Types Of High Protein Meals For Muscle Building
- By musclenut
- January 14, 2015
- Comments Off on Types Of High Protein Meals For Muscle Building
When you try to build muscle high protein foods are essential. There are different types of protein and their effects for our bodies are varied. For example, if you eat fried chicken or fatty roast, they are rich in protein but also full of fat, therefore you are not only building muscle but also gaining fat!
Lean protein with low fat food makes a lean and well defined muscular body. This type of protein helps building up a strong frame without any visible fat. So what are foods with lean protein? They are skinless chicken breast, fish (grilled), lean turkey or even beans.
You may feel like you are in the diet military, when you are on a high protein diet. You may think “Chicken? Not again!” That is the worst part of high protein diet for muscle building. But good news is, there are much more variety of high protein food if you take a closer look.
What exact foods are ideal for high protein meals for muscle building?
There are many high protein and low fat food options apart from chicken, such as tofu, fish, turkey and beans. You can take whey protein which is an excellent source of high quality protein. And even better, these foods need not to be tasteless and boring. You can season them in various ways.
You also can try different method of cooking. You can grill, bake, microwave, broil, poach, lightly saute and simmer in a crock pot to enjoy the different textures of food. As a flavor, you can add various kinds of herbs and seasonings to bring out the taste.
Many people think tofu is boring and tasteless. However, if you prepare it wisely it turns into a very delicious and healthy food. Tofu comes in two types, silken and firm. Silken tofu is soft and suitable for adding to shakes or using as a part of filling of high protein pies. Firm tofu is perfect for stir fry.
If you want to enjoy a crispy texture, cover the tofu lightly with corn starch and pan fry it. Or you can marinate it in your favorite low fat marinade sauce to make a special treat. Great marinade ingredients are soy sauce, hot pepper, sesame or olive oil (just a tea spoon) and vinegar. You can add this marinated tofu to fresh vegetables and stir fry to make an easy delicious meal.
Another food rich in protein is beans. Many vegans and vegetarians tend to have wrong idea about their diet. They think they have to eat high fat nuts, complex carbohydrates and (for vegetarians) dairy food all the time. However, none of them provides kind of protein which is ideal for building your muscle.
Dairy food is good for strengthen your bones but often contain too much fat for muscle building. It is the same for nuts. Even if they are natural or organic, they are still fatty.
Another important point is how you cook the food. For example, a black bean burger looks rich in protein and good for building your muscle, but if the pate was rolled in corn starch and deep fried, it contains lots of fat and not good for you.
So instead of deep frying, explore other healthier options of cooking. You can prepare black bean pate by rolling it in raw oats and bake it for 10 minutes in the oven (450 F) for healthier option.
Instead of fried eggs, you can make egg white omelet in a non-stick frying pan with a little spray of oil. You can microwave or bake egg white with vegetables to provide delicious meal rich in lean protein and nutrients.
You can season skinless chicken with herbs and lemon and grill or bake it instead of cooking in butter or oil. Salmon is another super food for muscle building. It is a good source of protein and rich in healthy fats. You can broil or bake it for healthy and tasty meal.
Another two protein rich food which boosts your muscle building are eggs and whey protein. Another aspect of high protein diet is it provides you with longer term fuel which nourish you and give you satisfied feeling without disturbing actual effect of protein for muscle building.
A trap which rookie high protein dieter often fail is eating same food all the time like boiled spinach for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day despite of your body requires variety of nutrients. If you are bored with same old meal all the time, you are more likely to be tempted to drop in to fast food restaurant and get back to your old unhealthy diet which spoils all your effort for a muscle building diet.
Spinach is a great green leafy vegetable and easy to cook in various ways. You can cook it with lemon, garlic, pepper, salt, onion and tomatoes. You can add cooked spinach to egg white and make a casserole for breakfast.
Sweet potatoes are another super food. They are rich in powerful nutrients and give you satisfaction with rich carbohydrate. They also help maintaining a steady level of blood sugar. Wild rice and brown rice also provide you with lots of nutritional benefit.
It is always so easy to fall into boring repeating pattern of menu. Instead of just eating plain rice, you can mix it with quinoa or other high protein, low fat grains and enjoy variety of flavor.
It is always a good idea to add some soup to your menu, especially in cold winter. Soup will warm you up and provide excellent nutrients as well as give you a sense of satiety before the main meal.
You can enjoy the soup as a starter before moving to a main fish meal. For a base you can use pre made squash soup and add some soup stock cubes such as vegetable, beef or chicken. If you have time in your hand, you can make your own broth with leftover bones, meat or vegetables.
For a quick and easy meal, you can add a package of dried split lentils to the broth to make a lentil soup. It is very good for a starter. You can add vegan or vegetarian meat, turkey or chicken sausages for an extra flavor and additional source of protein.
Green leafy vegetables, such as kale is great for a soup like this. You can wilt, boil or bake it all these types of greens and enjoy the different taste.
Other green leafy vegetables such as spinach, mustard greens, collard greens and escarole are all excellent food as well. Kale is very versatile and you can bake it for a crisp snack. You can just wash and dry it and put it on a baking sheet with little cooking oil lightly sprayed. Bake it for 10 minutes (400 F) or until crisp.
It is full of nutrients and pleases everybody even the ones with the worst eating habit. The crispy texture is even addictive. Unlike other snacks, it is protein rich and nutritious.
Other fresh vegetables and fruits like apples, bananas, carrots, peppers and celery are all great itself. However, you can make great smoothies by combining them. For a quick snack or meal, you can add low fat, high protein yogurt and wheat germ or any high fiber ingredients.
Get yourself a high powered juicer or blender to ultimately enjoy fruits and vegetable. If you invest to a good quality one, it’s worth it.
So it is important having excellent equipment that complement with your diet. A nonstick frying pan is a must and nonstick broil pan is useful and good quality baking sheet is handy too.
Added these, for faster reheat without losing texture, a convection oven or a toaster will be useful. And try to find the best juicer with affordable price.
If you are creative, maintaining a high protein diet for muscle building is not as hard as you think. One key point is to avoid a boring meal routine which will tempt you back to your old bad diet habits. Be creative and have fun creating a variety of meals. Good luck!
