Description
The Bestselling Flexible Dieting Cookbook
Is this a macros cookbook full of “fat-burning” and “craving-killing” recipes that’ll give you a sculpted physique in 30 days flat?
No.
Is it a boring “body building cookbook” for meatheads who have never met a chicken, rice, or oatmeal recipe they didn’t like?
Absolutely not.
But is it a high protein cookbook that’ll show you how to lose weight, build muscle, and get healthy eating delicious, fitness-friendly, easy-to-make meals that you love each and every day?
Yes. And it’s easier than you probably think.
Here’s a “sneak peek” of what you’ll find inside this athlete cookbook:
- How to create meal plans for building muscle and losing fat that don’t make you feel starved, deprived, or like you’re “on a diet” (and especially a “bodybuilding diet”).
- The simplest chef-approved ways to immediately start making restaurant-quality food that don’t require you to spend more time on preparation or cooking or more money on ingredients or gear.
- 13 delicious and easy-to-make breakfast recipes, like “BLT” Eggs Benedict, Heuvos Rancheros, High-Protein Banana Oatcakes, Spice Caribbean Oatmeal with Yogurt Swirl, and more.
- 11 mouthwatering salads and dressings, like Spicy Santa Fe Taco Salad, Grilled Mediterranean Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette, Creamy Jalapeno-Cilantro Dressing, and more.
- 14 low-calorie snacks you’ll actually want to eat, like Blueberry-Coconut Pancake Batter Smoothie, Maple-Walnut Protein Muffins, Peanut Butter Protein Swirl Brownies, and more.
- 16 succulent beef and pork recipes for savory lunches and dinners, like Beef Stroganoff, Beef Lo Mein, Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops, and more.
- 18 tasty poultry dishes you’ll love again and again, like Curry Chicken, Mexican Meatloaf, Pollo Fajitas, and more.
- 8 flavorful seafood recipes like Creamy Fettuccine with Scallops, Graham Cracker-Crusted Tilapia, Seared Cod with No-Cook Mustard-Caper Sauce, and more.
- 11 appetizing side dishes like Crispy Squash Fries, Sweet Potato Chips, Roasted Garlic Twice-Baked Potato, and more.
- 10 delectable (and fitness-friendly) desserts you can enjoy guilt-free, like Peach Cobbler, Maple-Raisin Bread Pudding, Triple Berry Crisp, and more.
Julio (verified owner) –
So I was reading the book, I liked a lot the way the author writes and states the truth. Also a lot of the receipes seem really tasty, and even dough this book is about recipes you can find some useful information about bodybuilding and that kind of subject.
The thing that I would really appreciate is that in my case I need to see some pictures of the food! Mostly because my mother tongue is not English and some ingredients are named differently than in the USA.
So if the author would try to reach a more world wide consumer and reader, it would be nice to find some images for reference.
Thanks for reading.
J. Curto (verified owner) –
I considered giving this book a four-star review, but thought that it really deserved a four and a half star rating. The only reason I would not give this book a five-star review is because there are a few VERY minor things that are missing that if they were present would make it any easy five-stars. Seeing as how my favor tips on the side of all the good this book has done for me since I started cooking from it a few months ago, I had to give it the five-star nod.
My biggest issue with the book is that it does not list the serving sizes in the recipe. Now, this is easily remedied by buying a food scale, which you should have anyhow if you’re setting out to eat correctly. The way I’ve found around this little issue is to cook the recipe and once it is finished weigh it and divide its total weight by the number of servings the recipe makes. Once you do that, you have your serving size. I actually think this works better for me in retrospect, because at times I don’t always get exactly 1.5 lbs of chicken from the butcher etc.
There are other times that there are ingredients listed in the recipe, but no indication of when to add them to the recipe or in what amount. I’ve contacted the author Mike Matthews about it and he said he will be remedying these tiny miscues in the next edition.
Overall, since taking Mike’s advice on macronutritional intake and using this book to follow those guidelines, I have lost about 15 lbs in two months. And it’s not weight that you notice on the scale, but not on your body. The fat dropped off my stomach and waistline for the first time in my life and I’m in my mid-30’s. I couldn’t accomplish this physique at 25 and weighing 175 lbs and now I know why. I was eating incorrectly. Sure I was working out two hours a day 5-6 days a week but I still had an unattractive midsection and felt weak.
Oh yea, these RECIPES TASTE GOOD!!! I have a few favorites that I eat regularly. They are easy to cook and really are fulfilling. Anyone I’ve let try any of these recipes loved them and went out and bought the book themselves.
Aside from that, the author Mike Matthews is just a really good guy that is out there to help people achieve their personal health and fitness goals and makes it simple and straightforward to do so.
Da_Gumbyman (verified owner) –
First off I purchased the Bigger, Leaner, Stronger book from the same author and really like that book! In the nutrition section of the BLS book it talks about calories and how much protein, carbs and fats one should have in a day to either build muscles or to lose weight. Well The Shredded Chef book shows all of these numbers for every recipe so one doesn’t even have to worry about figuring all of the daily requirements out cause it is totally spelled out for you, there is even a spread sheet available at the end of the book to make it even easier! Michael, the author, is so full of great knowledge and he shares everything he knows in this book and the BLS book and makes everything as easy as he can by cutting through all of the useless and non-working things out there. I’ll tell you what, I am so impressed by these two books and by the sincerity of the author that I recently just ordered all of the rest of the books that he writes and will give my reviews on the rest of those when I get them. But by all means get this book no matter if you are trying to gain muscle or to lose weight cause the ways to do either, or both of these things, are covered very thouroughly in this book.
