Men's Health Muscle Chow: More Than 150 Meals to Feed Your Muscles and Fuel Your Workouts (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: lean phase, relaxed phase, other sugar alternative, Ripped Phase, Carb Careful Plain Breadcrumbs, Hain Pure Foods Featherweight Baking Powder (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

You don't have to be a gym rat to appreciate what certified personal trainer and Men's Health cover model Avedon has to say in this sensible, easily customizable approach to nutrition and fitness. Unsurprisingly, Avedon's technique boils down to eating a series of small meals throughout the day, emphasizing lean meats, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. Some recipes, most notably protein shakes, call for protein powder and/or other nutrients requiring a special trip to the health food store, but most other ingredients are easily sourced. The most jarring adjustment for those following Avedon's program will likely be the absence of salt and refined white sugar in virtually all of his 150-plus recipes: sweet dishes like Raspberry Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies and Peach Cobbler use stevia or a similar sugar substitute. Once readers get past that hurdle they'll find plenty of easy-to-prepare recipes that taste as good as they sound. Avedon has thoughtfully weighted the book in favor of familiar classics like deviled eggs, chili, meatloaf, lasagna and key lime pie, as well as familiar health-food staples like baked squash and steamed fish.
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Product Description

Achieving your best body ever requires that two elements merge as one: solid training and good nutrition. This book provides the nutritional component of that muscle-bulding equation, offering the Men’s Health take on food for fitness. Men’s Health Muscle Chow gives you more than 150 simple recipes for delicious meals ranging from workout protein shakes to healthy dinners the whole family will enjoy.

Inside, you’ll find:

• Eight easy-to-remember dietary strategies to keep your eating habits in line

• Filling breakfasts like Banana Protein Pancakes; energizing entrées including Muscle-Bound Chili and Mahi Fish Wraps; hunger-killing snacks such as Malted Almond Bombs; even desserts like Key Lime Pie—all designed to help burn fat and build muscle

• A shopping list that makes it easy to stock up on essential ingredients and kitchen tools

• A troubleshooting guide for guys with more experience at the gym than in the kitchen

• Insider strategies, tips, tricks of the trade

And Men’s Health Muscle Chow is much more than just a cookbook. It offers a solid foundation for understanding meal timing and the effects nutrients have on your body. Author Gregg Avedon also outlines his program of 2-month diet cycles that help you set and reach your fitness goals.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; illustrated edition edition (December 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594865485
• ISBN-13: 978-1594865480
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,175 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Like a fluffernutter sandwich - there's good stuff inside, but it's surrounded by fluff, April 23, 2008

By	jason z (boulder, co) - See all my reviews

It's hard to find a decent clean-eating cookbook. This one certainly is decent, but I wouldn't give it much more praise than that. There are some recipes that are pretty good and all of them are quite straightforward, but my major problem with the book is that some of the recipes are complete fluff that could have been all compiled onto a single page ("quick bites", or something like that). For instance, the "Fix and Eat Sardine Sandwich". Now, I'm going from memory here, but I'm pretty sure that the steps boiled down to these steps: Take two slices of bread, spread mustard on each slice, then put the sardines between the two pieces of bread and eat them. Sorry, Gregg, but I'm a healthy eater, not someone who's never been in a kitchen before. There are other recipes like this ("Slice up a head of lettuce and serve it with mustard as dipping sauce", for example) that are really wastes of space.

Also, it would have been good to see more explanation regarding carb-cycling (or carb-shifting as he describes it), along with macronutrient breakdowns for the different eating phases Gregg describes in the book.

There's some good stuff in here, that's for sure, but it's too much like a fluffernutter sandwich: lots of healthy potential surrounded, unfortunately, by too much fluff.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fantastic!, May 15, 2008

By	Susanna Hutcheson "Copywriting for the Discri... (Midwest U.S.A.) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

OK. I know this is a guy book and I'm not a guy. Let's start with that. I was led to this book because I had read about it in one of my publications. I absolutely detest cooking and I have a panic attack just thinking about the kitchen. My mother taught me to drive and type. She didn't teach me to cook.

I've bought many cookbooks and hate them all. They're all too complicated for my maladjusted cooking genes. But this book --- well that's a different story! This is easy to follow and fun. Yes, fun.

