One of my readers, Manoj, asked how he could follow a low-carb bodybuilding diet like MANS while being a vegetarian.

Manoj eats eggs so that’s a great protein source that should form a staple in a vegetarian, high-protein diet.

I hope you eat other diary products too as that will make life a lot easier. Cheeses, cream and butter will make life easier for you.

Breakfast

Breakfast is definitely eggs – any way you wish:

* Scrambled
* Poached
* Boiled
* Fried
* As an omelette with some mushrooms & tomato

By the way, I’m not a vegetarian and I have eggs for breakfast 95% of the time.

Dinner

As for substituting meat on your dinner plate try:

* tofu
* soy beans
* meat substitutes like Morning Star Farms

Snacks

A great snack idea is a whey protein shake made with cream and water. This ensures you get enough protein and fat, while keeping carb intake low.

Nuts should factor highly in your diet too. The 2 nuts I consume regularly are Walnuts and Almonds. These are a great source of protein and fat. They are also the lowest-carb nuts out there. Sometimes I take a handful of these nuts, crush them and pour over 100 ml of heavy cream. Then I mix in a spoonful of granulated splenda to sweeten – delicious!

Also, instead of meat snacks you can have nut-based ones instead. Try the Go-Lower bar for a low-carb, high protein snack.

Snacking on (unprocessed) cheese is a good choice too. I LOVE relaxing with some cheese cubes with a cup of creamy coffee
Another great product for you is natural nut butters. I recommend

Almond Nut Butter
Peanut Butter
Hazelnut butter

Not only are these good for filling a low carb wrap, but you can use them in conjunction with whey protein powder to make your own protein bars that you can prepare in advance and have on-the-go. Check out this video by a guy called Kent, a very successful low-carb dieter.

Any flour recipe can be made by replacing the flour with either Soy Protein Isolate, Almond Flour, or a combination of both. I love making protein pancakes from Soy Protein isolate, eggs and heavy cream – one of my favorite late-night snacks.

I hope this gives you some ideas Manoj. Also for you, and all other vegetarians, here are some books I found on the subject to help make your low-carb vegetarian life easier.

The Vegetarian Low-Carb Diet: The Fast, No-Hunger Weightloss Diet for Vegetarians

Carb Conscious Vegetarian: 150 Delicious Recipes for a Healthy Lifestyle

Yummidy!: A low carb guide and meatless cook book

The Protein-Powered Vegetarian: From Meat to Vegetable Protein : A Cookbook With Spirit
Low Carb Vegetarian

You certainly can build muscle mass on a vegetarian diet. I hope some of these tips make meatless, bodybuilding easier and more delicious.

Stay Motivated!

Mark McManus

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3 Comments » | Posted in Bodybuilding Diet, Build Muscle

Tired of boring chicken? This’ll help you spice things up - and it’s healthy too

As a person dedicated to building muscle mass, you know you need to keep your protein intake up

If you’re like me, chicken comprises a large part of your diet, and with good cause! Chicken is one of the best lean protein sources there is.

I have chicken in:

*Tortillas
*Salads
*As a snack grilled with a low carb sauce
*For Dinner with a fibrous vegetable

However, consuming chicken this often can cause you to get tired of it, can’t it? I know I’ve gotten bored of eating chicken more than once!

So I’ve put together 5 ways for you guys to make chicken taste great again! Also, these tips won’t shoot your carb count through the roof.

Top 5 Ways To Make Your Chicken Dishes Interesting

(1) Marinating. You can infuse your chicken with all sorts of flavors by marinating it for about 24 hours before cooking. I buy my chicken fillets in bulk so I tend to defrost 5 fillets at a time. When I feel like a little change I’ll marinate the thawed, raw fillets first before oven cooking.

(2) Spice it up. Get a spice rack to make your meals a little more adventurous. One of my favorite things to do with raw fillets is to shake a little curry powder over them before putting into the oven; it adds a whole new taste to the finished result. You can also try these:

Italian recipes: garlic, oregano, basil and thyme
Thai recipes: cilantro, lime juice, ginger, coconut milk and lemongrass
Mexican : Chilli Powder

(3) Keep the Skin. When cooking a whole chicken, keep the skin on. You’ll be amazed at how much flavor this seals in. You can always remove the skin afterwards if you wish.

(4) Brine. Another way to infuse your raw fillets with more flavor is to soak them in brine. Brining involves soaking your chicken in a salt and sugar solution; we’re going to ditch the sugar though. Simply dissolve half a cup of salt in water and soak your chicken fillets in it for 3 – 12 hours. Refrigerate while brining. Please note that this will shorten the cooking time a little, so be careful not to overcook.

(5) Saute. Cut your chicken into strips and fry lightly. If you’re on the low-carb part of the MANS bodybuilding diet, this is perfect. Fry in some butter, or, if your on the carb-up portion, you can simply sauté in a non-stick skillet with no oil.

Chicken: a bodybuilder’s best friend.

Stay Motivated!

Your buddy,

Mark McManus

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2 Comments » | Posted in Bodybuilding Diet

Not getting enough water will stunt your muscle gains.

Your body is around 70% water; muscle tissue is around 75% water. It should therefore come as no surprise that you need to stay hydrated in order to build muscle.

Here’s 5 reasons why water is crucial to your bodybuilding success

(1) Peak Strength. Sufficient hydration means optimum strength. Strength can decrease by up to 15% with a drop in hydration levels of only 3%!
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