Marshall (verified owner) –
The recipes are simple. Most of the ingredients you’ll have on hand or can pick-up at any grocery store. The book is organized into sections; Breakfast, Chicken, Pasta, Dessert, etc. and subsections of recipes for bulking or cutting. I found this very useful. Each recipe includes calories and macros (Protein, Carbs, Fats) for each serving. Although I did find the serving info a bit confusing at first. I just wasn’t sure if the calories and macros listed were for 1 serving or the entire recipe. It appears to be for one serving. As long as it is consistent. Hey, I thought there wouldn’t be any math 🙂
Mike’s Recipe of the Week on his website muscleforlife.com lead me to buy the recipe book. Especially, the sweet potato pancakes – my favorite bfast cheat meal. And it’s not really cheating, well, maybe the maple syrup. I’ve only had book for a few days, but have tried the Zucchini Fritta, egg white bites and the sweet potato pancakes, which I have made the past three weekends. So, I’ve got 117 recipes to try. I also like some of the tips or recipes for making your own salad dressing or marinades.
Hera a few suggestions future editions:
– More recipes for protein bars, shakes & snacks. I’m a fan of Quest bars and would like to make something similar.
– More pictures. The pictures are great, they really help us novices know what it’s “supposed” to look like.
– Spiral bound – so it will lay flat in the kitchen without breaking the spine.
– Community – a place for like minded individuals to share their favorite recipes, modifications, questions, etc. I’ve got a protein shake with spinach and peanut butter that is my fav, that I’d be happy to share. Mike could take the best and add them to the next volume.
Thanks for putting this together, I know it must have taken countless hours. This is an excellent companion to Bigger, Leaner, Stronger or Thinner, Leaner, Stronger – especially if you are tired of eating plain chicken or tuna. This book will help you spice up your meals and make living the lifestyle more enjoyable.
Philip Longmire (verified owner) –
I follow this guy in the gym after reading his book. Went from 300 to 245 pounds and still dropping weight and gaining strength…however I got tired of the food I was eating and bought this book. Made my first meal tonight. Lean antipasto chicken…took me a total of thirty minutes to make with prep included…it was awesome…
All the meals look very easy and if they taste half as good as I ate tonight…all the better. I only added a spinach salad with one tablespoon of dressing and bam…I was a chef….
What I’m excited about is the fish recipes…I never cooked fish in my life and these recipes look so easy that I’ll give it a shot…
Hate leaving a remark here because I’m not shredded or lean yet…but I’m trying. It takes work focus and work…did I say work…but hey if what I was doing before worked I wouldn’t have gotten to 300 pounds…
Not sure if I fall off the map after anotheR three months…but for now I’m finally on the right track and pray I can go from my 30%body fat to 10% or less??
But I can tell you one thing…this book will make the ride so much better
D.M.C. (verified owner) –
I love cooking and have a large collection of cookbooks, the majority of them being healthy cookbooks. However, I don’t always have time to make complicated and time consuming recipes with a long list of ingredients. I tried to do weekly meal prep several times – baking some chicken breast, sweet potatoes, veggies etc. for lunches and snacks – but they always end up very bland because I am trying to keep it simple and I am tired of choking down another dry chicken breast. This cookbook has recipes simple enough to use for weekly meal prep or easy weeknight dinners, but they actually taste good. No, not every recipe is gourmet cooking, but they are recipes I will actually use. I will save the more involved recipes for the weekends. All of the recipes we have tried so far has been great. I am currently cutting calories, and the leaner recipes are low in calories but still pretty filling. A great compliment to Thinner Leaner Stronger.
Dreampet (verified owner) –
The Shredded Chef is part of a bigger circle, the Bigger, Leaner, Stronger program. I recommend you get The Shredded Chef, Bigger, Leaner, Stronger and the Year One Challenge all at the same time. There’s a lot of overlap between them, and you’ll miss out if you don’t have the trifecta.
I go into more detail about why this is such a good program in my review of Bigger, Leaner, Stronger. Here, I just want to say that the recipes are simple but tasty, they use regular, everyday ingredients that are easy to find, they don’t take tons of prep time or fancy kitchen work, and the ones I’ve tried so far are tasty.
I especially love that each recipe has a breakdown of the number of calories, carbs, fat and protein in each serving, so you can easily design a weekly meal plan that will meet your exact fitness goals. You can download sample meal plans, but I didn’t find these particularly helpful. I whipped up my own meal plan template on Excel in like 15 minutes.
Also, downloading anything will get you put on the email list, but I was surprised to find that the emails I get are not salesy pitches for crap I don’t need; they usually contain links to interesting and helpful podcasts put on by Michael Matthews that address all kinds of questions and topics regarding health and fitness.
