10 Health Benefits Of Cucumbers

1.Quick pick me-up - Cucumbers are a good source of B vitamins. Put down your sodas and coffee and eat a cucumber slice. 

2. Rehydrates body and replenishes daily vitamins - Cucumbers are 95 percent water, keeping the body hydrated while helping the body eliminate toxins. Cucumbers have most of the vitamins the body needs in a single day. Don’t forget to leave the skin on because the skin contains a good amount of vitamin C, about 10 percent of the daily-recommended allowance.

3. Skin and hair care - If you don’t like to eat the skin, it can be used for skin irritations and sunburns as aloe would be used. Place a slice over puffy eyes and its anti-inflammatory properties help reduce puffiness. The silicon and sulfur in cucumbers help to stimulate hair growth.

 

4. Fight cancers - Cucumber are known to contain lariciresinol, pinoresinol, and secoisolariciresinol. These three lignans have a strong history of research in connection with reduced risk of several cancer types, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer and prostate cancer.

 

5. Home care - Eliminates a foggy mirror. Before taking a shower, rub a cucumber slice along a mirror and it will eliminate the mirror fogging up. Instead of WD40, take a cucumber slice and rub it along a squeaky hinge and your door will stop squeaking.

 

6. Relieves bad breath - Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

 

7. Hangover cure - To avoid a morning hangover or headache; eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish many essential nutrients, reducing the intensity of both hangover and headache.

 

8. Aids in weight loss and digestion - Due to its low calorie and high water content, cucumber is an ideal diet for people who are looking for weight loss. The high water content and dietary fiber in cucumbers are very effective in ridding the body of toxins from the digestive system, aiding digestion. Daily consumption of cucumbers can be regarded as a remedy for chronic constipation.

 

9. Cures diabetes, reduces cholesterol and controls blood pressure -Cucumber juice contains a hormone which is needed by the cells of the pancreas for producing insulin which has been found to be beneficial to diabetic patients. Researchers found that a compound called sterols in cucumbers may help reduce cholesterol levels. Cucumbers contain a lot of potassium, magnesium and fiber. These work effectively for regulating blood pressure. This makes cucumbers good for treating both low blood pressure and high blood pressure.

 

10. Promotes joint health, relieves gout and arthritis pain -Cucumber is an excellent source of silica, which is known to help promotes joint health by strengthening the connective tissues. They are also rich in vitamin A, B1, B6, C & D, F

Phil Heath Triceps & Biceps Workout Clips

What Are Carbohydrates

If you’re about to embark on a new health and fitness plan, it’s imperative that you get your diet in order. As you go about this process, one question you may be asking yourself is what are carbohydrates, and, what role do they play in the body when it comes to building lean muscle mass, shedding body fat, and improving your health and fitness level.
Getting a good understanding to this question is going to be imperative to your success because your diet can really make or break the results that you see.
So what are carbohydrates?
Let’s go over the main facts that you need to know.

The Role Of Carbohydrates In The Human Body 

First let’s go over the role of carbohydrates in the human body. The primary purpose of this nutrient is to provide energy for all the cells. When you eat carbohydrate rich foods, they will be broken down into smaller molecules called glucose as they reach the bloodstream, which is the usable source of energy that powers each and every cell in your body.
In addition to this, glucose is also the primary fuel source for the brain, which is why when you start a very low carbohydrate diet, you may start to feel slightly ‘fuzzy-minded’ or foggy with your thought patterns.
This is due to the fact the brain isn’t getting the energy supply it’s used to and is starting to make the conversion over to ketone bodies as a fuel source (which is the alternate source of energy the brain can run off of).
In order to prevent this process from happening and provide your brain with enough glucose, you should aim for a minimum of around 100 grams of carbohydrates per day.

Carbohydrates And Muscle Building 

When it comes to building lean muscle mass, carbohydrates are an absolute must. Not only will carbohydrates ensure that you have sufficient energy to complete each workout session at full intensity, but they’re also going to ensure that you maintain an anabolic environment.
When you consume carbohydrate rich foods, your pancreas will release insulin, which is a powerful hormone that generates new body tissue.
When weight lifting is performed along with the increased carbohydrate intake, this new tissue will be lean muscle mass.
When you reduce your carbohydrates significantly from your diet, you move into a ‘catabolic state’, which is where you’ll be breaking down tissue instead.

Carbohydrates And Fat Loss

When it comes to fat loss on the other hand, there is a lot of mixed information out there on how many carbohydrates you should eat. Some people firmly believe that a very low carb diet is the superior way to go.

