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The Question: Bodybuilders go through the pain of shoving down foods which they don't enjoy. Foods that are bland with no flavor, such as chicken, tuna, brown rice, etc are all apart of a bodybuilder's diet. How can you make a bland diet appealing? What types of additions or spices can be used? What are some recipes for a great tasting and nutritional meal? Bonus Question: What can you do to get your protein shake to taste great? Show off your knowledge to the world! The Winners:
2nd place - 50 in store credit. 3rd place - 25 in store credit. To use your credit, e-mail Will @ will@bodybuilding.com for more info.
When most people hear "diet" they think of a selection of foods geared toward weight loss. However, diet is actually a much broader term describing a selection of foods to control body weight in any way. This could mean people are on diets for weight loss, gain, or just maintenance. In any case, dieters often find themselves consuming foods they do not particular enjoy, meal after meal, for an extended period of time. Many, including the dieter, might consider such a routine diet to be bland. The justification for this blandness sometimes lies in the convenience and simplicity of certain foods. However, it is my guess that most fallaciously appeal to the common practice of eating bland foods while dieting. Remember, just because most people do something a certain way, does not make that way justified, correct, or even reasonable. Blandness is not a requirement of any diet, and as such, we are going to look at some tips and tricks for making any diet more appealing, regardless of the diet's goal.
The enjoyment of eating food is related to that food's flavor, temperature, aroma, texture, and presentation. Making modifications to any of these attributes may often make a food more suitable to an individual's appetite. While the next section will go over some of the changes that can be made to the actual food itself, this section contains advice regarding the presentation of the food.
The smell of food plays an important role in stimulating appetite. The nerve receptors in the nose send signals to the brain, which then sends signals to other glands which release appetite related hormones. In the end, people feel more hungry after smelling the aroma of food. Basically, try to make sure foods have a pleasant smell before eaten. Some herbs and spices, which we will see in the next section, can help improve the smell of foods. Food temperature can also influence its desirability. Typically, foods that aid us in maintaining a pleasant body temperature are appealing. For example, warm soup in the cold winter, and cold drinks in the summer or after exercise are common. General temperature preferences differ from person to person, but everyone should make sure to eat food at the temperature they are most familiar and comfortable with in order to increase the appeal of it. Appetite is also affected by colors. The most accepted colors for edible food are brown, red, and green. Blue has been found to be an appetite suppressant, possibly because our nature tells us to avoid darker colors due to a greater potential to be poisonous. Serving the food on a light-colored plate may make the meal appear to be more fresh and thus more appealing. As we know, many of us tend to "eat with our eyes," so incorporating a good variety of colors in a bland dish may be enough to trick us into enjoying the meal more. There are also social aspects of eating. Many find their dining experiences more enjoyable when they share it with other people, allowing for interesting conversations, jokes, and stories. Eating with others may help with taking the mind off of food that is not particularly appealing. Just make sure not to allow others to compromise a diet. Some degree of enjoyment can also be attributed to how the food feels, its texture. Obviously, not many would prefer to eat something that would feel like sand. The dryness of a food is something that can be directly changed to meet one's preferences. The way in which foods are eaten also fall into the sense of touch category. Preparing food meant to be eaten with the hands instead of utensils might be a fun change for some. Lastly, eating simple and plain foods in a dull place obviously does not help it to be any less bland. Try eating in a different environment for a change. Have a picnic outdoors, or go to a nice restaurant if nutritional information is readily available.
Many of the foods that plague the bland diet often come in different varieties and flavors. Maintaining a good selection to choose from often helps alleviate some of the tedium and boredom associated with bland diets. The following are some examples of common foods that have much room for variation.
Another strategy is to prepare meals that consist of a combination of differing foods eaten separately, but alternately. Many "bland" dieters may eat foods separately, but not alternately. As an example, the following bland meal of plain lettuce, plain chicken breast, and plain baked potato, may be eaten systematically, one by one, since the diner knows each one is not very appealing by itself anyway. However, the body can be tricked into finding the foods more appealing if the foods are eaten in an alternating fashion, eating some from each food a little at a time. Using this eating method keeps the taste buds guessing and may make the meal more enjoyable.