Michael Matthews seems to genuinely want to help people get fit, rather than most ‘fitness gurus’ who just want to push more sales for products that don’t work.
This book is very helpful and I go to it a lot. There is also a vegan version, which I find interesting but I haven’t read that yet.
Nathan Edward Thomas (verified owner) –
I was hoping for a better laid out book with recipes and planners but this simply isnt that. The recipes are easily found online. The author gives a fine speach in the begining on the philosophy of how to eat for maintenance, growth and weight loss which is fairly useful if you’ve never approached the subject.
This isnt saying the recipes are bad or even unuseful. I did take off one star because I was looking for help with meal planning in which i felt the advertising saod it would and it simply didnt for me.
Charles W. Freeland (verified owner) –
I’ve worked in high end restaurants for years, so I appreciate good food, and like to cook. Getting my nutrition and diet in line for gaining mass has always been a chore because most recipes by body builders taste terrible, clearly not created by anyone with a pallet! This cook book is great! All the recipes I’ve tried are delicious, and very reasonable on my grocery budget. The ONLY reason I didn’t give it 5-star is the instructions could use a little more detail, and I’d love it if the ingredients list also listed measurements in grams (its much faster and easier to cook using a digital scale instead of a ton of measuring cups and spoons).
Max Stapenhorst (verified owner) –
Good book for beginners on how to cook. I meal plan a lot of my meals for the week since I am always busy at night. This really opened up my cooking ability and showed me new ways to cook. I usually just make chicken and rice but now I throw in different meals from this book. If you like to know new meals for bulking and cutting this book is a great start. My food does not just taste like hot sauce!
Asaf Biton (verified owner) –
This book is AWESOME!
I love the recipes in this book, it’s a great buy for everyone seeking to start with meal-prepping and planning.
There are a few things I’d like to see improve in the next edition/book, though:
* More images – of the process and of all the other recipes. It seems like images are only available for selected recipes which is kind of disappointing since you don’t always know what to expect.
* More alternatives. Sometimes it’s hard to get the exact ingredients (especially to readers from other countries).
Gogh Me (verified owner) –
These are easy, simple recipes that use common ingredients. There is a wide variety of foods with good flavors.
I would have given it 5 stars but some of the recipes’ nutritional breakdowns do not match the ingredient totals (using the USDA food database).
And something I would rather have seen is that recipes listing things in size would list in weight instead, like it seems what the book calls a medium potato, would be the smallest size my grocery store has.
HMac (verified owner) –
I read this book in one sitting! I love the enthusiasm and no BS style that is Mike Matthews. He uses a common sense approach to weight loss and muscle building, and sites many research papers to back up his philosophy. The recipes in this book are broken down into Cutting (losing fat) and Bulking (building muscle) so you know which to use during whatever Phase you are currently in. The macronutrient and calorie counts are published with each recipe so you can easily add to your weekly meal plan. The recipes are filling, flavorful, and very easy and quick. They also use ingredients most people have on hand. Grab this book and get started on a better, healthier, more flavorful lifestyle! I’m also in the process of reading “Thinner, Leaner, Stronger” and will review that soon.
musicreview9999 (verified owner) –
I am beyond pleased with this new version of the Mike’s Shredded Chef! It’s incredible! I had the old version and this one is a HUGE improvement. I spent the last week trying a bunch of the new recipes and they have all been incredibly tasty and work perfectly into meal planning. Goodbye are the days of boring broccoli and chicken or other such nonsense that will burn you out on food and send you spiraling toward unhealthy eating. Mike has accomplished what I thought wasn’t possible. He’s created easy, good, and healthy recipes I look forward to eating. I haven’t been excited about food before when I’ve done meal planning, but can’t wait to have these recipes again. They’ve given me confidence I’ll be able to follow my healthy eating meal planning and achieve the goals I have set out. Give the new version a try. I really can’t say enough good things about this book! My favorites of the ones I’ve tried so far are: Greek Pita Pizza, Beef Lasagna, Huevos Rancheros, Chicken Enchilada Soup, and Lean Turkey Paprikash.
Taylor (verified owner) –
Easy yet delicious recipes, using single ingredients that you can find at your local grocery store and most of the recipes take about 30-60 minutes to make when taking preparation time into account. The nutritional breakdown is easy even newcomers to cooking understand. I tried the lemon-rosemary salmon fillet but used rosemary-garlic as opposed to rosemary, still tasted great. Ate the whole thing, it was that good. I also made the Triple Berry Crisp. A healthy desert. You get the anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals from the fruit and fiber from the whole oats. I used Stevia in the Raw as the sweetener instead of Truvia. The only unhealthy ingredient was the butter. Have yet to try the flourless chocolate cake, looks delicious. Of course, I’m still keeping them to a minimum.
Very happy with this purchase. At under $16 for the hard cover, that’s pretty cheap as opposed to cook books you’d buy at a store which might be expensive.
The diet and nutrition part of the book helped me understand flexible dieting better and dangers of “fad” diets where you are forced to get rid your favorite foods and follow a meal plan you don’t like. This kind of approach to losing fat is dangerous and can pose a hazard to your health. Flexible dieting on the other hand is what its name stands for: flexible. You can adjust it to your liking and free yourself of the burden of counting calories and enjoy food, your life and get the body you want whether it’s losing fat, building muscle or both.