They state that by removing the carbohydrates, you force your body to find an alternative source of fuel – that fuel being your body fat stores.


But, what you must remember is that as your carbohydrate intake goes down in the diet, your dietary fat intake will increase, which then provides another source of fuel available.

When the body is faced with an energy shortage due to lack of incoming carbohydrates, it will turn to both dietary fat for energy along with your body fat stores depending on how many calories are consumed.

Therefore, going low carb on your fat loss diet doesn’t mean you will automatically start losing body fat at an accelerated pace.
Carbohydrates And Fitness Improvements

When thinking in terms of fitness improvements, including carbohydrates is also going to be essential for success. When you perform intense physical activity, your body can only utilize glucose as a fuel source.

Therefore, if you’re cutting all carbohydrates out of your diet, you simply will not be able to maintain the intensity of workout that you’re going for, and thus will fail to see results. Since doing intense workouts is what allows you to make progress with your workout program, carbohydrates therefore become a must.

Choosing Carbohydrates Wisely 

Now, with all of this talk about carbohydrates and the various goals you may have, one thing that cannot be discounted is the fact that choosing the right carbohydrates is half the battle.
Choose unwisely and carbohydrates will not help your progress regardless of the goal you have.

So what are carbohydrates that will help you out?

When it comes to muscle building and fitness improvements, you’ll want to make sure to take in wholesome complex carbohydrates. These are the more energy and calorie dense carbohydrates that will help provide your body with the fuel it needs.
Good examples of these carbohydrates include oats, quinoa, brown rice, barley, millet, and sweet potatoes. These do contain more calories, so for muscle building, they’ll work well to help you reach your target calorie intake.
When you’re seeking fat loss, you’ll want to limit those carbohydrates to right before and after the workout period when you need the most energy, and then after that, turn to fibrous sources of carbohydrates such as vegetables. These are lower in calories and carbohydrates, so will still provide you with some, but won’t have you overdoing it and not seeing fat loss progress as a result.
Even those who are looking to build muscle should still include vegetables in their diet, just not extremely high quantities as they do have the higher calorie requirement.
Fruits can also be eaten, but in moderation as they are higher in calories and contain natural sugar. If you keep it to one or two servings per day, adding fruit to your diet shouldn’t pose a problem.
The primary carbohydrates that you want to avoid on the other hand are those that are simple in nature and heavily processed. This includes foods like cookies, cakes, candy, cereal bars, energy bars, and anything else with an ingredient list longer than your Monday to-do list.
If you choose wisely and be sure to tailor your intake to your specific body weight goals, carbohydrates will keep you feeling energized, keep you feeling satisfied, and help you build the body that you’re after.

By Shannon Clark

Almond Butter Vanilla Protein Cookie

Almond Butter Vanilla Protein Cookie

When it comes to cookies, one is never enough!

Luckily, if you make our Almond Butter Vanilla Protein Cookie recipe, indulging a little won’t be a problem.

These nutrient-packed cookies are filled with flavor and are guilt free.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp water
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup almond butter
• 1.5 scoops whey protein powder in gourmet vanilla
• 1/3 cup stevia

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Beat egg in a large bowl with water and vanilla extract.
3. Stir in almond butter.
4. Add in the protein powder, cinnamon and stevia. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
5. Grease your pan with a little coconut oil.
6. Use your hands to mould cookies (my batch made 8). Use a fork to press them down a little and make a nice print on the front.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

These taste great warm! For a treat, add a scoop of fat-free frozen yogurt to the top and drizzle a little almond butter over it.

50 Awesome Pre- & Post-workout Snacks

1. Protein Creamcicle: Put a twist on the classic kids’ treat by blending 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder, 1 cup orange juice, and 1 cup ice. Trainer and fitness expert @JCDFitness does it!

2. Fruitsation shake: Blend 1 scoop of your favorite whey protein flavor with ½ cup ice, and 1 cup frozen berries for a sweet energy boost, suggests strength coach @Roglaw.

3. Cha-Cha coconut shake: Infuse 1 scoop chocolate whey protein with 2 teaspoons of extra virgin coconut oil. Girls Gone Strong co-founder @JenComasKeck loves this!

4. Star-buffs shake: Need a pre-workout pick-me-up? Greatist’s fitness editor suggests blending 1 cup iced coffee (keep the ice) with 1 scoop chocolate whey protein.

