons.

It also expands like crazy. About 1L of volume basically doubles. I microwave it in a container and it comes out looking like a loaf of bread.

Overall, this is quick and easy and adheres to the principles of the diet rather well. I also suspect it will be a good baseline in the future as a dietary staple. Maybe with a cheese with a lighter taste like Mozzarella.

And prep time is a piece of piss. Pour 2 cartons, 1 packet of cheese and preferred condiments into a large container and pour your portions out throughout the day into a microwaveable container. 10 minutes a day. For the little bit extra a day it costs me the time value factor is massive. If I cook chicken breasts for example, it will take me the better part of an hour.

It's not perfect at all, but this diet in its essence is somewhat unnatural. Make sure you keep your fiber up with supplementation.

I'll post up a nice photogenic picture later on.

 

[thoughtgypsy]

Ever since I had black beans and rice at Paseo in Key West, I've been trying my damndest to replicate it. I think I've gotten pretty close, so I'll share. Beans are cheap, a decent source of protein, and if you make them right, delicious.

Hearty Black beans and Brown rice

Prep/cook time: ~20min

Ingredients
3 15oz cans soaked black beans
2 yellow onions, chopped
3 gloves garlic, minced
half stick butter
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup rice
2 TBSP Rose's sweetened lime juice (secret ingredient)
2 TBSP cumin
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder

1 pinch cardamon (optional)
1 TBSP habanero sauce (optional)

Directions:
1) Melt butter in large sauce pot, chop onions and sautee until tender.

1a) While onions are cooking, cook brown rice in seperate pot or rice cooker normally. For stovetop, I usually put 1 cup of dry brown rice into 2 cups cold water, bring to a rolling boil, then cover and put on low for ~20 minutes. I let it cool for ~15 minutes and mix it up with a fork to absorb any remaining moisture.

2) Add minced garlic to pot and sautee for ~1min. Drain and rinse beans, add to pot, pour in 1 cup tomato juice and enough water to almost cover beans. Mix it up then bring to a boil. Cover and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.

3) Uncover and simmer for 5 minutes. While simmering, add the ingredients to taste. Add cumin, ACV, lime juice, salt, chili powder, paprika, and mix it up. Add additional ingredients based on your preference.

4) Serve over rice and save the leftovers for later. I can usually get about 5-6 meals out of it. I keep the rice separate and throw it out if I haven't eaten it in 3 days, but if you're putting the meals together I'd double up the rice amount. I know rice and beans sounds pretty bland, but give this one a try. The butter soaked onions and savory beans are flavor bombs. I usually eat this on workout (carb) days. To get extra protein I pair it with a separate protein shake. Try it out and let me know what you think, I'm always open to improving the recipe.

 

[262]

Did a quick search on the forum, didn't see this site mentioned so ...

https://www.eatthismuch.com/

I just used this free site to come up with a meal plan for my cut phase. What's unique is it actually generates meal plans based on some pretty customizable criteria - calories, macros, meal cost, meal frequency, prep complexity, etc.

 

[god]

Smoothies!

Smoothies fit all the requirements mentioned and they have other added benefits. They virtually never get old. You can always switch up the recipe. They are very quick to make. When I started out with smoothies, I didn't even bother reading any recipes online. I just got some bananas, strawberries and other fruit, threw it in with some milk and ice. Blended it up and to my suprise it was quite delicious. Its hard to screw it up. If you have absolutely no creativity, just search it up online. There are infinite recipes out there. You can always add a scoop of protein if you need extra protein. If you wanna get drunk, add some vodka.

If you haven't experienced smoothies, you need to give it a shot. I can't speak highly enough of them.

A couple tricks of the trade that I figured out after trial and error:
-Use frozen fruit. It makes for a better smoothie.
-Buy the fruit in large bags found in the frozen food section at the grocery store. Its cheaper that way and just as good.

 

[General Stalin]

93% lean ground beef
100% whole grain wheat penne pasta
Hunt's 100% all natural tomato sauce
3-4 sliced baby portabella mushrooms

-Boil pasta do desired firmness

-sautee sliced mushrooms

-Fry up a couple pounds of ground beef in the pan with the mushrooms - season with salt and pepper if you like but not necessary as the sauce will be flavorful enough

-heat up sauce to desired temperature

Toss it all together and eat. Good for about 4 meals yielding 8oz of lean beef per serving. The mushrooms also add a good amount of protein and a great source of vitamin D. The calory cost of the tomato sauce is negligible and not too high in sodium. Should be like 60g of protein per serving at least, and just has many carbs. Wash it down with a tall 16oz glass of 1% milk, maybe with a scoop of your favorite protein powder for a chocolaty treat.