I've found that I can eat foods that taste absolutely fantastic and it takes little effort, little fat and no junk that's bad for me. I've learned to use spices and things I had never known how to use before. I'm loving this.

Moreover, I'm losing weight. I log everything in my Palm Pilot on a program from CalorieKing. It's easy to know how many calories are in each dish. Now, as a woman, I may not eat a whole serving. So I simply adjust that in my log.

I must tell you that for the first time in my life I'm enjoying being in the kitchen. I fix foods ahead, which makes my life much easier.

All the recipes are easy to fix and don't take many ingredients. You'll find this type of eating gives you more energy and keeps you feeling full. At the same time, you can get really ripped. And losing weight is easy and fun.

And, if you guys will forgive me, I recommend this book to my sisters as well as to you.

The one thing I don't like about it is not the content. It's the book. I'd prefer a spiral book that I can lay out on my tiny kitchen counter. Also one that can be cleaned as I am a mess in the kitchen.

Update: After using the book for a month, I do have at least one issue with it. Take for example the Mixed-Berry Protein Mousse on page 237. This is a wonderful menu and the taste is indescribable. Wonderful. But it says is makes six servings. That's fine. But how much is one serving? I mean, out of the total made, is a serving 1 cup, one-half cup or what? I would like to know how much to take out of the bowl to make one serving. Otherwise, I'm unsure how many calories I'm actually getting.

Having said that, I've lost seven pounds in one month by following the foods and counting calories and I've yet to be really hungry. It's amazing!

But dear author, when and if you do an update (and I hope you do) please tell us what one serving is.

I did improve on one of the easy recipes. At least to me it's a major improvement. The recipe calls for mashing tofu and adding protein powder. Well, It's okay. But here's something better:

Tofu as called for in recipe
Protein as called for in recipe
Put in blender (preferable one with a milkshake blade)
Add coconut water (not much)
Add one pk. stevia

Blend until smooth. This makes a wonderful milkshake with a lovely texture. It's much better than what you get with the recipe in the book and just two or three added calories from the coconut water.

Highly recommended.

-Susanna K. Hutcheson

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple. OMG Tasty. Easy recipes. Just the facts., January 12, 2008

By	A. Sethi (Global Citizen) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In the spirit of full disclosure, I live in the same town as Gregg Avedon and have spoken with him about nutrition at the local gym. His knowledge rivals that of classically trained nutritionists. Though he's much more practical. A father and a husband, he lives a regular life and balances his nutritional recommendations for the real world. I can attest, Gregg walks the walk. That said, there is a key difference in his book you won't find anywhere else. It's simplicity! Period. For example, he simplifies and reduces the topic of supplements into just a few items. All in about one page. To some, the book could be worth it just for that page alone!

Most diet or nutrition books go on-and-on with their educational "mantra." Hey authors, we know most of this stuff already reading it in the papers almost every day. Gregg skips over the chemistry class and dives right into what to buy at the grocery store. I have many nutrition books, though few ever begin with the simple idea of shopping for my fridge, my pantry, the herbs and the tools I'll need. In those few pages, I've begun to feel confident that a regular guy could manage buying all these items.

Did I already mention the sheer simplicity of this book? Yeah, there are lots of recipe books out there, but Gregg's has some that go like this: ingredient 1, ingredient 2, step 1, step 2...eat it! I kid you not. Some of the recipes are quick yet healthy and in one pot or one pan, the average guy can make a meal. My 18-year-old son, who's so bad in the kitchen that he could probably burn water, turned to page 151 and commented that he could personally make his favorite Protein-Rich Quinoa Salad...everyday! Although Gregg states his book is "food for dudes," my Mom started marking off recipes as soon as she got her copy.

I particularly like the alternative late-night snacks, my own weakness. Plus a simple tip like what to eat at the restaurant -- "eat before you eat." Now, anytime before I go out, I drink a filling protein shake, and I'm all set. Thankfully, Gregg hides his emphasis on protein by sneaking it in...everywhere. He's buried protein in the Chocolate Mousse, in the Raspberry-Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies -- for real! (page 233). Yeah, this ain't no diet book, its just smart food that includes the widest variety of food types from any of my diet or nutrition books. As Gregg says, "...this isn't brain surgery, it's learning how to eat more nutritionally dense foods as a way of life..."

I say, I could actually eat only what's in this book for the rest of my life...and never miss a thing.