5. Dressed up oats: Load up on carbohydrates for a longer workout with ½ cup cooked steel-cut oats topped with 1 tablespoon dried fruit and 1 tablespoon shaved almonds.

6. Perfect yogurt parfait: Feeling fancy, huh? Top ¼ cup nonfat yogurt with ½ cup whole grain cereal and ½ cup fresh strawberries.

7. Yoberries a-go-go: For the perfect blend of carbs and protein, try 1 cup non-fat vanilla beanGreek yogurt — which often packs more protein and probiotics than regular plain yogurt — with ½ cup fresh blueberries.

8. Eggs n’ toast: Have a heartier appetite? Try 1 or 2 hard-boiled eggs with 1 slice of whole-wheat toast.

9. Fruit and Cottage: Top ½ cup cottage cheese — a low calorie and higher protein option — with ½ cup fresh pineapple, berries, or melon. And voila!

10. PB Apple: For a quick carb fuel-up, slice 1 medium apple and serve with 2 tablespoons all-natural peanut butter.

11. Classic fruit cup: Prefer to keep it sweet but simple? Combine 1 cup berries, melon, banana, and oranges — oh my!

12. Dried fruit: For a quick pre-workout fix, try ¼ cup serving of dried berries, apricots, and pineapple, says Greatist Expert Jessica Redmond.

13. Fruit leather: Need something light that makes you feel like a kid again? Try 1 single serving of fruit leather. Have a little extra time? Roll some out in the kitchen.

14. Energy in a bar: With so many options in the aisle, try opting for a bar with the most naturalingredients. While protein count is key, also check the sugar content (it shouldn’t rival what’s found in the candy aisle!).

15. Chicken n’ sweets: For a fast bite, grab 2-4 ounces (or a palm-sized amount) of sliced chicken with an equal portion size of sweet potatoes, suggests Greatist Expert Dan Trink.

16. Oats n’ eggs: Not just for breakfast, try ½ cup cooked oatmeal and 2 whole eggs seasoned with salt and pepper.

17. PB & B toast: Fuel up with 1-2 tablespoons of all-natural peanut butter and half a sliced banana on whole-wheat toast, says Greatist Expert Lisa Moskovitz.

18. Turk-cado pasta: Add 2-4 ounces (or a palm-sized amount) of roasted turkey and 3-4 avocadoslices to ½ cup cooked whole-wheat pasta for some enviable eats.

19.  Wafflewich: Spruce up this classic by combining 1 frozen Kashi waffle with 2 teaspoons of almond butter and 1 teaspoon of jam.

20. Better than a PB Cup: A half-cup cooked oats with 1 teaspoon defatted peanut flour, a dash ofstevia, and a sprinkling of cocoa powder on top — a concoction from the kitchen of Greatist contributor David Butler.

21. Veggie omelet: Add a little more color to your diet by combining 2 whole eggs shaken with 1 teaspoon of water cooked with 1 cup sautéed seasonal veggies.

22. Rice con leche: Got a long way to run? Fuel up with ½ cup cooked rice, covered with ½ cup milk, a scatter of raisins, and a dash of cinnamon on top.

23. Sports drink: An 8-ounce low sugar sports drink (keep it under 10 grams of sugar) will do the trick if you’re in a crunch. For a little more fuel, add a scoop of BCAA powder— branch chain amino acids that help maintain muscle and tissue health[1].

24.  Hearty salad: Need some greens? Try 1 cup of salad greens with assorted veggies, 1 hardboiled egg, and a drizzle of EVOO and vinegar, or your favorite low-fat dressing.

25. Energy gel: Got a long way to go? Slurp down a energy gel (like Gu) prior to an endurance workout.

Post-workout snacks

26. Protein pancakes: From the kitchen of Greatist contributor Laura Skladzinski, mix 4 egg whites, ½ cup rolled oats, ½ cup low fat cottage cheese, 1/8 teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Cook on preheated griddle (medium low heat) until it bubbles, then flip and cook another 30-60 seconds. Top with fresh berries or sliced banana.

27. Sweet potato pie shake: This isn’t your grandma’s recipe. Combine 1 scoop of cinnamon bun whey protein, ¼ cup diced cooked sweet potato, 1 cup of ice, and 1 cup vanilla almond milk in the blender — a Kellie Davis original.

28. Chunky Monkey shake: Monkey around with 1 medium banana, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, and 1 cup low-fat chocolate milk blended with ice.

29. Double G shake: Aussie strength coach @Rachel_Guy1 recommends an 8-ounce greens drink (any superfood blend found at most health food stores) with 1 scoop of glutamine.

