The Shredded Chef: 125 Recipes for Building Muscle, Getting Lean, and Staying Healthy (Third Edition)

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."

I like that these are high-protein recipes, but I'm not sure if I can trust the recipes. After flipping through, I settled in making the no-bake matcha green tea fudge bars first. I bought the almond milk and almond butter (already had matcha). Then, I realized that the recipe leaves out the quantity of matcha and protein powder that are supposed to be added. I could probably wing it and make something work, but it's not a good sign for the rest of the cookbook. I'll probably have to recalculate all the nutrition info so I can trust it.

So, this is the weirdest review I've written on Amazon. I'm really conflicted about the rating, which I will explain.

But first, here's the deal: you don't want this book. You want Michael Matthews' other book, Bigger Leaner Stronger (or if you're a woman, you presumably want his female-geared book Thinner Leaner Stronger, which I of course have not read). That book is excellent and contains every useful piece of information in this book and then some. If you already have BLS, this isn't going to get you anything useful. It's supposed to be a cookbook that goes along with BLS...but the recipes are pretty much completely useless for that purpose. The BLS program is basically a very high protein diet, and these recipes simply aren't any higher in protein than typical stuff. Just use normal cookbooks and/or grab some recipes from the web.

So that explains why I rated it one star: there are zero people who should buy it. Now, as for why I'm conflicted about that? Well...it also changed my life, hopefully forever. Because I didn't know BLS existed when I bought it. I bought some other cookbook and Amazon popped this up as a suggestion, and I thought what the heck. And then I read it, and the first part (before the recipes) was something of an epiphany. It's a scientific, evidence-based method for losing fat and building muscle, which immediately appealed to me. I quickly bought BLS and read it, then I built myself some meal plans, bought some weights and protein powder, and got to work.

It's hard. Really hard. This is definitely a "no shortcuts" method. But when I bought this book a few months ago I was 207lbs., which at 5'9" is....not good. I estimated I was around 25% body fat, which also is very bad. This morning I weighed 191, I'm somewhere between 15 and 20% fat, and I'm way stronger than I was. I look a lot better too. And I'm not remotely done. So, the system definitely works.

But to execute it you need the workout part as well as the diet part. BLS contains both of those things, whereas this book only contains the diet part and in less detail. And again, the recipes aren't actually useful. So, while I'm incredibly glad that I bought this book, nobody actually needs it. If you want to change your body and you're willing to work really hard to make it happen, grab Bigger Leaner Stronger.

I considered splitting the difference between the 5 stars it should get for changing my life and the one star that's my actual recommendation to people. I guess that would have been a 3 star review. But nobody reads 3 star reviews, and in any case I'm telling you not to buy the book. So 1 star it is...but if you're interested in this sort of thing, go buy BLS, which I'm definitely giving 5 stars!

I never really 'cooked', sure, I could make breakfast and do the store bought stuff but it had an ingredient list, forget it. My wife passed away suddenly a couple months ago and she cooked pretty much without recipes. After a couple weeks i was rummaging thru Amazon and came across this book. I needed direction about food and cooking and it had to be easy to understand and do. Mikes book was just what I needed. I don't plan on becoming shredded, but I am eating healthy and Mikes recipes are easy to follow, most of them not too many ingredients.

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.

I bought the book for my son-in-laws and brother-in-law who love to cook, eat healthy, and work out. But, they're guys who would rather look at a guy in a shirt while they cooked rather than a shirtless one, so I added a t-shirt and clear protector sheet to the cover. :) Now we think it's a great gift for guys too!

Now this is a book I can follow! Easy recipes, great pictures and lots of awesome information from cooking to what each food does for your body. Love this book! It’s the answer to my food prepping prayers! EASY recipes, no crazy fancy ingredients. Real food for real people.

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.

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

Some decent recipes he stole from other people. "Super Spicy Chili" or whatever is a word for word copy of a Guy Fieri recipe "Dragon Breath Chili" -- great and yummy chili but major turnoff to discover he just took others' recipes, printed them in a nice format on glossy paper, slapped a picture of a hot dude on the cover and is banking on it. Most definitely returning.