Best Muscle Building Foods
May 29, 2008
I recently came across a list of “10 Muscle Building Foods” on MSN courtesy of Best Life Magazine. The list was interesting. Some good and some strange. Here’s the list with my comments and add-ons. I think the article should have been retitled “10 Exotic Muscle Building Foods”. Here we go:
1. Quinoa: Arguably my favorite grain. Good both cold and hot. For added flavor I recommend you cook it in chicken broth instead of water.
2. Grass-Fed Beef: Honestly, how many people can afford to eat significant amounts of grass fed beef on a regular basis. I think that “regular” beef gets a bad wrap. Here is an interesting facto that I just learned the other week during a conversation with a member of the National Cattlemen and Beef Association. Because the price of corn is so high now (due to the increased popularity of ethanol) Cattlemen can’t afford to fatten up cows like before so you will be seeing a lot leaner beef in the grocery stores (even it is still has the ‘choice’ label it will be leaner choice than what you would have bought 8 months ago).
3. Fat Free Ricotta: I tried this stuff probably a year ago and did not like it at all. It is sometimes recommended as a substitute to cottage cheese but personally I’ll stick with cottage cheese.
4. Tofu: I’m not a huge tofu fan. Phystoestrogens aside, I just don’t like the texture or taste. If you do like tofu then it is a great protein option that you can add to your diet to break the chicken, beef, fish cycle.
5. Lentils: I love lentils. Low impact carbs with some protein for good measure. Don’t forget about chickpeas either.
6. Eggs: Classic Muscle Food. We like to keep 2 kinds of eggs in the fridge: regular and omega-3. We use the regular eggs for egg whites and the omega-3 eggs when we need whole eggs.
7. Greek Yogurt: Arguably my favorite food at the moment. You can actually find it as most Super Walmart stores. If you’re not eating greek yogurt then definately pick some up this weekend.
8. Quorn: This was a new one to me. It is a vegetable protein that I’m sure isn’t available in State College, PA. If you have tried it or know where to find some post a comment and let everyone know!
9. Chocolate Milk: There has been some research that shows the benefits of chocolate milk as a post workout drink. The added sugar from the chocolate and the natural protein blend makes it a good choice if you are in a pinch.
10. Wild Salmon: Wild Salmon is sort of like grass-fed beef. It would be nice if you could eat it all the time but it is too expensive for many people to eat on a regular basis. Farm raised salmon contains just as many omega-3 fatty acids (more omega-6s though) thus making it still a good choice.
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If you have a Whole Foods, you should be able to find Quorn there.
[Reply]
Quorn is a common ingredient in faux-meat products here in the UK - stay away from it, it is terrible! Check out this link for more info:
http://www.drbriffa.com/blog/2008/04/18/when-is-a-healthy-food-not-a-healthy-food-after-all/
[Reply]
Haven’t seen Quorn around anywhere, I’ll keep an eye out for it. Sounds intriguing. Though farm raised fish has similar omega-3 content, it typically has higher concentrations of mercury and other toxins. You can find reasonably priced cuts of wild salmon at wholesale stores like costco. Grass fed beef is still a tough find at a reasonable price. It’s still a treat for me when I get some.
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