30. Double Trouble shake: To lengthen the delivery time of nutrients to your muscles, combine ½ scoop of whey protein blended with ½ scoop slower-digesting casein protein, plus a handful of your favorite fresh or frozen fruit.

31. Bananarama: One medium sliced banana with 1 cup low fat milk — it doesn’t get any easier than this!

32. Protein bar: For a quick, store-bought fix, feed those muscles with a protein bar. Just watch the sugar content. Look for bars with 10-30 grams of protein, less than 10 grams of sugar, and the fewest number of ingredients you can’t pronounce!

33. Beef and squash: Need something hearty? Try a handful of lean roast beef with an equal portion of butternut squash.

34. Tuna crackers: Mix up a batch of light tuna salad for a quick bite. Add two heaping spoonfuls to a handful of whole grain crackers, and chomp away.

35. Bagel with egg whites: Half a medium-sized whole grain bagel with 2 eggs whites makes a great post-workout sandwich.

36. Ants on a raft: The ants go marching… Spread a heap of natural peanut butter over a brown rice cake and top with raisins.

37. Milk and cereal: Any time is a good time for cereal. Add 1 cup of low-fat milk to 1 cup of whole-grain cereal. Nosh loudly.

38. Chocolate milk: One to two cups of low-fat chocolate milk seals the deal with extra carbs and protein.

39. Black bean omelet: Four eggs whites, 1 ounce low-fat cheese, and ¼ cup canned black beans — then spice it up with a savory salsa, if you dare.

40. Green Monster smoothie: Blend 4 cups spinach, ½ cup vanilla bean yogurt, 1 cup almond milk, 1 banana, and 1 tablespoon peanut butter with ice — a favorite of Greatist contributor Claudia Morgan via Iowa Girl Eats.

41. Cottage cheese crunch: One cup fat-free cottage cheese, 1 teaspoon honey, ½ cup whole-grain cereal, and a dash of cinnamon does a body good.

42. Eggy muffinwich: Ditch the fast-food and opt for 1 whole egg, fresh spinach, 1 slice low fat cheese, and 1 slice Canadian bacon served on an English muffin, suggests Greatist contributorLisa LaValle Overmyer.

43. BCAA n’ cakes: When in doubt, just add cakes! Pair up two scoops of BCAA powder mixed in ice water with two rice cakes.

44. Recovery in a bottle: When time is of the essence, grab a store-bought recovery drink to sip on after training. Just check the label — sports recovery drinks will provide plenty of carbs refuel, or opt for aminos to really rebuild.

45. Apples and cheese:  Tease your taste buds with 1 medium sliced apple and 1 stick of low-fat string cheese.

46. Pita and hummus: One 7-inch pita with two spoonfuls of  hummus adds a little pep back to your step with quick digesting carbs.

47.  Egg scramble: Veg out after a hard training session with 2-3 whole eggs scrambled with a handful of chopped onion, spinach, and bell peppers.

48. Choco-tropical trail mix: Go bananas for a blend of ½ a handful of each: macadamia nuts, dried coconut, dark chocolate chips, and banana chips.

49. AB & J Rice Cakes: Almond butter takes the cake. For this healthier twist on the classic PB & J, sandwich 1 tablespoon of almond butter and 1 teaspoon of strawberry jam between two rice cakes.

50. Chicken hash: After your workout grab 1 cup cooked diced chicken, ½ cup butternut squash and apples, roasted in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Make a big batch and store it in the fridge!

How To Build Your

It’s no secret that every serious lifter out there desires an impressive pair of strong, muscular arms. Who wouldn’t be happy with tall, peaking biceps sitting on top of rock-hard, horse-shoe-shaped triceps? Who wouldn’t love to have a pair of ripped, well-developed guns forcefully bursting through the sleeves of their shirt? While developing muscular arms is usually at the top of many peoples’ agenda, the reality is that the majority of lifters out there have a very poor understanding of how to properly train their arms for maximum gains. In order to gain the proper insight into effectively stimulating arm growth, we must first recognize three basic truths:

1) Relatively speaking, the biceps and triceps are small muscle groups.
2) The biceps receive heavy stimulation during all basic pulling movements for the back.
3) The triceps receive heavy stimulation during all basic pressing movements for the chest and shoulders.

What do these 3 points tell us about effective arm training? The most important thing for you to realize is this:

For maximum gains in muscle size and strength, the biceps and triceps require only a very small amount of direct stimulation!