G. (verified owner) –
Truthfully I think this book deserves 5 stars, though I’m critical of the lack of recipe pictures. Overall the information is fantastic, the references are much appreciated, and the recipes are exactly what I wanted. I think Michael is spot on with the flexible eating mentality and this book can be a great addition to anyone’s collection. There is much more to this book than just recipes.
I would recommend this book to anyone and I look forward to more reading more material from the author.
Randy J. Tronson (verified owner) –
Good recipe book but designed to whet your appetite to purchase other complete cook books containing all the nutrition information needed to have an eating plan to meet the specific needs of the calorie restricted diet of the cut and bulk training programs outlined in various other books published by Michael Matthews. Every book is a sales funnel to sell other books or products, so they all come up short in some aspect causing you to want more, and then telling you where to go to find more information for some small fee or charge to receive it. This is the most profound flaw in the books published by Michael Matthews and his otherwise excellent work .
The Rebecca Review (verified owner) –
Are you looking for exciting gourmet recipes and already know the basics of cooking? This will take some of your cooking skills to the next level. I’ve tried five recipes from this cookbook and am looking forward to trying more. Some of the recipes need a little adapting but since I know how to write recipes that is no issue for me. The recipes I’ve tried so far include:
Creamy Blueberry-Banana Smoothie: This smoothie is made with banana, blueberries, honey, Greek yogurt, flaxseeds and milk. I felt it needed to be a bit sweeter so added three packets of stevia and one teaspoon of vanilla powder. It was then perfect.
Beef Stroganoff: This is a lot better than the type of stroganoff you make with ground beef. Instead this recipes calls for beef tenderloin. I took it up a notch and used two beef ribeyes with all the fat cut off. One thing I can’t find at my local store is condensed beef broth, so instead I just used 1 1/4 cup water with 1 3/4 teaspoon beef base (look for it in the soup isle). At the end of the recipe I realized it was a bit soupy (probably because I’m using stock not a condensed broth) so I added in two tablespoons butter mixed with two tablespoons flour. Changes the recipe calories a bit but I don’t eat this very often. The Dijon mustard is really essential in the recipe. Once I forgot to add it and totally noticed a difference in flavor.
Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops: Making these is an aromatic experience. I fried the meat in a frying pan since I don’t have a grill and they still turned out fantastic. The minute the rosemary heats up with the lemon juice it produces a heavenly scent. I’d use double the rosemary next time. Also lamb bones are really sharp so when you put them in a plastic bag with the marinade it might leak a bit. To solve this problem I put the bag in a metal bowl in the refrigerator. No mess to clean up.
Pollo Fajitas: This recipe has a heavenly marinade that you can taste even after the recipe is done. The combination of Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar and soy sauce (I used Tamari) was delicious once heated. You serve the chicken with onions and green bell pepper in tortillas. They are also good with sour cream and salsa. Made these twice already and they are going to be a favorite for a long time. I use two large fry pans and cook the onions and peppers separately at the same time as the chicken. Works out great since everything is hot at the same time.
Lemon-Garlic Shrimp with Asparagus: You can omit the asparagus in this recipe no problem. I felt there were enough veggies just with the red bell peppers. And the author would be happy to know I used organic bell peppers. To me they are a bit sweeter. The only thing with this recipe is it calls for garlic to be sautéed and sometimes it can burn. So I put all the sauce ingredients in a Pyrex glass measuring cup and added the garlic to that and poured it into the shrimp and peppers at the end. Great garlic flavor without burning anything. I added one tablespoons butter mixed with one tablespoon flour to thicken the sauce a bit.
Other recipes I’m eager to try include:
Cinnamon-Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes
Spiced Caribbean Oatmeal with Yogurt Swirl
Coconut Carrot-Ginger Soup
Thai Basil Chicken
Chile Relleno Casserole
Classic Tiramisu
Triple Berry Crisp
Yes this cookbook also has desserts but some recipes call for Truvia instead of all sugar.
So this recipe book has been really fun to work through and I’m not done yet. I had a question about one of the recipes and the author got right back to me so that was nice.
I look forward to trying new recipes in the near future. I love that so many of these recipes are gourmet. And these are recipes my weight lifting husband also enjoys.
~The Rebecca Review
Adam D. Koos (verified owner) –
Contrary to some of the poor reviews that reference the lack of creativity in the recipes, I’m not a bachelor and I have two kids. I’m also an entrepreneur and between my sometimes failed attempts at being a great husband, father, and employer, I’ve never made the time to cook. So with that said, I personally don’t need elaborate recipes with sexy garnishes. In addition, I don’t enjoy prep, cooking, or clean-up. For all those reasons, I love this book. I went thru it and highlighted the best-looking recipes with the shortest prep time. I throw the ingredients on Wunderlist (on a grocery list shared with my wife), she does the shopping, and with these quick and easy, yet tasty recipes, I’m trying to be a bigger part of dinner time in our house – something I’ve always sucked at. So if you want a huge cookbook filled with elaborate recipes to make in your commercial-chef-inspired kitchen, this might not be for you. However, if you’re a busy and/or simple person who just wants good food that is super easy to make, ignore the other reviews and spend the relatively low cost for a ton of recipes that taste good, regardless of the apparent, sometimes-perceived “simplicity.”