It turns out that variety is not only the figurative spice of life, but also food, as we saw. However, there are also real spices, herbs, and other additions that can be used to make food more appealing. These additions can work to enhance flavor, aroma, texture, and color of food. The following additives work to improve some of these aspects which we now know are essential for the enjoyment of food.
We know insulin is an appetite-stimulating hormone, so using these artificial sweeteners may actually make one more hungry in the long run. Splenda, aspartame, and saccharin are examples of such sweeteners. While they may make bland food more appealing, there is also ongoing controversy about these substances and their role in certain health issues, so it may be best to use these sparingly and at your own risk. Often the best way to find out which additives suit individual preferences is just to experiment. Feel free to try various combinations of the seasonings and condiments as well. There's bound to be a way to make any bland food more appetizing.
It is important to remember that in the most general regard to weight control, it is much more difficult to label specific foods as "bad," while much easier to spot a terrible diet. Keeping this in mind, here are some sample recipes for meals that are not only nutritious, but are also very flavorful. The selected recipes were all chosen for their staple ingredients, which are often found in bland bodybuilding diets.
(Recipe developed by the National Mango Board and obtained from www.cantonrep.com) Chicken Quesadillas Mango Salsa In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients for mango salsa. Cook chicken on a lightly oiled grill over medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side or until lightly charred and cooked through. Let cool slightly and cut into bite-size strips. (You may substitute leftover grilled chicken.) Puree the tomato sauce and dried pepper in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add grilled chicken to pan and toss well to coat; season to taste with salt. Place flour tortillas on a flat surface. Top half of each tortilla with equal amounts of cheese, mango, bell pepper, green onion and chicken; fold over tortilla. Cook in a large skillet on both sides until cheese is melted and tortilla is crisp, about 5 minutes on each side. Serve with mango salsa. Makes 4 entree servings, or 8 appetizer servings. Nutrition Information Per Entree Serving:
Prepare 1/2 cup of instant or old-fashioned oatmeal according to directions using 1/2 cup of lowfat or skim milk. Add a tablespoon of peanut butter, smooth or crunchy style depending on preference. After mixing, An additional scoop of protein powder of any flavor can also be added. Pour in additional milk or water to obtain the desired consistency and temperature. Stir well and enjoy. 1 serving
(Recipe received from www.potatoes.com)
Makes 6 servings Bake garlic at 375 °F 45 minutes. Cut top 1/2 inch off head, squeeze to remove pulp and mash. Boil potatoes about 30 minutes or until tender. Drain well. In a mixing bowl, combine hot potatoes, milk, mayonnaise, butter, salt and pepper. Whip at low speed only until smooth. Add garlic and mix well.
(Recipe received from www.supremerice.com)
Combine rice, tuna, carrots, bell pepper, jicama and onion in large bowl. Add yogurt, lemon pepper, salt and pepper. Toss to combine ingredients. Chill at least 1 hour. Serve in pita bread with lettuce. Makes 6 servings. *Substitute 1 (6-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped, for the jicama if desired. Each Serving Provides:
I hope these recipes are useful, or at least give some ideas of how to improve bland foods.
The post-workout recovery shake is well known among anyone looking to build muscle size or strength. The ideal shake would include a substantial amount of quick absorbing carbohydrates and protein. The intake of such a shake is essential in giving muscles the tools they need to start recovering and growing back stronger and bigger from an intense workout. Because they play such an important role and are consumed often, we would definitely welcome any advice in getting our protein shakes to taste better.
Many people, myself among them, are not partial to the taste of some whey powders when taken alone, so we build up shakes that including many other ingredients. I like to start off with putting any powders in a glass. This usually includes one flavored meal replacement powder containing some protein, sugars, and other nutrients, then one scoop of hemp protein for fiber, quality protein, and a fresh taste, and finally one scoop of flavored whey protein powder. I then add the liquids, using 1% milk for enhancing the taste with some fat, and also egg whites for a highly bio-available protein. After mixing, the yogurt is added to give the shake a thicker and more enjoyable consistency.