Doesn't get a lot simpler than that for how goddamn tasty it is.

 

[General Stalin]

7 servings of 100% pure egg whites
2 whole large eggs yolk and all
2 Russet potatoes
2 slices of 100% whole wheat bread

- Clean and chop potatos into roughly 1/2" cubes - Thin enough so they won't take too long to cook through

- Heat up some cooking oil in a pan - don't use so much that your potatoes are swimming, just enough to cook them

- Fry potatoes and generously sprinkle with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder

- Once potatoes are just about done, pour in your egg whites and two whole eggs

- Scramble that shit up kehd

- Make some damn toast - add peanut butter if desired

Awesome macro friendly breakfast and a monster start do you day. Should yield like 50g+ of protein, only about 12g-15g of fat, and a lot of hearty complex carbs to get your energy factory going throughout that day.

 

[zombiejimmorrison]

Chicken breast with Pasta Sauce

Very simple, very easy and very tasty. Grab as many chicken breasts as you want. Slice them open from the side, making them flappy and able to open and close like a book.

Season them well with pepper, mixed herbs, mixed spices and tons of paprika.

Add any tomato based sauce you want on top and inside of them, they'll bulge with tomato sauce and they'll be covered all over. I usually get the Dolmio brand but any good commercial or homemade sauce will do. Throw them in the oven for about 30mins on medium to high heat, fan forced.

They'll come out juicy, moist from the inside and with plenty of sauce around them. Can be used the next day for cold chicken breast sandwiches. Easy, 10min prep, very high protein, low fat. Optional, add cheese before or after cooking.

 

[lex the impaler]

My newest recipe: Crock Pot Beef Stew.
Ingredients: 2lbs Beef stew chunks, get them wherever it's cheapest for you. Carrots, Celery, Mushrooms, 1/2 cup beef broth. 1 can beans. 1 can diced tomatoes. Cayenne Pepper, salt and cummin. 1/2 cup of red wine. Toss them all in the crock pot, 12 hours on low, and you have a hearty meal for the week.

 

[Fortis]

This is stupidly simple and delicious (depending on how much you like food).

In China, it is hard to get good protein sources: the meat quality is pretty awful, and the fat sources they have here aren't much better. But you can source healthy olive oil and eggs.

In the morning, I'll eat 4 hard boiled eggs and drink down two tablespoons of olive oil.

This small meal clocks in at 500+ calories and is pretty nutritious. I like it because I can't eat so many carbs in one go. I feel like puking, but if I have this meal twice a day on top of my other meals, I'm adding in 1000 calories in a single day without any protein powder or anything.

Can't take credit for this, an older expat here told me to do this and it's been working well.

I lost almost 10 pounds in a month because I hate chinese food. I wasn't feeling good either because of the extra weight loss, but Since I've been eating 8 eggs and 4 table spoons of olive oil a day I have regained most of the weight and look fitter than I did before.

 

[Designate]

Not bodybuilding recipes in the bulking sense, but the Optimising Nutrition Blog just dropped one or two dozen Fat Loss recipes.

Very timely for guys here who may be cutting for summer or for anyone on a Keto Diet.

OPTIMAL MEALS FOR FAT LOSS

 

[Hannibal]

I ripped this without shame from healthcastle.com.

http://www.healthcastle.com/easy-homemade-no-knead-bread-recipe-just-3-ingredients


Works pretty good for those who are bulking and getting tired of the endless plates of rice. It takes a little planning ahead, although not much preparation. It is easy to get a couple loaves going, which should save you some time during the week.