Robby (verified owner) –
I really love this book. I’ve read Mike’s other book “Bigger, Leaner, Stronger” and was really motivated by it and liked the writing style. This book is very much in the tradition of BLS. There is clear and well presented information in the first part of the book and then come the recipes. The recipes presented are GOOD. I just made the Dijon-Sage Pork Loin and the Crispy Squash Fries. I’m so glad I did! There were minimal ingredients so my shopping list didn’t cost an arm and a leg, and though everything was simple it was SOOOOO flavorful! My boyfriend and I have been wanting to eat better and incorporate more veggies into our diet and this cookbook is helping us do that. I particularly like how each recipe has the calorie count and macros listed. There are so many pros to this book that I hate to mention the very very few cons I’ve found but I think a fair heads-up to other shoppers is always good.
For me, I am a relatively new cook so not having pictures of each finished dish leaves me to wonder if I’m doing everything right and just hoping for the best. Additionally, the recipes have the barest of bones of directions.One is totally able to accomplish the recipes as a beginner, no doubt, but I do think they would be easier to adapt, if need be, for a more experienced cook. Scant instructions are a bit of an issue for me because cooking makes me anxious, I get too worried that I’m doing everything wrong, but as I said above, I was more than able to cook a few things from this book despite my concerns and self-doubt. These concerns are really just mine and may not really apply to everyone. I have seen others complain of scant instructions in knitting patterns that I have felt were perfectly clear so it really is just a person to person thing.
Overall, I would recommend and gift this book to others who may be looking to change up how they eat, or to anybody that would appreciate a well written and beautifully produced cookbook.
PL (verified owner) –
Great recipe book! Very high quality with thicker paper stock. I wasn’t expecting a paperback but this was much nicer than expected. In addition to the recipes themselves, there is helpful information about the different ingredients. The supplemental information is a great added value feature.
The addition of the macros is extremely useful! If you’re trying to cut, bulk, or maintain and aren’t tracking your macros then it will be more difficult to achieve your goals.
My wife and I choose 4-5 meals we want to try from the book and eat them throughout the week. The meals don’t require too many ingredients and the prep/cook times are very reasonable.
I found this recipe book to be very informative and useful for meeting my nutritional goals. I would recommend it to anyone.
Craig (verified owner) –
To start off, I have never owned a cookbook before. I started meal prepping for the first time and I really got sick of eating the same things over and over again. I’ll be honest, I’m not a chef of any sort. I stick with the regular lean beef and chicken with broccoli sort of things.
This book has a ton of recipe’s in it! Everything I have made from it has tasted especially good so I can’t fault Michael Matthews at all when it comes to flavor! He has it in this book. That being said, I wish there were more simple recipes with every day ingredients in it. You will also need quite a bit of cookware and appliances which I didn’t and still don’t own along with a hefty sized wallet to afford some of the ingredients. I’m slowly building up my stock of kitchen-ware, pans, bowls, utensils, etc. and you will have to do the same. The good thing is he explains the differences in knives and some of the other things that you can go cheaper on.
When it comes to the ingredients for some of the recipes, they aren’t things that you can find at your local Walmart, which, unfortunately for me is all that I have other than a health foods store across town which I can’t afford. Hopefully he will come out with another recipe book that doesn’t use such hard to find items, because what I have made has been extremely pleasant compared to chicken and rice.
Regardless of it all, it gave me more ideas of things to make, which I believe was part of his plan in the first place. So thank you Mr. Matthews for the knowledge that you gave with this book which is worth more than all of the recipes inside of it.
Charlotte (verified owner) –
I bought this for the cover. I mean look at it. This is a very nice publication. It has a nice velvety feeling hardcover, glossy pages with gorgeous color photos of the dishes and author, diet and nutrition information, clear recipes broken down in to meal types, list of information references, bonus material, and page 264 FTW. This book is so nice it sits in view on my desk as I work everyday. My parents also own this cookbook and they actually read and used it. They say it was easy to follow and the recipes are delicious and sizable as they always had leftovers. (Apparently the Salisbury Steak is to die for as my sister had some of their leftovers and demanded the recipe). I received the book in excellent condition in the time it was promised. Only con is that it could use more pictures of the author. I would definitely purchase again if the cover was damaged. Highly recommend.
Autumn (verified owner) –
Bought to coincide with his other book TLS, and I love them both equally! So far I have only tried the Parmesan crusted pork chops, but did my own variation-with turkey loin instead of pork-worked out just as good! I was also very very VERY happy when I saw one of my favorite desserts in there….key lime pie!!! This was amazing. Overall great recipes that make sense. I wish there was a serving size for some of the recipes. Unless I am completely missing something-could be the case lol. Otherwise worth buying to have on hand! Especially if you’re like me and have over done the turkey and rice thing all day every day.