Last, the honey is put in to add some sweetness and fast sugar that the body needs to when starting the recovery process. Feel free to substitute fresh fruits, like bananas or strawberries for the honey or the MRP. I found the honey to be simpler when looking to add some sugar, but the fruit really does add a fresher taste to the drink. Also the base flavor of the shake can easily be changed by altering the flavor of the MRP or whey protein that is used.
Total: 440 calories, 37g of protein There you have it, a protein shake not only loaded with everything the muscles need for growth, but also having a refreshing, flavorful, and sweet taste. Be sure to give the other recipes a try. I hope the offered suggestions work well for those suffering from a bland diet. References:
With the upcoming summer months, many of us have started to really restrict our diets in order to get ready for hitting the pool, the beaches, and the other various activities associated with summer. Unfortunately, that means putting together diets that turn out rather bland. I'd have difficulty counting how many people have put together a diet of "a dry chicken breast, dry sweet potatoes, and a cup of steamed vegetables." Yuck! With a few simple tweaks and changes (and a bit of imagination), another dreaded, boring meal can become a bodybuilder's feast. I'm writing this to break away from the stereotypical diet, and give examples of high-quality meals that won't break your diet, while not boring the taste buds.
The name of the game is imagination. There are plenty of condiments at your disposal, and used correctly, add a world of flavor without a lot in extra calories. Which sounds better: a plain chicken breast, plain brown rice, and a steamed carrot, or alternatively, peanut chicken served with stir-fried rice, with vegetables and a couple eggs in the mix? You can bet I'm going to choose the latter, and if you're reading this article, chances are you will too. This is only one example where I used the same foods (chicken, rice, and vegetables), but with a simple change it becomes much more appealing.
The staple of practically every bodybuilder's diet, chicken breast can be either a pleasant treat or a nightmare to eat. It really takes very little to make it into a good tasting meat. My preferred way to spice things up is to marinade chicken, although there are many other options available.
Love it or hate it, there's no way around it. Tuna fish is a cheap source of protein. However, many don't like the taste of it, so there are several options to change the flavor. One way is actually to simply rinse the tuna fish using a strainer. Odd as it sounds, it will 'remove' the taste normally associated with tuna fish, however may leave it a bit dry. With tuna, lime and lemon juices work very well to mask the bland flavor, although I prefer to just incorporate it in my cooking. It tastes much better when incorporated into a meal, while providing all the same nutritional value. Tuna lasagna anyone?
I've grown up on rice, simply put. It's just been a staple in my diet since I was a young child, so it feels normal to me to eat it daily (in fact, it feels odd when I don't have rice!). However, rice tends not to be the most flavorful. How to dress it up a bit? Here are a few ideas: Cook the rice in a chicken or beef broth (bouillon) to add a bit of flavor. This is a great low calorie way to enhance the taste of rice. Alternatively, when cooking the meat for dinner (such as chicken), boil it in water with barbeque sauce mixed in, and when done use the remaining liquid as a sauce for the rice. This makes a quick, easy way to flavor the rice a bit further.
Steamed vegetables can be very drab, especially for those of us who really just don't like vegetables. Instead of trying to shovel down vegetables, make them in a more pleasant fashion. Make a stir-fry from the vegetables you're going to be eating, and mix with the rice. I use a mixture of soy/Worcestershire sauce when doing the stir-fry, and makes eating my vegetables not just easier, but pleasant!
The list would be so long that it would take hours to read! However, I've got a list of some of my more common spices and sauces that I use, hopefully some of them will come in use for you.
That's right; it's not just for burgers anymore. Worcestershire sauce makes an excellent base for marinades, because it has a very robust flavor. Additionally, Worcestershire has much less sodium than soy sauce does, and makes an excellent substitute for it (especially in low-sodium diets!).
It is amazing what a bit of chili powder can do for meats. Depending on the power of the chili powder, and a person's individual tolerance that determines how much would be used. Chili powder also happens to be a mild thermogenic, as an added bonus.
