When I was a young bodybuilder there was no information available for bodybuilders, or athletes, on diet or nutrition. The only diets we had access to came in glossy magazine from America, and even then I do not ever remember reading any nutrition advice better than "Buy Weight Gain 3000 Now".

At school we had mandatory "Home Economics" education as part of the curriculum. In short cooking classes. We were taught to bake a cake, I think we did a simple steak and 3 vegie meal and maybe some homemade cookies and that was about it.

So when I moved out of home I knew next to nothing about cooking that did not involve a BBQ, a grill plate, or a boiling pot of water with a few vegetables thrown in. And to be honest that was about all we ate at home until I moved out - a pretty balanced and nutritious upbringing.

When I first left home I ate scrambled eggs and instant oats with milk and sugar almost every meal until I puked at the sight. Literally. I threw up after forcing down the first mouthful or two.

It was time to learn cooking.

If I had signed up to a cooking coarse I would have been labeled a "poofter", Australian slang that means acting like a girl. Too much for my young male ego to handle...

So in short i had to teach it all to myself.

Over the years and in through my travels I watched and learned and tried and failed and got better. Spoke to Chefs that I know and learned and experimented and eventually I was labelled a good cook. The worst thing is that until I moved to Thailand I was a better cook than every girlfriend I ever had, that wasn't too bad though as I was the cook she had to wash up the dishes, and as far as I was concerned it was "God's job" to dry them. Leaving me free to do whatever time waster I was involved in at the time.

Here I now give you a bunch of simple recipes so you too can amaze your friends, trick your girlfriend in cleaning up, but most importantly can eat your 8 meals a day without puking from boredom.