Mayra S. (verified owner) –
Excellent book. As a Registered Nurse, I purchased this book to help me lose weight and cook great meals. To be honest, I’ve really not followed through with using the book as an actual cookbook, however, I found the information in this book regarding losing weight, eating right, and sticking to a meal plan that make sense invaluable. Really, I would have paid the same amount if only the introduction and beginning part of the book was included. Following the guide that Michael has placed in his book, I’ve stuck to a meal plan (diets don’t work forever) that works for me, keeps me full and happy, and makes me mind eating empty or less fulfilling foods. It’s only been 3 months but I feel great, and I don’t see why eating the way I do can’t be a lifelong change for the better.
Donnie15 (verified owner) –
I was between giving this 3-4 stars. On one hand, I so far have seen great results based on the information at the beginning of the book. Tracking my macros based on his Mike’s calculations and information has allowed me to drop 20 pounds in about 10 weeks along with my fitness regiment. However, some of the recipes are nearly impossible to make. For instance, the sweet potato pancakes and the high protein banana oatcakes would be impressive if somebody can keep them together. A lot of his images in the book also have ingredients to dress them up and look better that are not included in the real recipes.
The biggest perk is the information at the beginning of the book about how to set up a diet and then the recipes are nice because the macro information is easy to find and add to your meal planning.
josski (verified owner) –
I ordered this book back in may and i can’t stress enough how great it is! The recipes are not only easy to follow, the ingredients are not exotic. I’ve been able to find everything I need at Walmart or my local grocery store. I’ve tried the Parmesan chicken, double baked potatoes, mikes savory burgers, pollo fajitas and the high protein oatcakes and they are amazing and easy to make. The best part about this book is all the macros are broken down and there’s a complete breakdown at the beginning on how to figure out your calories and macros. When I figured out my carbs and had a question on how to fit it all in, I emailed MIke and he got back to me with a solution! Don’t hesitate to buy this book. Stop reading now and hit buy!
Mark Harris (verified owner) –
I like the book so far, but was wondering about the font. My version does NOT allow for changing fonts, and seems to be locked into the ‘Courier’ font. Your other books that I have do not seem to have this problem, and I was wondering if in the future a fix might be available.
Other than that, keep up the good work!!
lauren f (verified owner) –
I was at my moms for Christmas and she had recently gotten this book and showed it to me. Because my husband is a fitness buff and I am always looking for meal prep inspiration to compliment our two kid-full /time jobs/ middle class budget so I thought it was worth a shot and ordered it next day. I read the entire book in one day (sorry not sorry ) and LOVE it! This is NOT just some quickfire get lean fast starving recipe cookbook- the first 61 pages are explanations, guidelines and mythbusters that literally get your mind in the zone to cook clean and not be afraid of carbs( gasp!) and meats ( hello thai basil chicken and muscle meatballs). Its worth the price just without the recipes so thats a bonus. The recipes are pretty simple with minimal ingredients which makes it possible and is often already something you have in the cupboards and fridge.
Worth every penny
Kelly (verified owner) –
I really like the recipes, they are easy and don’t use tons of exotic ingredients. I like the write up about his dietary beliefs and it’s interesting to see that he is not on the low carb train. I’m just still a little confused, what if a person has a very tough time not getting fat or is prone to storing carbs as fat? What about for females, surely it’s not one size fits all? I’ve found my little muffin top really decreases when I severely limit my carbs (no rice, no wheat bread, nothing) so if I go hard with these recipes I could still get fat, even with my intermittent fasting I am faithful to.
This is turning into a ramble but to summarize it would be good if they dietary science portion could include different body types advice and such. Metabolism, etc.
E Banco (verified owner) –
I’ve been listening to podcasts, reading online articles and finally ordered a few books by Mike Matthews. The Shredded Chef arrived first and what a nice surprise. I’m a bit of a book junkie and love the quality of this book. It’s a solid hard back with glossy pages but the real quality is what is written in between the covers. You can really go from “Wow! Look at that delicious recipe” to rolling up your sleeves and taking notes on body composition and nutritional diversity. As I came to the final pages I found “Bonus Material” that provides a link to download spreadsheets for meal planning with his recipes. The calories and macros are already completed. You just have to modify it to your own nutritional targets. For anyone who has ever done meal plans or wants to start, the work is done for you. This book gives so many options. It’s not made it’s way to my bookshelf yet. I just keep opening it. Major winner right here!
Joaquin Rosendo (verified owner) –
I’ve yet to actually make any of the meals but I’ve read the intro and I already feel like I’ve learned more about nutrition and healthy cooking than any class I’ve taken in school, in a practical sense. (Which let’s be fair, sometimes that all one needs).
I’ve read through some of the recipes and I can not express how much I appreciate the use of ingredients that are easy to find in essentially any grocery store. Specifically grocery stores in rural towns where options can be pretty limited.
Of course, I’m sure these are tasty meals. I mean, a lot of it depends on how decent of a cook you are 🙂
Shelley (verified owner) –
I really like this cook book, I bought it to go along with the Thinner Leaner Stronger book to help keep me eating right and it’s awesome. The recipes are easy and delicious, even my kids love the recipes so I don’t have to make separate meals when cooking! The only thing I don’t like is that some recipes call for some exotic ingredients that are a little harder to find.