This is an excellent substitute for those who enjoy soy sauce (and who doesn't, in a good stir fry?), however regular soy sauce is loaded with sodium. While useful in cooking, I often still prefer to use Worcestershire, as I prefer the flavor of it.
As odd as it may sound, natural peanut butter is excellent for making marinades, and for brushing on meats. Given that natural peanut butter only contains ground peanuts and some salt, it becomes great for cooking with. Peanuts happen to be a very good source of monounsaturated fat, which only furthers the benefit of cooking with peanut butter.
Useful not only during a barbeque, BBQ sauce makes for an excellent marinade, and is a quick and easy way to make good tasting meat.
McCormick makes a large range of spices for meats, my favorite being the 'Montreal Chicken' seasoning. This works very well not only with chicken, but with other meats in general. It only takes a little bit too properly flavor meat. I use about a fourth of a teaspoon with these spices, generally speaking.
Excellent for making quick curried meat, the leftover liquid from making the curry is a good sauce for use on rice or potatoes, enhancing the flavor.
It is easy to go overboard with cumin, as it has a rather overpowering taste! Just a bit of cumin is all that is necessary, to give a more robust taste. This spice is very popular to use in Indian and Middle Eastern cooking.
Typically, bouillon can be found in small cubes at the local supermarket. It is sometimes referred to as "stock," and makes a great broth for simmering. One of my favorite ways to use them is to use bouillon when making rice. Instead of cooking the rice in just plain water, cook it in water with bouillon. Of course, I have only gone through a small fraction of what is available. Even juices from fruits make great marinades, such as the juice of oranges and especially limes. Experimentation is the key to success with cooking, not every dish prepared will be a smash hit (if you'd had my roommate's cooking, there would be no doubt this is true!).
Below, I have listed some of my favorite dishes and marinades to make, however there are many more recipes. On the www.bodybuilding.com boards, there is a thread devoted entirely to recipes, and is a great place to find new ideas; check it out in this thread. Additionally, I created a thread containing a compilation of my favorite marinades, which is a useful starting place for getting some ideas. To start off with, if you are anything like me, you're constantly on the go. Between university and the rest of my life, there seems to be no time to get in enough meals during the day. Here's a protein bar recipe that is both easy to make, and good tasting (it's good enough that my roommates have wanted them - and they don't even work out!):
Directions: It couldn't be easier to make these, just mix them in a bowl, spread out on a tray, and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, cut into squares, and eat when you're on the go! The remaining recipes are still fairly simple to make, and taste great. I prefer to make in portions to last me at least two days, so I don't have to cook every night.
Directions: Simply combine all the ingredients with enough water to cover the chicken, and boil at a low heat setting for 25-30 minutes. Very easy and tasty, tender meats work best.
Directions: Cook the rice separately. Using basmati rice, I bring the rice to a boil (1:1.5 of rice: water), cover and cook at medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Fluff/Dry the rice somewhat. Heat the cooking oil in a pan. If you are going to add meat (chicken, etc), cook the meat in this oil, and set aside on another plate. No needs to wipe down the pan really, scramble the eggs in it, and chop finely with a spatula (or similar implement). Add vegetables and rice, and add Worcestershire & soy, in equal portions (1:1). Cook until the vegetables are ready, turning occasionally so the rice doesn't burn. Mix with meat if desired, and presto, food.
Directions:
Pad Thai is rice noodles, which has the ingredients of rice, and water (jasmine rice for mine). It is very cheap, easy to work with, and can usually be found in supermarkets (often listed as one of the 'Asian Foods'). Directions:
It's Easy To Make:
Szechuan: BBQ: Peanut:
Almost everyone can relate to this situation: you have just bought five pounds of a new whey protein powder, and only to find that it is not exactly pleasing to drink. There are two options from this point: you can either just drink and forget about it, or take a couple simple steps to make the shake actually enjoyable.
