If you’re looking for a monster mash recipe that will help you stick to your vertical diet, we have six for you!
In this blog post, we will share with you six of our favorite monster mash recipes.
These recipes are all healthy and delicious, and they are perfect for satisfying your cravings while sticking to your vertical diet plan.
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What is Monster Mash
Monster Mash is a key meal and part of Stan Efferdings Vertical Diet. It’s a blend of ground meat, veggies, and starches that can be cooked in one pot.
The vertical diet is based on the philosophy that you should eat more nutrient-dense foods and fewer empty calories.
So if you’re looking for a monster mash recipe that is nutritious and delicious, look no further! Below are 6 of our favorites.
How to Make Monster Mash
Here is our latest video going step-by-step through making Monster Mash
Making Monster Mash is one of the easiest meals to prepare and is a great option for meal prep. Monster Mash can be refrigerated from three days to one week or frozen for up to six months.
To make Monster Mash, simply combine all of the ingredients in a large pot or our personal favorite a cast iron pan, and stir until well combined.
Monster Mash can be slow-cooked and left to simmer for four to six hours in a pot or can be fully prepared in under ten minutes in a pan or cast-iron skillet.
Steps to Make Monster Mash
These simple steps will allow you to mix and match foods from the Vertical Diet to have your meal ready to eat in no time.
First, heat your pot or skillet. Depending on your preference now may be the time to add in your healthy fats such as olive oil, butter, beef tallow, or ghee. If you have a fattier cut of meat you may not need to add any fat.
Note: If you are cutting you will want to reduce or remove fats as they are filled with a large number of calories.
UNIQUE DIET TYPE
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5 SIMPLE FOOD RULES
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KETO SCORE
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MEAL PLANS
2 week meal plan to help get started with your DNA diet
SLEEP CHRONOTYPE
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Second, cook your meat of choice until it is browned. We like to use ground beef but you could also use chicken, turkey, pork, lamb, or any other type of ground meat. The Vertical Diet always suggests red meat as it is denser in nutrients.
Third, add in your vegetables. We like to use mostly fresh vegetables, but you can use frozen as well. We normally add in red bell peppers, cucumber, zucchini, carrots, or turnips.
Fourth, add in your starches. This is where you can get creative with your monster mash recipe. You could use potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, or a combination of both.
Fifth, now it’s time to dig in and enjoy your meal!
Note: If you are cutting or bulking in weight, the easiest way to hit your calorie target is to add or subtract white rice as it is quite a calorie-dense.
Beef Monster Mash Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Pan
- 1 Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- .5 tbsp Olive Oil
- 5.5 oz Sweet Potatoes
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 7 oz Zucchini
- 8 oz Ground Beef
- 1 cup Beef Bone Broth
- .5 tbsp Salt
- .25 tbsp Pepper
- Oregano
- Paprika
- Cayenne
- Chili Powder
- 3 oz White Rice optional
Instructions
- Place a cast iron or pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium.
- Chop sweet potatoes, red bell peppers, and zucchini into 1/4 inch pieces. You can adjust the size of your chopped vegetables to your preference. Scale your vegetables if you are tracking your food intake.
- Put olive oil into cast iron or pan and allow the oil to come to temperature for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Place vegetables into the pan or cast iron and spread out.
- Scale your ground beef so it is ready to add when needed.
- 5 – 7 minutes after you add your vegetables they should be starting to brown.
- Move the vegetables to one half of the pan and add your ground beef to the unused part of the pan or cast iron.
- Use a utensil to chop and mash your ground beef so it cooks correctly.
- After 3 – 4 minutes of the ground beef browning, you can now mix the vegetables and ground beef.
- Add seasonings including salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, cayenne, and any other low FODMAP seasonings. Stir in the seasonings with the veggies and ground beef.Add beef bone broth.
- [OPTIONAL] Stir in pre-cooked rice to adjust total caloric or carbohydrate intake depending on if you are bulking or cutting weight.
- Stir and allow everything to simmer for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Add to bowl or plate and enjoy!
Video
2 – Bison Monster Mash Recipe
Ingredients:
Ghee – 0.5 tablespoons
Yukon Gold Potatoes – 5.5 ounces
Red Bell Pepper – 1
Zucchini – 7 ounces
Ground Bison – 8 ounces
Beef Bone Broth – 1 Cup
Salt – 0.5 tablespoons
Pepper – 0.25 tablespoon
Oregano – to taste
Paprika – to taste
Cayenne – to taste
Chili Powder – to taste
[OPTIONAL] White Rice – 1 to 3 ounces
Cooking Directions:
- Place a cast iron or pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium.
