Review of Dave Ruel's Anabolic Cookbook


Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and review. I have titled this post Muscle Cook Book Review, and it is a comprehensive and honest review of Anabolic Cooking by competitive bodybuilder, professional fitness coach, and nutritionist, ”The Muscle Cook” Dave Ruel.

I want you to be certain that I am giving you an unrestricted, unbiased and honest review of Dave’s anabolic cookbook, nutritional information and all components of Anabolic Cooking. What you are about to read are the ESSENTIAL details you need to know before grabbing a copy for yourself.

Click here to visit Dave Ruel’s Anabolic Cooking official web site.

So, what exactly is “Anabolic Cooking” and what can it do for you?

Basically, it is a guide on how and what to eat to either gain lean muscle mass or lose body fat, or both. The “Anabolic Cooking Package” is a comprehensive collection of nutritional information, a quick start guide, targeted meal plans for either lean muscle gain or fat loss, a cook book of delicious bodybuilding recipes, an online calorie calculator, some food and training logs, and some very interesting information about nutritional supplements.

The program is very versatile depending on your goals. The online Optimum Maximizer Calorie Calculator has four different meal plans; Maintenance, Cutting (fat loss), Progressive Weight Gain, and Advanced Weight Gain. The first two plans are pretty obvious. However, progressive weight gain plan is geared towards those folks that find they gain lower abdominal fat when trying to bulk up, or just want to keep their body fat low throughout the year. Advanced weight gain is for the extreme ectomorph (eats anything with no fat gain), or folks who just want size and have little concern about body fat.

Once you have decided on your plan, you use the caloric calculator to determine your required daily caloric intake and match it to one of the meal plans. There are six lean muscle gain meal plan ranging from 2000 calories upto 5000 calories. There are seven fat loss meal plans ranging from 1200 to 3000 calories. The meal plans even have page references to the cookbook, and it is very easy to substitute meals on the plans with others in the cookbook.

The cookbook is very well organized into various sections including breakfast, poultry, red meat and port, fish, salads, soups, sides, snacks and desserts. The index of recipes is hyperlinked to each recipe page, and each recipe has detailed nutritional information. I have tried several of the recipes and have not had a bad one yet. One of my favorites is the Rosemary Marinated Salmon on page 103, and a great dessert is the Mango Lime Mousse on page 181.

Most of the nutritional information is in the 22 page Quick Start Guide. Here Dave explains how your body uses proteins, carbohydrates and fats. And most importantly, how to develop good eating habits for either gaining muscle mass or losing body fat. In the quick start guide there is also advice on grocery shopping, meal preparations, and even what you should have in your kitchen. Here Dave also gives some guidance about eating before and after your workouts.

What are the CONs that I see in Anabolic Cooking?

As with any product, program or book that I have bought and reviewed, nothing is ever perfect and here are the only things I didn’t like about Dave Ruel’s guide.

  • Although the cookbook is well organized, there are no photographs of the finish recipes. Most cookbooks that I own have colorful pictures of dishes that can be very helpful, especially to folks who maybe a little challenged in the kitchen.
  • Although each recipe does indicate how many servings the recipe makes, it does not say explicitly what the serving size is in the nutritional information. Not a big deal, just something I noticed.

And how about the GOOD things in Anabolic Cooking?

  • All the recipes I have tried were tasty, easy to make, and most taking less than 30 minutes to prepare.
  • The calorie calculator is extremely easy to use, making it a doddle to select the right meal plan to ensure you are eating enough to achieve your goals.
  • You don’t get hungry during the day, or at anytime for that matter.
  • Recipe substitution on the meal plans is easy because each recipe has detailed nutritional information about calories, servings, and grams of protein, carbohydrates and fats.

Overall, what do I think?

Anabolic Cooking is, in my opinion, an excellent source of nutritional information and delicious recipes that can show you how to build muscle quickly, or lose body fat. Dave Ruel knows what it takes to build muscle, lose weight and make bodybuilding & fitness nutrition tasty again! As a competitive bodybuilder, a professional Fitness Coach and Nutritionist, he now shares this information with anybody who is serious about building muscle, burning body fat, and who wants to enjoy bodybuilding and fitness nutrition completely.

I have certainly learnt some things to integrate into my daily eating habits, as well having found some new favorite recipes. I trust you have found my review helpful.

Click here to visit Dave Ruel’s Anabolic Cooking official web site.

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