I consider blending fruit into a whey shake to be good, for a variety of reasons. After a workout, the fairly simple carbohydrates found within fruit are good for energy, and the nutritional profile of fruits is excellent (including potassium, which commonly needs to be replenished after working out). Berries tend to be my favorite fruit to use, due to the antioxidants they contain. For other times of the day, I commonly use peanut butter and oatmeal. A scoop of whey, a tablespoon of peanut butter, half a cup of oatmeal, and a banana makes for a good meal replacement drink. Whey protein increases the protein content of the shake, the banana and oatmeal for carbohydrates, and peanut butter for the monounsaturated fats. This makes for a very solid shake, although is not optimal directly post-workout due to the fat content (slower absorption).
Making the most out of your meals really isn't as hard as it may seem. As hard as we work in the gym, it is at least, if not more, important to work in the kitchen. Who wants to go through life trying to down multiple cans of tuna fish a day, and living on meals with practically no flavor? Certainly not me, and with a bit of skill in the kitchen, I can achieve the results I want from the gym, while preserving an appreciation for the fine foods that life has to offer.
Bodybuilders go through the pain of shoving down foods which they don't enjoy. Foods that are bland with no flavor, such as chicken, tuna, brown rice, etc are all apart of a bodybuilder's diet.
When one thinks of a bodybuilding diet, the words "flavorful" and "Can't wait!!" don't come to mind. Instead words like "bland," "difficult to swallow," and "ahhh S#!T" are more familiar thoughts. But it does not have to be this way. You can have your cake and eat it too (but seriously, keep your hands off the cake). A bodybuilding diet high in protein and taste is possible while at the same time beating back the evil forces of high fat and high sugar foods. Just because your food is bland does not mean that it can not be appealing to you. You have to consider that your mind takes more into consideration when picking what looks good to it rather than just taste. Although taste does play probably the most important role. Before your first handful of whatever you are shoveling into your mouth hits your lips, your brain has taken into consideration every other sense associated with that food. All of these senses combine to decide to the overall satisfaction of what you are eating.
Color plays a big role in what is appealing and looks good to us. Think of this: would you rather eat a can of dark, almost black spinach or a bowl of bright green fresh spinach with chopped up onions, red peppers, and black olives added to it?" Both will provide a large amount of vitamins and fill you up, however you will probably be happier eating the more colorful bowl of mixed vegetables.
Variety is also an issue. Believe it or not, if you were to eat T-bones and Snickers bars every day, you would eventually become sick of it. Remember how pizza used to be a big deal and was actually considered a delicacy? Now, since every restaurant, gas station, and cafeteria serves it up on a regular basis, it is not as big a deal to us as it once was. The same thing applies to your bodybuilding diet. This does not mean that you can't eat chicken every day. But if it is prepared the same way every day over and over, you are going to become sick of it. Try preparing foods with different flavors and methods each time you cook them to avoid this problem.
Your brain also cares about how the food feels in your mouth after it gets there. Is it too squishy? Hard? Hot? Cold? Scrambled egg whites are usually easier to eat if they are hot rather than cold. Yet, if you were to hard boil them, some would prefer them cold over hot. Experiment and see what textures and temperatures you like with certain foods.
Smell is probably the second most important sense associated with food after taste. This is because of the way your mind perceives flavor as a mixture of taste and smell when you eat a food. Studies have been done where when the participant was not able to smell what they were eating, they could not tell the difference between certain foods, like a slice of apple and a slice of potato. This does not mean that you should hold your nose when you eat your post workout meal. This means that you should do what you can to improve the smell of whatever you are eating. If the food is naturally smelly by itself, like some fish and vegetables, then you will probably need to combine it with something else to overcome or compliment that smell. This means either combining it with another food, spice, or flavor, which are discussed below.
This is a tricky question. The easy answer is that any spice or addition can be used to improve any bland food. But we are bodybuilders, a different breed of homo-sapiens. We have to watch our sodium, calorie, sugar, and fat content. This throws out many marinades and commercial condiments that are butter based or have "hydrogenated blah blah" or "high fructose blah blah" as their first ingredient listed. But this still leaves us with many commercial condiments and even more spices that are fresh at our disposal. 