- Chop Yukon gold potatoes, red bell peppers, and zucchini into 1/4 inch pieces. You can adjust the size of your chopped vegetables to your preference.
- Scale your vegetables if you are tracking your food intake.
- Put ghee into cast iron or pan and allow the ghee to come to temperature for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Place vegetables into the pan or cast iron and spread out.
- Scale your ground bison so it is ready to add when needed.
- 5 – 7 minutes after you add your vegetables they should be starting to brown.
- Move the vegetables to one half of the pan and add your ground bison to the unused part of the pan or cast iron.
- Use a utensil to chop and mash your ground bison so it cooks correctly.
- After 3 – 4 minutes of the ground bison browning, you can now mix the vegetables and ground bison.
- Add seasonings including salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, cayenne, chili powder, and any other low FODMAP seasonings. Stir in the seasonings with the veggies and ground beef.
- Add beef bone broth.
- [OPTIONAL] Stir in pre-cooked rice to adjust total caloric or carbohydrate intake depending on if you are bulking or cutting weight.
- Stir and allow everything to simmer for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Add to bowl or plate and enjoy!
3 – Lamb Monster Mash Recipe
Ingredients:
Olive Oil – 0.5 tablespoons
Sweet Potatoes – 5.5 ounces
Red Bell Pepper – 1
Ground Lamb – 8 ounces
Chicken Bone Broth – 1 Cup
Salt – 0.5 tablespoons
Pepper – 0.25 tablespoon
Oregano – to taste
Paprika – to taste
Cayenne – to taste
Chili Powder – to taste
[OPTIONAL] White Rice – 1 to 3 ounces
Cooking Directions:
- Place a cast iron or pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium.
- Chop sweet potatoes and red bell pepper into 1/4 inch pieces. You can adjust the size of your chopped vegetables to your preference.
- Scale your vegetables if you are tracking your food intake.
- Put olive oil into cast iron or pan and allow the oil to come to temperature for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Place vegetables into the pan or cast iron and spread out.
- Scale your ground lamb so it is ready to add when needed.
- 5 – 7 minutes after you add your vegetables they should be starting to brown.
- Move the vegetables to one half of the pan and add your ground lamb to the unused part of the pan or cast iron.
- Use a utensil to chop and mash your ground lamb so it cooks correctly.
- After 3 – 4 minutes of the ground lamb browning, you can now mix the vegetables and ground lamb.
- Add seasonings including salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, cayenne, and lemon pepper. Stir in the seasonings with the veggies and ground beef.
- Add chicken bone broth.
- [OPTIONAL] Stir in pre-cooked rice to adjust total caloric or carbohydrate intake depending on if you are bulking or cutting weight.
- Stir and allow everything to simmer for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Add to bowl or plate and enjoy!
4 – Elk Monster Mash Recipe
Ingredients:
Beef Tallow – 0.5 tablespoons
Sweet Potatoes – 5.5 ounces
Red Bell Pepper – 1
Zucchini – 7 ounces
Ground Elk – 8 ounces
Beef Bone Broth – 1 Cup
Salt – 0.5 tablespoons
Pepper – 0.25 tablespoon
Oregano – to taste
Paprika – to taste
Cayenne – to taste
Chili Powder – to taste
[OPTIONAL] White Rice – 1 to 3 ounces
Cooking Directions:
- Place a cast iron or pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium.
- Chop sweet potatoes, red bell peppers, and zucchini into 1/4 inch pieces. You can adjust the size of your chopped vegetables to your preference.
- Scale your vegetables if you are tracking your food intake.
- Put beef tallow into cast iron or pan and allow the tallow to come to temperature for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Place vegetables into the pan or cast iron and spread out.
- Scale your ground elk so it is ready to add when needed.
- 5 – 7 minutes after you add your vegetables they should be starting to brown.
- Move the vegetables to one half of the pan and add your ground elk to the unused part of the pan or cast iron.
- Use a utensil to chop and mash your ground elk so it cooks correctly.
- After 3 – 4 minutes of the ground elk browning, you can now mix the vegetables and ground elk.
- Add seasonings including salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, cayenne, and any other low FODMAP seasonings. Stir in the seasonings with the veggies and ground beef.