ARL 77 (verified owner) –
Have had this recipe book for a few months now, but have only cooked 15 recipes from it thus far. To preface, I’m a bachelor, live in a very big city, and have a busy and demanding career. Given time constraints, I’ve found that the recipes in this book are very simple and easy to follow, well portioned (for those that like doing meal prep for a couple of days), and to put it simply—delicious. I’ve haven’t gotten tired of eating the dishes that I’ve cooked so far which helps me stick to a healthier way of eating and maintaining good nutrition with my workout regimen. I’m looking forward to trying out more.
A. T. (verified owner) –
I am a very experienced home cook, and I absolutely adore the simplicity of this book. The recipes never ask for anything too extreme – (I hate books that ask for obscure ingredients) – and they’re also very simple to follow.
In particular, the meals are always really balanced. A lot of online recipe guides or meal plan guides have really bland or overly savoury dishes that are delicious for the first bite, but become bland and boring by the end of the meal – let alone if you’ve made 5 days worth of that meal.
But the balance for many of these meals is where the author’s experience in the kitchen really shines. And that sets him apart from the ‘dude bro pros’ who think suffocating a chicken breast in spices makes for a meal, let alone a meal to have over and over.
So I’ll say this – buy this book with confidence that you’ll use it. Because you will. And the food will be amazing.
TrueVision (verified owner) –
This is an elegant book, obviously put together with thought and care. Beautiful colored photos grace many of the glossy pages. I count macros and I’m always looking for ideas for healthy recipes that include them, which this book has. Overall the recipes are fairly simple, but have a sophisticated flair. There are meat recipes, as well as vegan, seafood, shakes and snacks. The author also explains his philosophy on healthy eating. Many of the recipes rely heavily on dairy. They do sound delicious, but I’m sensitive to cheese, yogurt. Others use wheat, which in some instances could be replaced. Lastly, some recipes have carbs coming in at 57-70 carbs at a serving, which puts a huge dent in daily macros for many. There are recipes that have lower carb amounts. The prep times are also mentioned and range from 10 minutes to 1 hr, with the majority falling between 20 to 30. I was going to give this book a 3 star, but decided my dairy sensitivity is not the author’s fault. If you are into counting macros, want to eat healthy, but not boring and not spend a lot of time preparing a meal, I’d recommend this book
Sarah F. (verified owner) –
This is an excellent cookbook! I have made at least 10 of the recipes so far and they have been wonderful! I have been cooking most of my life, these recipes are simple and tasty made with “normal” ingredients. The Beef Lo Mein, Chicken Pot Pie soup, Carrot Ginger soup, Pork Tenderloin Bok Choy stir fry, Chicken Parmigan and Salisbury Steak – all of them are wonderful. Can’t wait to try the rest of the recipes, this will probably replace all the rest of my cookbooks for this year as I train for my first body building competition. But my husband, who refuses to eat healthy at all, even likes these dishes! So glad I purchased this book!
Andrew (verified owner) –
Michael definitely knows what he’s talking about for building muscle, burning fat, and staying lean without spending more than 4-6 hours a week in the gym. His recipes are delicious and are solid for carb-cycling weight-lifting days and rest days. The cooking instructions and ingredients lists are generally fairly simple and easy to follow. The addition of pictures for most of the recipes is a huge plus.
I had a couple minor frustrations going through the book – one, there should’ve been a Table of Contents. I don’t understand why this wasn’t a thing, especially for a recipe-based book where you’re needing to flip back and forth; and two, I noticed some errors in sentences and cooking instructions. For instance, one of the poultry recipes has four steps in its cooking instructions, yet it clearly had five steps at some point. You’re told to remove foil that was never used in the first place. Honestly, you can just use your head and figure this one out, but it should’ve been more complete.
All-in-all, I think it’s good and is a worthy buy for anyone trying to step up their cooking game and get leaner at the same time.
Erin Brown (verified owner) –
So far, I’ve made the sweet potato pancakes, muscle meatballs and irresistible egg casserole dish; all of these dishes were Devine! The picture quality in this book didn’t do the recipes justice, which is why I scored this as 4, and I would have liked to see more recipes that were fast to throw together that were high protein, less carbs.
Kevin Cioffi (verified owner) –
The Shredded Chef was a book that I purchased with the idea that I’d get new meal ideas, nothing more, nothing less. Mike Matthews begins the books with in-depth myth busters and a simple to understand explanation of how to get “the body” you want by eating some classic foods and others you might think should be out of the picture. To top it all off, the recipes in general are wonderful but Mike also went into depth about USDA labels, organic foods, what foods to avoid (e.g. foods that contain mercury), and micronutrients.
The only thing I believe you don’t get in this book is content about meal planning.
Real Person Reviewer (verified owner) –
I have made 3 different recipes so far and all three how been amazing. Way better than any other cookbook I’ve used.
I earmarked like 30 recipes that all sound really good to me (usually I would only be interested in 3-5 recipes).
I can’t wait to try out the other recipes. Only con is some of the stuff takes a while took, so this isn’t a “quick meal” guide. Though I am sure you can find recipes that take a shorter time than the ones I chose.
