So I have been wanting to make some muffins. I like the idea of the pumkin muffins that are in the bodybuilding recipes thread, as well I have found other muffin recipes that use only bfl authorized foods. My question is.. like.. are they a complete meal? What does the protien carb ratio have to be for them to be a meal. I am trying to find things to make that are complete, but easy to transport and eat on the run etc.

Also, I have looked at the various protien powders and stuff at my local HFL, Im going to check out the ones at the gnc store today, but what am I looking for? I'd mostly use it in baking I think. Maybe I'd mix it with fruit and make a shake, but I am really not much of a shake drinker so.. probably not. Am I looking for just a protien powder? What the difference between that an whey and stuff..

Again with the protien carb ratio to make a complete meal.. Im trying to make a yogurt/cottage cheese cheese cake of sorts that I could eat on its own, or with fruit or something as a dessert. I notice a lot of recipes use jello which I cannot eat. Any suggestions or links?

Thanks!!!!

The 2 big differences seem to be what they are made from: whey or soy. Whey is animal product, and soy is plant. Other than that they come in flavors or unflavored. You can make a smoothie by adding frozen fruit (s'berries), a banana, and 3c water, with like 1.5 scoops ppowder, it's pretty yummy. I would advise you try some variations in the smallest containers you can find and then find the one you like the best.

Here's a cheesecake recipe I've used:

Cheesecake

1 whole egg
.75 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1 teaspoom vanilla
2 tablespoons splenda
.25 cup Fiber One cereal or oatmeal flakes mixed with spenda and cinnamon
cooking spray
SF flavored syrup if desired (I’ve tried hazelnut- yummy!)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Spray 2-3 “cups” of a muffin tin ( I use the large size muffins and this makes 2).
Sprinkle Fiber One or oatmeal in the bottom of the 2 or 3 sprayed cups. Mix remaining ingredients in the blender, then pour over Fiber One or oatmeal.
Cook until they are lightly browned on top and don’t seem “wiggly”.
Run a sharp knife around the edges, and cool.
Carefully remove from tins with a spoon.
Let them cool and top with a few berries or other fruit, or eat them plain.


The protein/carb/fat ratios for BFL are 40/40/20.

The other differences in powders that you need to look out for is the difference between a protein powder and a meal replacement powder. Read the labels! Some powders have higher fats (some are good, some not so good), and added carbs. The higher carb powders are meal replacements or post-workout shakes. From the sounds of it, you are looking for a protein powder, not a meal replacement powder.

There are all sorts of differences in what is added and the type of whey and casein protein. Many of the more expensive powders have added amino acids called branch chain amino acids (BCAA's) which are thought to help with muscle recovery and gain. Some have glutamine added. Some add a whole slew of vitamins and minerals.

If you are just using it for baking, I don't think much of that matters. Be careful about the sweeteners, though. For baking, make sure that your pp doesn't contain aspertame.

For baking, I use HDT ProBlend 55. I order it online and it's not very expensive.

Mel

Thank you for the cheesecake recipe..

I know that the protien carb fat ratios are 40/40/20, does tyhat meal that a meal has to have 40 grams of protien, 40 of carbs and 20 of fats in each meal to make it a complete meal?

So if I am trying to make muffins, I have to make each muffin try to reach those ratios, or eat more than one etc to get that?

No, not 40 gram/40 gram/40grams! Thats the ratio; 40 % of your calories should come from protein, 40% from carbs and 20% from good fats.

I don't know your curent weight or your goals- so I'll use myself as an example.

I try to eat about 20-25 grams of protein with each meal. I eat 5-6 times per day, so that works out to between 120-150 grams of protein. I'm NOT doing bfl anymore, but if I were, I'd be aiming for a similar amount of carbs. I personally found that I can't lose or maintain my loss eating that many carbs throughout the day, so I zig zag my carbs based on what I'm doing that day or the next day, and front load them towards the beginning of the day.

Fats I generally stay at under 30 grams per day- but I don't count the fish oil capsule I take daily.

When I did the original BFL, I didn't count calories but did the "hand - fist" method outlined in the book. It worked well for me for building muscle. I was already at goal weight. I didn't lose any more scale weight, but dropped 2 pants sizes and added a lot of muscle- which means I burned fat

Mel

Im trying to stay with the hand/fist method of eating, since this is my first challenge. I guess it comes back to my original question.. if I make the pumpkin muffins in the bodybuilding recipes, are they a complete meal, or do I have to add a protien or a carb to make them complete? I would usually do protien, carb, and a ton of veggies, but I dont know how to work that out with the muffins. Are they are carb? are they higher in protien? do I add an apple with them, or should I eat a piece of chicken with them... you see?

The muffins are a complete meal. Here's the nutritional info:

Nutritional Information:
For the whole batch: Per 1 muffin (12 total):
Fat: 53g Fat: 4.5 g
Calories: 1662 Calories: 138
Protein: 174g Protein: 14.5 g
Carbohydrates: 121 Carbohydrates: 10.1

I make them in 6 oversized muffin cups so that each one has 29 grams of protein, 20 grams of carbs and 9 grams of fat and a total of 276 calories. The ratio isn't perfect, but it's pretty close.

Mel