4 Aromas Chicken
Another chicken recipe because people who want to get big and strong only eat chicken, am I right?!
The truth is that it was on sale and I stocked on chicken hahaha #frugalaf
This recipe smells of Mediterranean.
I don’t know why it happens but once cooked, everything has this fragrance of fennel and the sweetness of the onions. It was then natural to me to add some fennel seeds to boost that aroma even more with some fennel seeds. But if you don’t have them, this recipe tastes delicious as well. The fennel seeds are really the cherry on the top.
This high-protein recipe tastes really succulent and it’s also cheap and easy to make.
This recipe makes a great healthy post-workout not only for people doing IIFYM (flexible diet) but also those on Paleo/Primal.
This recipe is recommended for bodybuilders on a bulking phase since it provides 790kcal. It is great for building muscle mass since it has 50g of protein! Talking about high-protein recipes, eh!?
I used beer to make it. You can replace it with wine (white for a more delicate flavor, red for a more robust one) or with chicken/vegetable broth/bouillon) or vinegar (my bet is that balsamic is great here). If you don’t have any of this, feel free to use water.
Building muscle mass and becoming strong can be done in a healthy way and this recipe is an example. Healthy bodybuilding is possible! 🙂
I am definitely going to make this again because I loved it and it’s sort of set it and forget it since the oven is doing most of the work.
Ah, some sour cream/crème fraîche is great here, for those of you looking to add more calories, just saying 😉
Without further ado, here’s the recipe.
GIF Recipe
Chicken Stew with “Fake” Potatoes
Potatoes…who doesn’t love them, am I right?!
All those calories though!
What if I told you that there is a vegetable that tastes and “behaves” 90% like a potato but with half of the calories?
Let me introduce you to a new staple in your diet which makes for a great food hack.
Enter rutabaga.
Yeah, bizarre name. But you might also know it as neep or swede.
I stumbled upon it almost by chance, really.
I live in the Netherlands and my Dutch is very bad. I asked for “Kohlrabi” and the fruit seller packed me a rutabaga. Which I discovered only when getting home and finding this HUGE and weird looking vegetable in my bag.
It actually took me some time even to understand what it was hahaha
I found a lot of delicious recipes on the internet but I didn’t have much time to do fancy stuff so I decided to treat it like I would normally treat a potato and use it to make this chicken stew you can see here.
I am pretty sure that if you would serve this to anyone who didn’t see you cooking, they might never tell that it’s not made with actual potatoes. The more sophisticated foodies might spot the difference and tell you “what kind of potatoes did you use for this dish?”
The difference is incredibly subtle.
The rutabaga/neep/swede has ONLY 36 kcal/100g!! It also provides a mere 8g of carbohydrates of which 3g are fibers. If you are on a ketogenic diet and miss potatoes, this can be for you!
From the nutrition point of view, unfortunately, as with regular potatoes, this is nothing spectacular as it doesn’t provide that high amount of nutrients. Though it has more vitamin C than regular potatoes providing 42% of the Vitamin C RDA in 100g. But to be honest, you need to have a very crappy diet not to consume enough vitamin C 😀
Also for those of you cutting and missing potatoes, try to have some rutabaga! I am going to show you more recipes in the future that are great for cutting!
I decided to make a very quick chicken stew using “kipkluifjes”. I have no idea what’s the English word for that and the closest approximation is chicken thighs though they are very small.
Of course, you can use bigger chicken thighs, drumsticks, and even chicken breast.
This high-protein recipe is a healthy bodybuilding meal great for dinner or post-workout.
At 850 kcal this recipe can be a bulking one for those looking to increase muscle mass. If you are cutting, use chicken breast or remove the skin from the chicken.
This recipe is also high in protein since it provides 54g per serving.
With 32g of net carbs, this can a good post-workout recipe for people on the targeted ketogenic diet (TKD).
If you don’t want to use beer, use wine, vinegar, or chicken broth to make this recipe paleo/primal.
GIF Recipe
High-Protein Sweet Mango Chicken
I had never tried a sweet&sour recipe before and if they all taste as good as this one I’m completely sold on the idea.
Quite frankly I wasn’t expecting the taste to turn out SO good.
You have the sweetness of the mango that is counterbalanced by the savoriness and umami of the soy sauce and chicken, ending with the crunchiness and aroma of the almonds.
This recipe is a true melting pot of flavors at each bite.