Jd41 (verified owner) –
the book was a disappointment because the price of the book was overpriced to the amount of recipes! The one good thing about the book is the cover!!
HHFitness (verified owner) –
For anyone looking to find a cookbook with good, healthy recipes that will fit right in with your health goals, this book is for you!
Not only does it have great, tasty recipes, but it has these awesome “facts” at the top that describe the health benefits of some of the ingredients used in the recipe. I have learned a lot just reading through these!
The book itself is great quality with nice easy to read font sizes and full page photos of many of the dishes
I highly recommend!
Lauren B (verified owner) –
Mike’s cookbook, the Shredded Chef, is exactly what any dieter needs—a quick way to throw some simple ingredients together to resemble some other, more spectacular dish, but with a fraction of the calories.
As Mike does an outstanding job making clear in his intro, dieting is all about calories in, and calories out. Calculating calories for a multi-person dish in is tedious. You have to measure ingredients, calculate their caloric content, and then decide how many servings you’re eating–it’s a lot of work. That is why this book is so great – all the stupid simple things you want to make are at your finger tips, measured out with the calories listed for you. And helpful tips like freezing various items in individual portions for future use and to reduce waste.
It should be said that this book also seems to cater to beginner chef’s. If you know a lot about cooking, you might get a laugh out of “Thai Basil Chicken” with “basil” listed as an ingredient (vs. Thai basil, which is a different ingredient for which the dish gets its name). So yeah, this isn’t Chez Panisse–this is Mike Matthews–and you’re about to get shredded–get into it you stuck up player hater!
J. Spitzer (verified owner) –
Michael Matthew’s does it again! The first part of the cookbook gives a basic breakdown of how to fuel your body. The recipes are delicious and don’t feel like a ‘diet’ at all. If you’re looking to up your flexible diet recipe inventory, buy this book!
MF (verified owner) –
Everything I have tried is super easy to make, all healthy so great for nights I need fast and easy dinners to get on the table without compromising on healthy choices
Great One (verified owner) –
I just received my book today and I can emphatically say that it is everything the reviewers and others in the bodybuilding circle say it is. No nonsense, in your face plans, that are simple and easy to make. The side botes of education makes it better. The best $20+ dollars I spent on a diet/recipe book for lifters.
Thunderbird (verified owner) –
I love Michael Matthew’s writing! I follow him on Instagram—he’s so well spoken and articulate. And I LOVE this book of easy to follow delicious recipes. My only complaint is any call for trivia or stevia. I hate sweeteners of any kind, even natural “healthy” ones. Can’t stand the taste.
But as far as the savory dishes, every single one was divine. Okay, I’ve not tried EVERY SINGLE ONE, the ones I have tried, I’ve repeated often.
John Donovan (verified owner) –
A really great cookbook. Having read bigger, leaner, stronger, I was already familiar with Matthew’s philosophies on eating, dieting, macros, etc. Shredded Chef was a great summary of some of those ideas accompanied with excellent recipes. The recipes are easy to follow, have a clear explanation of the macros, and are generally great meals. Highly recommended.
Kathleen Butler (verified owner) –
There are so many good recipes in this book and Mike has clearly laid out the calories and macro breakdown of each of them. There are lots of good photos of the food, which I really appreciate in a recipe book.
zack (verified owner) –
Requires a lot of money to make majority of the dishes but the few I’ve tried have been wonderful
LWinell (verified owner) –
Lots of delicious recipes. I like that the macros for each recipe are listed. Helps me make a menu plan.
M. muse (verified owner) –
I got this for my son for Christmas as he loves to lift weights and is a healthy eater, We made the Mexican meatloaf and it is very good .The recipes look amazing we cannot wait to make more!!
Victor Lopez (verified owner) –
The book is filled with lots of delicious recipes. I especially like that the macros are included with all meals. Definitely worth checking out.
Mindy Weakley (verified owner) –
I’m a super picky eater. And I probably only like 10 or so of the recipes in here because of that. But those recipes are definitely amazing.
I do often substitute or leave out ingredients entirely but it’s still a great cook book.
I can’t say I always follow it, so does it help you lose weight or get shredded? Honestly, I don’t know. But I still like the meals I learned how to cook from it!
Plus the author gives a lot of good data on food in general here.
Craig (verified owner) –
These recipes are easy to follow and actually really good. The recipes do not taste like if you were on a diet or mindful of your macros. I would even do these recipes without looking into my macros. I wish they reorientes these with more modern looking pictures.
Lars (verified owner) –
This and his other books deliver what they promise. I now look and feel great. -Lars Moe, Able Seaman, Norway.
Will R Boyer (verified owner) –
AMAZING RECIPES
Lauren (verified owner) –
This book has been super helpful for my husband and I. We’ve been wanting to meal prep and I’ve been cooking the same constant meals and this helped up out so much. We were in need of great delicious meals. This is a must buy!!
Zach Brown (verified owner) –
Have tried quite a few recipes from the different meal sections. This cook book is also very informative and provides lots of scientifically factual information about fitness and nutrition. Even if you did tweak the recipe a little they are delicious the huevos rancheros are delicious!
Brody R (verified owner) –
My brother loves this and has been using it everyday since Christmas