Rustic 3-Ingredient No-Knead Bread Recipe
Ingredients
3 cups Flour (see Tips below)
1/4 teaspoon Instant Yeast (aka quick-rise or bread machine yeast)
1 teaspoon Salt
1.5 cups Water (very warm)
Cooking Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon just until everything is combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 12 to 20 hours.
After 12 to 20 hours, your dough will smell like beer and appear bubbly. Using wet hands, place dough on a lightly floured surface. Fold the edges of the dough toward the middle and use your hands to shape the dough into a ball. Place the ball fold-side down on a floured tea towel. Sprinkle a little more flour on top of the dough ball and cover with another tea towel, or by folding the first tea towel in half. Let the dough sit for two hours.
Half an hour before the second rise is finished, get ready by setting your oven to 450 degrees and putting your empty covered pot inside to heat up. See notes below on choosing a pot.
Remove hot pot from the oven. Depending on the material of your pot, you may need to grease it with butter. This will make it easier when removing the finish bread. Pick up the towel holding the dough and dump the dough into the pot. Give the pot a gentle shake to even out the dough. It's ok if it looks messy; it will even out once it's baked. Place the covered pot back into the over for 30 minutes. Then, take the lid off the pot and cook uncovered for another 15 minutes.
Remove bread from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

One cup of all purpose flour contains :

Amount Per 1 cup (125 g)
Calories 455
Total Fat 1.2 g
Total Carbohydrate 95 g
Dietary fiber 3.4 g
Protein 13 g

Personally, I'm going to try this with 4 cups so I get all my daily carbs out of the way with one item. This is a shitload of bread, haha, so I would only make a couple of these loaves for the week to break up the monotony of eating rice, lentils, oatmeal, and potatoes.

This would go good as a side for a meat and (not potato) vegetable soup. I don't recommend getting all your calories from a stew, as it takes four or five pounds of potatoes to satisfy an average man's needs during bulking season. The potatoes alone fill up a decent sized stockpot.

One loaf of bread and a food scale to figure out the amount of protein in a stew (5 lbs of beef makes roughly 500-600 grams of protein) makes it very easy to count daily macros.

 

[redbeard]

I've upped my sludge game, it now contains the following super nutrients:

Oatmeal
Barlean's Greens
Ceylon Cinnamon
MSM Powder
Cacao
Unflavored Whey
Gelatin
Raw Fiber


Extremely convenient way to eat all of these powders, plus protein + carbs before lifting

 

[oceanpua]

Chickpeas (with Indian spices and garlic):

Research has shown chickpeas and garlic contain a good amount of zinc (23% DV), manganese 85% DV), and protein (29% DV). The first two are correlated with increasing testosterone.
Source: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=58

Cost:

One time $39.99 cost for a slow cooker, which will save you a lot of time. http://www.crock-pot.com/slow-cooke...ual-slow-cooker-stainless-steel/SCV800-S.html.

You can buy ~2 cups of uncooked garbanzo beans at Whole Foods for $3.99. This lasts about a week for me => $3.99 / wk.

Buying rest of the ingredients in bulk will cost you like $20 / month max.

Time:

Assuming you go the slow cooker route, you will need to soak beans for 8 hours. Then you will need to add ingredients and let it slow cook for another 8 hours. Total time in kitchen is 15 mins max, most of the time is spent just waiting for beans to soak and cook.

Recipe:

1. Soak 2 cups of beans overnight in 4 cups of water.
2. After soaking, remove all the water, then add the following:

3 cups of water
4 tbspoons of salt
1 tbspoon of chili powder
1/2 tbspoon of turmeric powder
1/2 tbspoon of garam masala

1 hr until it is cooked:
Add 6 cloves of chopped garlic

 

[aeroektar]

MEXICAN MUSCLE HASH

This right here has been a staple of my diet for the last month, I could easily see myself eating this regularly forever because its fucking delicious, easy to make, cheap, and full of goodness.

You will need:

Goya beans and rice. These are usually 3 for $3 at my grocery store, they have like 6 different kinds, I like the black beans and rice but I plan to change it up in the future when I feel like it.

1.25LB - 1.5LB ground beef, I use 85% lean

1 medium sized yellow or vadalia onion chopped however you like

2 cloves of garlic, finely diced

Fresh ground peppercorns, sea salt, crushed red pepper, oregano. Thats what I use, do what you want.

Now your going to want to cook the beans and rice, follow the directions.

Simultaneously brown the beef in a pan, once its brown and you drained the fat, add the veggies, then the spices, let it sit on low heat for like 10 minutes, let that shit commingle and bring the flavors out.

Once the two are done, mix them together thoroughly.

Thats it. You can eat it in a bowl, wrap it in a tortilla or scoop it with tortilla chips. I get three meals out of it.

By my estimations this should cost no more then $7 and supply you with 2300 cals, 130-150 grams of protein.