Dutch No-Cook Nutrition Guide
Living on what you have at home in the Netherlands. No cooking required, just assembling good food.
The Golden Rule
To build muscle, you need Protein. You don't need expensive powders or steroids. You just need enough calories from normal Dutch food to fuel your bodyweight workouts.
🥪 Breakfast / Lunch (Ontbijt & Lunch)
Classic Dutch bread meals are great if you pick the right toppings.
- Bruin brood met pindakaas: Peanut butter has decent protein and good calories.
- Bruin brood met kaas: Cheese has a lot of protein and fats.
- Bruin brood met kipfilet: Chicken slices are almost pure protein.
- Gekookt ei op brood: If you can boil an egg, this is a top tier meal.
🥣 Dairy & Snacks (Tussendoortjes)
The Netherlands has the best dairy for muscle building. (Remember: Dairy needs to stay cool!)
- Bakje Magere Kwark (❄️ Fridge): Quark is the absolute best. Huge amounts of protein. Eat this at home since it isn't handy to take to school.
- Yoghurt met muesli (❄️ Fridge): Good for calories and some protein. Keep at home.
- Glas melk (❄️ Fridge): Drink a big glass of milk if you need easy protein.
- Fruit (🎒 School Safe): Apples and bananas are perfect to toss in your backpack for energy.
- Handje noten (🎒 School Safe): Walnuts, almonds, or peanuts don't go bad and are great for school.
🍽️ Dinner (Avondeten)
Since your parents cook, here is how to handle whatever they make (Aardappels, Groente, Vlees - AVG):
- Focus on the meat/substitute first. Fill up on the chicken, beef, fish, or vegetarian meat substitute.
- Ask nicely: "Hey mam/pap, can I have an extra piece of meat/chicken? I'm working out."
- If dinner has no high protein (like a simple pasta), drink a big glass of milk with it, or eat a bowl of kwark afterwards.
Hydration & Sleep (Crucial!)
Water: Muscle is 70% water. Drink water throughout the day. Have a bottle during your workout.
Slaap (Sleep): Muscles DO NOT grow when you workout. They grow when you SLEEP. Because you are 13, you need 8-10 hours every single night. Put the phone away an hour before bed.