So why is it that every time I enter the gym I see the same misinformed people, week in and week out, slaving away on endless sets of bicep curls and tricep extensions?

It’s very important to understand that the biceps and triceps receive a very large amount of stimulation from all of your chest and back training. In fact, a lot of the time when you reach muscular failure on a chest or back movement, it is actually your biceps or triceps that give out first! Couple this with the fact that your biceps and triceps are already small muscle groups to begin with and it becomes quite clear that direct arm training is of minor importance.

Remember, your muscles do not grow in the gym. The work that you accomplish as you train with weights is merely the “spark” that sets the wheels of the muscle growth process into motion. The real magic takes place out of the gym while you are resting and eating, as this is the time when your body will actually be synthesizing new muscle tissue. Because of this, it is vital that you do not overtrain your muscles. You must always make sure to provide them with sufficient recovery time if you want to see impressive results. Overtraining can actually make your muscles smaller and weaker.If you’re looking to achieve serious arm growth, you must stop placing so much emphasis on direct arm movements. Forget about performing endless sets of concentration curls and tricep pressdowns. Strong, muscular arms are mostly a product of heavy chest and back training. If you are able to accept this basic truth and place the majority of your focus on building up the muscle size and strength in your major muscle groups, you will prevent yourself from overtraining your arms and will therefore yield greater overall gains in bicep and tricep size.

This is not to say that no direct arm training is necessary, just not very much. Here is a sample arm routine that you can use as a part of your program:

Barbell Curls – 2 sets of 5-7 reps
Standing Dumbbell Curls – 1 set of 5-7 reps

Close-Grip Bench Press – 2 sets of 5-7 reps
Standing Cable Pushdowns – 1 set of 5-7 reps

Take all sets to complete muscular failure and focus on progressing each week by using slightly more weight or performing an extra rep or 2.

If you can incorporate this way of thinking into your arm training, you will achieve arm size beyond anything you previously thought possible!

By Sean Nalewanyj, a bodybuilding expert and writer of top-selling Bodybuilding E-Book: The Truth About Building Muscle

MUSCLE BUILDING FOODS

These foods are great for various reasons; most of the foods are high in protein while some contain certain elements that will help you pack on lean muscle like never before.

The foods we want to focus on contain a well balanced variety of both essential and non-essential amino acids. The foods that contain both of these amino acids, necessary for building muscle, are known as “complete proteins”. We want to find foods that contain complete proteins because they are the best for building muscle tissue.

Most of these muscle building foods are low in carbohydrates because they are derived from animals so you need to still eat carbohydrates. Concentrate on eating these foods that build muscle during every meal along with some type of complex carbohydrate food like whole grain cereal or oatmeal. This combination of eating will give your body the energy and nutrients it needs to build muscle fast!

1. Muscle Building Food – Chicken

Chicken is probably my favorite muscle building food because it is cheap, easy to cook, and great in about 1000 recipes. Chicken is really high in protein, has no carbohydrates, and very little fat. One chicken breast has around 25 grams of protein and only about 130 calories. This makes it great for almost any time of the day or night.

You will want to get skinless chicken breasts because they are low in fat and cholesterol. You can cook chicken breasts a million different ways. Look around for some different ways of cooking chicken because chances are you will eat a lot of it and it could a little repetitive and old. I like to add spices to my chicken breasts because it keeps the flavor changing and also keeps the calories low.

You can cook chicken in the oven, on the grill, or on the stove. I like to start the grill up once or twice a week and cook a couple chicken breasts so I don’t have to cook them every time I want one. After you have them cooked, toss them in the fridge, and then later on just reheat the chicken in the microwave before you toss them in your meal.

2. Muscle Building Food – Red Meat

Red Meat is great because it is high in protein and has something chicken and fish cannot offer you, creatine. Eating red meat will help you to naturally maintain your optimal creatine levels. I would recommend eating red meat about once a week. Red meat unfortunately tends to be higher in cholesterol and fat than some of the other muscle building foods but also should not be completely neglected.

If you are having trouble gaining weight, try switching to red meat. Red meat is higher in calories which might be just what you need to start putting on the extra muscle. Your body needs a surplus of calories to build muscle and switching from chicken to red meat might make all the difference. And if that’s not enough… red meat tastes delicious!

3. Muscle Building Food – Tuna

Tuna is packed with nutrients and is really easy to prepare. Tuna contains all of the essential and non-essential amino acids required for your body to build and maintain new muscle tissue. Tuna is also packed with essential fatty acids. Make sure to buy tuna that is packed with water so you don’t pour out the necessary fatty oils when you drain the can.