Spices are a very popular solution to bland food. This is because you can shake them on or mix them into food very easily. They also, for the most part, are free or sparse of calories. First off, the most basic spices that can be added to any dish are salt and pepper. They are found on just about every table in the country. The reason for this is because they make food taste better and are cheap to buy. If you want to be fancier, then just about any spice that you can pick up and you like the taste of will work for your food. However, you must be cautious of spices you are not familiar with. If it is a mixed spice like Mrs. Dash or Old Bay (a personal favorite) or something like that, you need to look at the ingredients. Sometimes these mixes can include a lot of sugar to make them taste better. Heavy additions of these types of spices could add extra calories that would be better off being received elsewhere. Also, if you are watching your salt intake and have to monitor how much you take in, you are better off using single spices instead of mixes so you know for sure that no sodium has been added. Some more personal favorites of mine are:
Another option is to add spicy, hot items to your food to kick up the taste. In addition to the extra flavor, spicy foods can raise your metabolism by a small amount, making you burn more calories than you normally do. Hot sauces are probably the most popular addition in this category. In my kitchen, there are two main condiments that go into 90% of the foods prepared there, one of them is Frank's Red Hot. Sometimes I buy that liquid gold by the gallon. It is calorie free (not salt free however) and makes just about anything taste great. I'm convinced that if people on Fear Factor were allowed to put Red Hot on whatever testicles or intestines they were eating, they would all be able to finish. Hot sauces can be added to meats, eggs, pasta, potatoes, or anything else you can think of. I sometimes use them as salad dressings when I'm cutting down my calories. Another option for heat addition is to use peppers in your cooking. You can either use fresh peppers from the produce section or dried peppers from the spice aisle.
Either way, they are a sure way to make any dull flavored food a desired dish. However, you must be careful when using spicy items. If you go overboard and put too much heat into your food, it can have the opposite effect of your original intentions. Foods that are way too hot are NOT appealing to most people and will cause your more pain than pleasure. Other additions that can be used to improve taste are condiments. Before, I stated that Red Hot was 1 of 2 main ingredients I use in most of my cooking. Well, the other is yellow mustard. Once again this item is calorie free but not salt free. It can be added to almost everything as well. Other condiments fit for bodybuilding use are:
...just to name a few. If none of these appeal to you, I'm sure you can find other condiments in your grocery store that would be perfect. Just remember to check the nutritional facts and ingredients before you buy.
I'm a busy guy. I got classes, papers, work, workouts, sleep, and sometimes partying to do. I don't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen each day. That's why most of my meals are:
I have gone on Bodybuilding.com's Recipe of the Week and other recipe pages many times and gotten some great ideas from them on healthy meals to make. Sometimes though, I'll find a recipe, and when I go to the webpage, there will be about 20 ingredients listed.
This is an immediate turnoff for me. I don't have the time to collect all these ingredients, or the money to buy them and only use them once. So most of my recipes from my personal stash have few ingredients and don't take long to make. Here are some of my favorites:
Got this one from the lovely Rachael Ray on the Food Network. It's a good way to get a lot of vegetables in your diet without sitting on your couch trying to choke down raw broccoli and celery. Ingredients: Procedure:
Easy to make and tastes awesome, plus you can add/remove whatever you want from this recipe depending on what you have and still come out with a good meal. Ingredients: Procedure:
Ingredients: Procedure:
This is one everyone knows and the reason is that it is so good. Ingredients: Procedure:
The first piece of advice you can take is to buy a good tasting protein powder. This isn't the 1950's anymore where you have limited choices of flavors. These days there are hundreds of companies that make a wide variety of flavors of protein powders. Also, with our modern sweeteners, we have been able to make protein powders that have the sweetness of sugar without the added calories. My personal favorite is Optimum 100% Whey Protein I use the Rocky Road flavored Optimum Whey powder and it is delicious. (There's a reason this stuff is a best seller).
