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I am making final changes to my diet plan. I need some advise on a few things I'm doing.

632 views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  cheflayne 
#1 ·
Hi,

I am following a bodybuilding diet for gaining mass at the moment so I consume a lot of food on the daily basis. I precook this food ones or twice a week. 
Therefore I tend to make it taste good and include some variety to keep me from getting bored with it. 
I have been experimenting with various recipes for my protein sources. I have been also (less often) experimenting with recipes for all the other components.
Now I have decided to come with questions I have about them here.
I have a few points in regards to this matter.

I. I was experimenting with various baked recipes I found online and I couldn't find anything that I really liked.
My main comments here are following:

a. If the recipe involved a sauce and vegetables after more than few hours (if I recall the time correctly) the vegetabes would get really soggy. Is there something that can be done to prevent this from happening?

b. I couldn't find recipes that I would like.

c. At this point I can't recall exact recipes, but among the ones I tried and did not like were baked chicken recipes with:
-Mushrooms (Main Ingredient)
-Lemon Sauce
-Mint Based Marinate (I tried this one, because I like the flavor of mint, but the recipe I tried didn't turn out so hot.)
-Italian Chicken Parmesan
-Honey-Garlic Glazed Chicken

d. Ingredients I really like are:
-Peppers
-Onions/Shallots
-Spicy Flavors
-Mint (If encorporated correctly. If you guys think it would be a good idea I might try encorporating it in some way into my breakfast protein pancakes. I would appreciate some tips on this.)

e. Recipes I seek should require relatively fast prep and have a good flavor.

f. What are the best ways for ensuring skinless chicken breast stays moist during baking. I saw on one fitness channel someone was adding water during the cooking process. I also heard advise to finish baking when the breast at 155-160 degrees. Then you turn off the oven and let it sit until it reaches 165. 

g. I will be rotating weekly chicken with beef:
-I don't like traditional meatballs or meatloaf. You can if you know any provide a good variation that I might like and is relatively quick to make.
-I haven't tried meatloaf with stuffing so if you know any good recipes/methods for this I will appreciate it.

II. For stir fry recipes the above applies, but I did find two recipes, which I like.
My main comments here are following:

a. I would like to come out with two recipes for beef and two recipes for chicken.

III. I can't grill anything at the moment, because I don't have a grill.

IV. My carbohydrates are often composed of either oats, rice or potatoes.
My main comments here are following:

a. What are some rice recipes (perhaps with vegetables) that don't require too many ingredients and don't add anything unhealthy and/or a lot of calories?

b. What are some potato recipes that don't require too many ingredients and don't add anything unhealthy and/or a lot of calories?

c. Oats are just blend with skim milk, water, stevia and some berries for the flavor at the moment.

V. My breakfast is composed of simple protein pancackes.
My main comments here are following:

a. They are composed of vanilla or chocolate protein powder, eggs, cottage cheese, and oats. What things you would suggest to add in order to add more flavor? (It would probably be just a few. Like I mentioned before one of the things I was thinking about here is mint.)

VI. I drink a lot of water daily and I was thinking about adding some flavoring to it. Is there anything like this for water that doesn't add a lot of sugar?

VII. I was thinking adding some good healthy low calorie sauce. However, I was thinking it might be reduntant. 
My main comments here are following:

a. The sauces I don't like are:
Spaghetti 
Soy Sauce

b. I really liked the sauce I bought in Lidl recently. I don't know much about it except that I like it. It's called "Pesto alla Genovese". It is too high in fat for me. However, it is a source of good fats. Nevertheless, the amounts in which I would like to conume it ideally make it too high. I will appreciate it if anyone know something similar or a version of it lower in fat. 

Thank you for your inquiry.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
There are too many questions here to answer unfortunately.  I also don't get a good sense of what your skills are in the kitchen. If you are precooking chicken breasts to last you a week then yes, they will be very very dry.  

It's difficult to talk about "healthy" recipes or ingredients because as cooks and chefs our idea of healthy is probably different than yours.  Pesto for example I consider to be a very healthy thing.  I don't buy it in a jar, I make it myself of course and if you did the same thing then you'd be able to control the amount of olive oil/cheese/nuts you put in it.  You can also make pesto with mint instead of basil.   

When I lighten up my cooking it causes me to cook less and cook fresh rather than cook ahead of time.  I spend a lot of time every day washing lettuce and chopping vegetables for my daily salad.  A salad is great because you can load it with anything you want, vegetables (raw or roasted), grilled chicken or shrimp, beans, corn, tofu, egg, the possibilities are endless. I keep frozen vegetables such as peas and corn to add to pasta and rice dishes.  I keep a bowlful of chopped veggies for the whole family so that we can grab a quick snack of hummus and vegetables - carrots, peppers and cauliflower are our favorite raw veggies for dipping.  

Canned tuna fish is an incredible source of protein, I eat it once a week either in a sandwich or with a salad (nicoise).  Frozen shrimp are very easy to work with and I always have some in my freezer.  They thaw quickly and cook quickly too and I can put them in pasta dishes or omelets or most often I use them to top my salads.

Eggs are the best source of protein.  I keep hard boiled eggs on hand and they make a great quick breakfast or snack.  I also make lots of veggie filled omelets.

Warm potato salad is one of my favorite side dishes.  Cut red potatoes into quarters and steam until cooked.  Then toss with a little olive oil, salt/pepper and fresh herbs.  

You want to keep lots of herbs and spices on hand.  Dried chili flakes, oregano, thyme, curry powders, rosemary, fresh parsley and mint and basil all help liven up any dish.
 
#4 · (Edited)
@chefbuba

Hiring a cook is a good option, but unfortunately above my budget currently.

@Koukouvagia

Thank you for the tips.

My protein I precook for 3-4 days.

I like to precook my things, because I live a very busy lifestyle and by precooking I can save time in the kitchen.

I also see pesto as something that is healthy. But, yes I would prefer making it myself so I can control the quantities of ingredients. I just would like to be able to obtain out of it less fat per 100g than what I received from the one I bought commercially. I do find though that peso is healthy.
 
#5 ·
Precooking things is great for casseroles, soups, stews etc. But if you want to precook chicken then you will have to get used to dry chicken without complaining about it /img/vbsmilies/smilies/licklips.gif Same thing with beef.
 
#6 · (Edited)
f. What are the best ways for ensuring skinless chicken breast stays moist during baking.
brine first, then bake
c. Oats are just blend with skim milk, water, stevia and some berries for the flavor at the moment.
if you want to increase your consumption of oats, cook oats in water and stir into finished rice dish, you can do same thing with quinoa and amaranth to bump up your protein and fiber (carbs), sprinkle chia or ground flaxseed on finished rice, add beans to your rice (black, white, garbanzo) to bump up protein and fiber, add tempeh for big protein boost
VI. I drink a lot of water daily and I was thinking about adding some flavoring to it. Is there anything like this for water that doesn't add a lot of sugar?
cucumber, mint, ginger

I have to run to work but will give some more thought and hopefully be able to get back with more input later but not sure as I have a lot on my plate (pun) at the moment.
 
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