You can make some great meals with tuna; my favorite being the classic tuna sandwich. I like to mix the tuna up with some miracle whip and sweet relish in a bowl. Then I just toss it between some whole grain bread and you will have a great lunch with the perfect muscle building foods.

4. Muscle Building Food – Egg Whites

Eggs contain the one of the purest forms of protein found in whole-foods. They have a biological value of 93.7 which is a measurement of how efficiently the body uses the protein for growth. To give you a quick comparison, milk which also makes this list, has a biological value of 84.5. The yolk of the egg contains a lot of nutrients but also cholesterol. You can easily get these nutrients from other sources so I would recommend just tossing them.

Egg whites are also really inexpensive even with the rising price of food these days. You can get a dozen of eggs for around $2.00. I like to hard boil my eggs so that I can bring them with me for a quick snack or a meal on the go. To hard boil your eggs just boil some water on the stove, toss the eggs in and wait until they float which means they are done cooking. Finally, take them out and let them cool. I like to store them in the fridge until I am ready to eat them.

5. Muscle Building Food – Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter is packed with protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins & minerals, and dietary fiber; all of which are necessary for building muscle. Peanut butter is extremely healthy even with its high amount of calories. I would just recommend staying away from peanut butter if your goals are to be lean.

Peanut butter is probably the easiest muscle building food on this list to make. You can stick with the traditional peanut butter and jelly sandwich or try something different like peanut butter and yogurt. I know peanut butter and yogurt sounds weird but try mixing it up and dipping apples in it… its amazing!

6. Muscle Building Food – Kidney Beans

Kidney Beans are a great source of dietary fiber and protein; both of which are great for building muscle. There are about 14 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber per serving of kidney beans, which makes kidney beans a great supplement to any meal. Kidney beans are both a complex carbohydrate and a high protein source which makes them once of the best muscle building foods on this list.

I would recommend having them before 7pm because they are higher in carbohydrates and you generally don’t need that many late in the evening. However, they are high in dietary fiber so a large part of the calories will just pass through your body; so this shouldn’t be a big problem. Eat your beans!

7. Muscle Building Food – Cottage Cheese

Cottage Cheese is a great source of both casein and whey protein. Whey protein is great for your muscles and has higher biological value than any food on this list. Because casein protein is a slower digesting protein; cottage cheese is great before bed. Having cottage cheese before bed will help your body build muscle while staying in an anabolic stage overnight.

Because cottage cheese can get a little boring over time try mixing a personal size yogurt in with a bowl of cottage cheese. I like to mix fat-free flavored yogurt with cottage cheese, this gives you around 20 grams of protein for building muscle. Also, some people like to mix fruit and a dash of pepper in with their cottage cheese to keep the carbohydrates lower while still benefiting from the muscle building power of cottage cheese.

8. Muscle Building Food – Broccoli

Broccoli might not seem like the best muscle building food on the list but it is definitely a good one. Broccoli contains lots of nutrients that aid in the production and maintenance of new cells. Specifically broccoli contains a naturally occurring compound that works against estrogen “the female sex hormone”. This is important because with less estrogen your body becomes become more efficient at burning excess fat.

In addition to containing special compounds broccoli is high in fiber and contains special cancer-fighting pytochemicals. Foods high in fiber are great before bed because the fiber will not convert to fat while you sleep. Broccoli may not be high in protein but it is a food that should be in your muscle building diet.

9. Muscle Building Food – Milk

Milk is one of the best natural muscle building foods on this list. Milk has a biological value of 95, which means the body uses it very efficiently for building muscle. Milk is relatively inexpensive and can be obtained easily during anytime of the year. Milk is great at almost any time of the day and great combination of simple sugars and protein.

Milk’s mix of simple sugars makes it great in the morning, after a workout, and a late night snack. It will give your body a little extra burst of energy when you are running low. Milk makes the perfect natural post workout drink, second to that of a whey protein shake.

10. Muscle Building Food – Oatmeal

Oatmeal contains the perfect ratio of carbohydrates and protein for a pre-workout meal. Oatmeal is a great source of complex carbohydrates which makes it a great food before your workout. Oatmeal’s nutrients will also fill your muscles with the glycogen they need to make it through a long workout.

In addition to being a great source of fuel for your workouts oatmeal is cheap and delicious. You can find tons of different flavors in the stores for only a couple of dollars a dozen. Oatmeal is a great way for any bodybuilder to stay healthy on a budget.