 Optimum 100% Whey Protein. On days where I want ultimate flavor however, I have a shake of Strawberry and White chocolate Protein Delite. There are chunks of strawberry in the powder and it tastes like a milkshake, even when mixed with water. But I know that everyone has their personal favorites in the way of protein powders. So what can you do to get your shakes to taste better? There are tons of things that you can do. First of all, you can try mixing your powder with different liquids. Milk makes any protein shake richer and thicker, giving it more of a milkshake consistency that's pleasing to the pallet. Fruit juices can also be used to mix your protein. The added flavor of fruit can sometimes complement whatever flavor of protein your powder comes in. As a last resort, if you absolutely cannot stand the taste of your protein shake, you can mix it with coffee. The strong taste of coffee covers up almost any protein powder taste that you can throw at it. 
A word of caution however: if you are using a shaker cup, make sure the coffee is room temperature or cooler when mixing your protein in the cup. Shaking a heated liquid in an airtight container (like a shaker cup) is asking for a nasty explosion of your cup. I speak from experience. Those dorm room walls are probably still stained brown. If you don't like any of the above suggestions you can try adding different foods to your shake to make it taste better. Peanut butter is a popular addition. It gives any shake a peanut butter background. Whole pieces of fruit also contribute flavor to a poor tasting shake, as well as add color and aroma. I have used packets of sweetener before to enhance the sweetness of my shakes. Any of these additives can be put in a blender with your shake and be liquefied to become part of the shake. If all else fails, it's time to start thinking outside the box. Who said that protein powder had to be used to make shakes? It is probably one of the most versatile food products ever created. A few suggestions for how else to use protein powder:
These are just a few suggestions for what else to do with powder to make it more appealing to you. Use your imagination and I'm sure you can come up with dozens of ideas of your own.
Pro's
Con's
Comments: This was a generally pleasant read with some interesting ideas. Topic of the Week gives aspiring writers a great leg up by doing the outline for them. Make it your friend. Follow the outline by answering the questions in order. Discuss nothing else. Check out the articles published on this site to get a good feel for how much content is expected by your publisher. This effort showed us some basic capabilities. Writing is like any other skill. Keep at it.
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Comments: One of the hardest things in writing articles is achieving the right cadence or flow. Strictly proper grammar is not always the way to go. Some principles from classic disciplines have carried over to the modern day. Sentences should be easy to read and at the same time informative. Let's look at this example. To wit: "If your diet is designed such that you eat maximum volumes of food while still controlling calories (e.g. eating lot of veggies and adding healthy fat to every meal) you will less likely be irritated by blandness, because you may be so full you often have no desire to eat anything." In terms of the run on sentence we hooked a whopper here. Here is one of many possibilities for conveying this concept. e.g: "Design your diet for maximum volumes of food and minimal calories. Eating lots of fibrous carbs or vegetables and adding healthy fat to every meal is a good plan. You may be less likely to be irritated by blandness when you are full." The above group of sentences can now be read and re-read, fine tuning it several times. With careful editing this group of sentences could be constructed into a great paragraph instead of a run on sentence. Having something to say is important. How you convey it is equally important. This writer may benefit by becoming familiar with some basic writing guidelines. Strunk's Elements of style is a well recognized source for learning the ropes.
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Comments: Subjectively, this reviewer enjoyed reading the work. The ideas were not "canned." While not ground breaking work this author gave us some things to think about. The third paragraph may have been stronger as two paragraphs. The first one introducing the concept of moderation in flavoring and the second providing an example. Again, the reviewer would encourage this writer to read articles on the site and especially winning Topic Of The Week articles to get a feel for content length.
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Comments: This submission left the impression of an author who could have done more. Earlier comments about content length and structure apply here. This writer displayed some basic skills and a command of the territory. Topic of the week is a place where you "bring it." A quote historically attributed to a few sources goes something like this: "Make no small plans for they have no power to stir the soul..." Just like going to the gym, hit it like you want it. This is the premiere fitness web site on the planet. Topic Of The Week is a forum to allow anyone with anything to say a chance to be published by Bodybuilding.com. Ponder this when competing next week.
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