Jake Pearce
The key to gaining muscle all comes down to nutrition no matter which way you put it. Without the adequate amount of food your body cannot grow to its fullest potential. Getting the all of the essential amount of nutrients each day typically requires up to 4-6 meals. Then it is up to you to cook, prep and eat all of this food each day. If this does not seem plausible for you to do, read on because if I can do it so can you!
I was always an unhealthy individual until a few years ago. T.V dinners, pizza, and cokes just seemed to suit my needs until I decided to become a bodybuilder. I researched for hours about bodybuilding and it all seemed like it was something I would love to do however, there was one problem. How was I going to be able to consume all of these calories in only 3 meals? However, as I acquired further research on nutrition and meal timing I found in almost every article that the key to consuming that many calories was to increase meal frequency (eating every 2-3hrs). Eating these meals every few hours had many positive effects on one’s body so I decided to turn to this which led me to one other question: How would I be able to cook all of this food? I hardly ever cooked before and I was not sure how I would do it. I was still in high school; I played a bunch of sports including football, track, basketball and many other extracurricular activities while also taking college courses. So if you do not think you can get the meals in think again, I was a very busy person and managed to get it done!
The food I found easiest to cook was rice, potatoes and chicken; the staple bodybuilding foods. Like every other smart cooker I purchased a George Foreman grill and a steamer so I could cook my rice. Since the George Foreman grill was a pain to clean, I always liked to cook all the meat I had at one time so I wouldn’t have to clean as frequently. Keep in mind meat does not last forever in the fridge so if you can’t eat all of it within the following week you will need to put it in the freezer!
Some people feel that when eating “clean” taste does not matter but I think it does. If you strive for the meat you cook to taste good use salt-free seasonings such as spices and Mrs. Dash. If you are looking to change your protein source look into buying some non-breaded fish like cod, flounder, or my favorite tilapia. Fish is an excellent protein source. Steak is another great protein source too, but I soon realized the cost of steak takes a good chunk out of my wallet. If you are looking for that great taste from beef just purchase some lean ground when you have a little extra cash.
Once I figured out what protein sources I would be using I then had to analyze and select my carb sources. I cycled through russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, and brown rice as my main carb sources. Both sweet and russet potatoes tastes like crap after a few days in the fridge so brown rice to me seems to be the easiest carb source to use since it lasts up to 7 days. Make sure when cooking rice that you plan to store use double the serving of water it says to keep the rice moist throughout the week. As far as the veggies go I just purchase large bags of frozen veggies and just cook them for that week.
This is just a generalization of what I do. Below I have a list of the protein, carb sources and veggies you can cook in bulk.
To successfully prepare food with efficiency you will need the following:
- A way to cook meat quick like A George Foreman Grill
- Steamer (rice and veggies)
- Tupperware Containers
- A bag (to store food)
- Motivation to cook the food!
Great sources of protein to cook in bulk:
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Salmon
- Tilapia
- Lean Beef (occasionally)
Great sources of carbohydrates to cook in bulk:
- Sweet Potatoes
- Whole Wheat Pasta
- Brown Rice
- Russet Potatoes
Great sources of veggies to cook in bulk:
- Broccoli
- Asparagus
- Cauliflower
- Green beans