The period after your workout is the best time to consume healthy and nutritious meals since this is the time when your muscles are most deprived of nutrients and will “soak up” any nutrients you consume. Getting quality nutrients after training as soon as possible is the best way to ensure the quickest recovery and optimal muscle growth.
Eating properly after the workout is an essential part of any successful fitness journey. The mechanism behind proper recovery is a bit complex, so it can be boiled down to several nutritional laws: if you are to maximize your muscle building efforts, you need to supply the muscle tissue with enough amino acids and glycogen to replenish the reserves you used during training.
Consuming a dose of the right type of protein and carbs immediately after training restarts the muscle building process by increasing nitrogen retention and protein synthesis. The most common advice on the Internet is that we drink a shake with whey protein and fast-acting carbs. But we cannot always consume the same protein shakes, chicken breast, rice or potatoes over and over again. It becomes awfully boring after a while and your palate will be deprived of the endless tasty flavors of food.
Additionally, the body requires a large variety of all kinds of macro and micronutrients found in various types of foods. In this article, we present you with 6 recipes that are both delicious and have a great combination of protein, carbs, and fat to boost muscle building.
Protein pancakes
Ingredients: 4 egg whites, half a cup of rolled oats, half a cup of cottage cheese, 1/8 tbsp. of baking powder and ½ tbsp. of pure vanilla extract. Mix them and cook the mixture on a pre-heated griddle on a medium to low heat, until it starts bubbling. Then, take it off the griddle, flip it and let it cool off for additional 30 to 60 seconds. You can add some fresh berries or some banana slices.
The great thing about these protein pancakes is that they are high in protein and low in carbs, which makes them a perfect choice for people who want to retain their hard-earned muscle when going on a cutting diet. The protein in the pancakes digests slowly which provides your body with a steady supply of amino acids, thus keeping an anabolic state.
Total calories: 420, protein: 50g, carbs: 40g, fat: 6g.
Beef and squash with marinara
This is a very delicious meal filled with the right nutrients for post-workout recovery. Cook 8 oz. of grass-fed lean beef and add some salt and pepper. Cook one butternut squash for 30 to 45 minutes until it becomes soft. Mix them in a pan when finished and add 4 oz. of your favorite marinara sauce.
If you training sessions are hard and intense and with a lot more volume, it’s very likely that you’ll be hungry like a wolf by the time you are finished. The creatine found in the meat will replenish your ATP reserves and the fat will satiate you and provide a ton of calories. The starch in the squash tends to digest slowly and will keep hunger at bay longer.
Total calories: 629, protein: 69g, carbs: 37g, fat: 17g
Tuna & Whole Grain Crackers
Open a can of tuna and add half a cup of crushed up whole-grain crackers. Add some pepper for flavor, one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, some mustard and a couple of diced pickles.
This meal is perfect to put in Tupperware save it for later or eat it on-the-go if your gym far away from your home or work. The meal is very easy to make and also very cheap. The whole grain crackers provide the needed carbs, and will keep your insulin levels steady.
Total calories: 378, protein: 42g, carbs: 25g, fat: 14g
On-the-go high-protein oats
Mix half a cup of rolled oats, one to two scoops of whey protein of any taste you prefer, half a cup of dried or frozen fruit and slivered almonds. Add half a cup of skim milk or water and let the mixture sit overnight in the fridge. You can add cinnamon or some stevia for a better taste.
This meal is best suitable for those who train in the morning. Oats and whey powder have always been a staple food in bodybuilding, but eating them every day can become pretty boring. Adding fruits, natural sweeteners and almonds will make you look at oatmeal in a whole different way. The protein to carbs ratio will make it an excellent meal for people who are looking to sustain muscle mass while on a cutting diet.
Total calories: 423, protein: 32g, carbs: 49g, fat: 12g
Scrambled eggs
Take four whole eggs and scramble them with two additional egg whites. Add a cup of diced mixed vegetables, like onions, spinach, red bell peppers, and mushrooms. If you want more protein in it, add a quarter cup of diced bacon or lean ham. If you want more carbs, add a fresh piece of fruit on the side.
Eating plain omelet can get extremely boring after a while, which can make you ditch the high-protein dish for some junk food when you are feeling a burnout from conventional bodybuilding diet. You should keep the egg yolks because of the omega-3 fatty acids in them and various vitamins and minerals. You can make the omelet tastier by adding some bacon, turkey or chicken meat as well as a veggie or two in it. This post-workout meal is for people following a low-calorie, low-carb diet, but need to consume enough protein to preserve muscle mass and fat to reduce hunger.
Total calories: 510 calories, protein: 38g, carbs: 30 g, fat, 24g
Chicken breast and sweet potato hash
Get an 8 oz. chicken breast piece that’s already cooked, dice it up, and put it in a pan with some olive oil added. Add half a coup of diced sweet potato, half a cup of diced apples, add some cinnamon, salt and pepper for better taste. The amount of side ingredients is up to you and you can cook a bigger batch you can keep in the fridge and eat it throughout the week.
Chicken and potatoes are bodybuilding staple food, and with the right condiments they are a real treat for gourmands. Sweet potatoes are a perfect slow-digesting carb for bodybuilders which will maintain high energy levels and cause short-time insulin spike enough to drive the needed nutrients into your muscle tissue instead of turning them into fat.
Total calories: 300, protein: 50g, carbs: 30g, fat: 6g