It was so good that I made it again a couple of days later.
As a sweetener I used erythritol but you can use whatever you want. Its purpose is to help to develop a glaze and add extra sweetness. It’s not mandatory but a very nice addition.
Feel free to omit the almonds if you are cutting. You can also replace almonds with sesame seeds.
This is a high-protein recipe. With 62g of protein per serving, this chicken recipe it’s great for bodybuilding,(especially during a bulking phase) or for those looking to put on muscle mass in general.
You can serve it with a salad on the side or with some mashed potatoes or oven baked fries.
This recipe is recommended for the following diets: primal, paleo, iifym.
Gif Recipe
Stuffed Eggplants
My grandma (and mom) used to make this all the time: a big tradition in southern Italian cuisine.
The flavors are incredible and the way they combine makes you feel in Italy after a first mouthful.
Little that I realized, how high-protein and low-carb high-fat this dish can be!
Therefore, whenever I have some time and can find cheap eggplants, this dish is a must do for my post-workouts.
This is very filling too so if you are cutting you can make it as well.
So, there you have it, the authentic south Italian stuffed eggplants recipe adapted for muscle mass gains!
(I’m sure my grandma would kill me if she knew I posted her recipe hahah)
Gif Recipe
2
Pork Sausage with Lentils (Very Filling High-Protein Lunch/Dinner)
How to make a cheap, (fairly) healthy, and high-protein dinner?
Well, you use pork, legumes (lentils in this case), and veggies!
This recipe is a great high-protein lunch/dinner idea since it packs a lot of proteins and a ton of fibers (for those of you struggling with fiber intake!). It delivers an incredible 38g of fibers per serving. If I remember correctly that’s the recommended intake for an adult male!
While being all good for your intestinal health, it’s also very delicious as the aroma of the pork meat perfectly combines with the texture and taste of lentils and tomato sauce. Then, the added spices add a touch of unexpected flavor that blends delightfully with the whole dish.
It’s not a quick recipe (it might require up to 50 min), mind you, since you have to cook the lentils but if you have a slow cooker than it’s perfect!
Since this is a high-calories recipe, it’s ideal if you struggle to gain weight and muscle mass.
This recipe is good also for people on the slow-carb diet!
The amount of carbs in the label is net carbs (as in European nutrition labels’ style).
Gif Recipe
Simple Yet Tasty Pork Sausage Risotto
Today we go for something rather sophisticated but actually incredibly easy to make.
On top of that, it is gluten-free and perfect if you are coeliac and doing bodybuilding.
The recipe is not the quickest but it’s simple and straightforward. This would make you look like a master chef even if your biggest culinary achievement so far has been scrambled eggs.
I would recommend this recipe to whoever has never tried making risotto since it’s very basic and simple and can help you getting started.
Once you can master this high-protein risotto, every other risotto recipe is going to be a no-brainer and will add endless possibilities to your cooking repertoire. For instance, you could try this foodgasmic risotto with pumpkin and pork sausage.
I love to have risotto as my post-workout because I can get in one package carbs, proteins, and fat with benefits of an incredible creamy taste.
Great for when you are bulking and want to eat a lot of calories in a single meal!
Creamy&Crunchy Fragrant Italian Pumpkin, Sausage, and Rosemary Risotto
My plan was to cook this, wait 1 hour and then have dinner.
I failed.
The taste was so delicious, I ended up eating the whole thing after the first “tryout” bite.
In my mouth, there was a mixing of textures and flavors that left me truly surprised and in that ecstasy that only certain food can give you.
The crunchiness of the roasted pumpkin perfectly matched with the creaminess of the rice. The richness of the pork sausage masterfully combined with the smoky fresh flavors of paprika and rosemary.
This recipe is a keeper. It will always be in my repertoire from now on.
This bodybuilding recipe is high in protein and high in calories and gluten-free (great if you are coeliac!).
It’s a perfect bulking meal idea when you don’t have to watch too much at your calories.
I use it as post-workout since it gives you carbs, protein, and fat in a good ratio.
Feel free to change the amounts used to fit your macros.
Pollo alla Romana
A big traditional Italian classics which is perfect for building muscle and strength too!
Furthermore, this recipe has very low amount of carbs and it’s very cheap and easy to make.
Next time you have guests at home thinking how miserable your life must be on a LCHF diet, serve them this, and you might get a convert right there 🙂