- Add beef bone broth.
- [OPTIONAL] Stir in pre-cooked rice to adjust total caloric or carbohydrate intake depending on if you are bulking or cutting weight.
- Stir and allow everything to simmer for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Add to bowl or plate and enjoy!
5 – Monster Mash Slow Cooker [Meal Prep 5 Servings]
Ingredients:
Olive Oil – 1.5 tablespoons
Sweet Potatoes – 27.5 ounces about 3 sweet potatoes
Red Bell Pepper – 5
Zucchini – 35 ounces about 2 zucchinis
Ground Beef – 2.5 pounds
Beef Bone Broth – 5 Cups
Salt – 2 tablespoons
Pepper – 1 tablespoon
Oregano – to taste
Paprika – to taste
Cayenne – to taste
Chili Powder – to taste
[OPTIONAL] White Rice – 5 to 15 ounces
Cooking Directions:
- Turn on the slow cooker to high and add the olive oil.
- [OPTIONAL] Brown meat in a pan or cast iron to add more flavor.
- Add ground beef to the slow cooker.
- Add Vegetables to the slow cooker.
- Add seasonings including salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, cayenne, and any other low FODMAP seasonings. Stir in the seasonings with the veggies and ground beef.
- Add beef bone broth.
- Add the white rice to the slow cooker.
- Stir and allow everything to simmer for 2 – 4 hours on high or around 8 hours on the low setting.
- Add to a bowl or separate into meal prep containers.
- The number of servings is good for 5 meals.
- Eat and enjoy!
6 – Monster Mash Instant Pot [Meal Prep 5 Servings]
Ingredients:
Olive Oil – 1.5 tablespoons
Sweet Potatoes – 27.5 ounces about 3 sweet potatoes
Red Bell Pepper – 5
Zucchini – 35 ounces about 2 zucchinis
Ground Beef – 2.5 pounds
Beef Bone Broth – 5 Cups
Salt – 2 tablespoons
Pepper – 1 tablespoon
Oregano – to taste
Paprika – to taste
Cayenne – to taste
Chili Powder – to taste
[OPTIONAL] White Rice – 5 to 15 ounces
Cooking Directions:
- Turn on the instant pot on the instant pot setting and allow it to preheat; for about 5 minutes.
- [OPTIONAL] Brown meat in a pan or cast iron to add more flavor.
- Add ground beef to the instant pot.
- Add Vegetables to the instant pot.
- Add seasonings including salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, cayenne, and any other low FODMAP seasonings. Stir in the seasonings with the veggies and ground beef.
- Add beef bone broth.
- Add the white rice to the instant pot.
- Stir and allow everything to cook on the instant pot or high-pressure setting for 25 – 30 minutes.
- Add to a bowl or separate into meal prep containers.
- The number of servings is good for 5 meals.
- Eat and enjoy!
If you are still looking for more low FODMAP recipes check out our list of the best cookbooks.
Who Invented Monster Mash
Monster Mash along with the Vertical Diet was created by Dr. Stan Efferding, “The world’s strongest bodybuilder”. He is a retired American professional bodybuilder, powerlifter, and record-setting Strongman competitor.
Efferding equates much of his success to the Vertical Diet, Monster Mash and a great supplement stack.
Efferding has won more than 20 international and national titles in natural (drug-free) bodybuilding and powerlifting competitions.
Final Thoughts: Monster Mash
He attributes a fair amount of his success to the Vertical Diet and specifically his favorite and most prized meal, Monster Mash. Monster Mash is a great meal for those who are looking to bulk up or cut weight. It is a delicious and easy-to-make meal that is sure to please any monster lover’s taste buds!
UNIQUE DIET TYPE
Your comprehensive diet type
5 SIMPLE FOOD RULES
Learn 5 actionable food and lifestyle rules to pin to your fridge
KETO SCORE
Genetic analysis to determine whether a ketogenic diet will work for you
MEAL PLANS
2 week meal plan to help get started with your DNA diet
SLEEP CHRONOTYPE
Learn your best times for work and sleep
So, there you have it! The six best monster mash recipes for the vertical diet. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Do you have any good Monster Mash recipes? Please share them down below in the comments section.
How? I built an entire team, including a personal trainer, nutritionist, psychologist, physical therapist, and sports masseuse.
Having the same team as Hollywood stars allowed me to reach my goals fast and produce insane results.
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