Muscle Building Salad Recipe

Some guys think that a salad is a food which is fit for birds or diet-crazed women on their lunch break. I’m here to to tell you different.

A salad can be a powerhouse of nutrients which keep you healthy and help you build more muscle. In this article I want to share with you my own muscle building salad recipe. Let me show you how you can combine all the healthy vitamins and minerals in vegetables along with healthy fat and lots of protein to help you add more mass fast.

High Protein Salad Recipe

For protein in my salad I like to use one of the following ingredients (or both):

1. A can of tuna fish – One can holds more than 20 grams of protein. Fish protein is of high quality and tuna also contains fish oil which is healthy in many ways. It is also one of the most affordable fish you can find. Tuna cans come in various forms. Avoid tuna in oil. Always go for tuna in water. I don’t like tuna in olive oil. I will add olive oil to my salad but I want to be sure that it’s of the highest quality.
2. An egg – The protein in egg is the best natural protein for muscle building. In addition, the yolk contains a variety of other nutrients including the B12 vitamin.

Add some volume to your salad

A lot of guys worry that they won’t get full by eating salad. I have the solution: add chick peas to it. You can buy canned chick peas and they’re very affordable.

Chick peas are also a rich source of protein as 23% of them is made of it. Chick peas also contain calcium and iron, both of which are good for muscle building.

In addition, why not sprinkle some nuts on your salad? Nuts are also rich in protein and they also contain healthy fats which your body needs to process all the vitamins from the vegetables that you’re about to add to your dish.

I like to crush my nuts to small pieces and add them on top of all the vegetables, the tuna, and the chick peas. You can use walnuts, cashew nuts, or pistachios. I find that almonds don’t go as well as these other nuts in a salad.

Vegetables

My favorite vegetables are:

1. Carrots – rich in antioxidants and fiber. Carrots are also a source of vitamin A which is good for your eyes. I love how carrots taste and their crunchiness.

2. Tomatoes – This is one of the healthiest vegetables. Tomatoes are rich in the antioxidant Lycopene which has been linked to decreased risk of various cancers.

3. Avocado – I usually slice up half an avocado into my salad. While this veggie is high in fat, it’s the good and healthy monounsaturated fat. This is the kind of fat that you should be eating, the kind that your body needs. In addition, avocados are very tasty.

4. Bell Pepper – These add a lot of color to your salad. You can find them in red, green, purple, yellow and orange. They seem to be cultivating new strands of bell peppers all the time which is why you get such a variety of color.

5. Radishes – Not only do these have a remarkable taste, they also offer a variety of nutrients. Radishes are rich in folic acid, magnesium, potassium, vitamin B6 and others.

Sometimes I will add leafy vegetables to my salad but not often. I like to eat vegetables of substance so I eat very little lettuce and similar veggies.

Preparation

I place all the sliced vegetables in a big bowl, add the tuna and/or the egg to it. I sprinkle the nuts on top (you can also use sunflower seeds) and sprinkle the whole batch with a healthy dose of virgin olive oil, another source of healthy fats. I usually sprinkle a bit of black pepper on top which, according to Dave Ruel, helps to boost your metabolism, and I have my muscle building salad ready.

You can play with the proportions of each vegetable as you like. I didn’t write specific proportions for a reason: I think they’re not as important as the actual ingredients. They’re a matter of preference.

There you go, now you have an awesome salad which is rich in protein and other healthy nutrients. Perfect for building muscle.

For more healthy muscle building recipes check out Anabolic Cooking. It has over 200 recipes for gaining muscle.