A post-workout smoothie can provide all the nutrients you need to refuel, but timing is everything. Yes! You should always eat within an half an hour after your workout in order to rebuild your glycogen stores and get your body the means it needs to repair muscle tissue. - Eating a regular meal soon after the gym? Then of course, skip the smoothie.
- If you still have several hours to go until your next meal? Of course, blend up a smoothie with both protein (by adding your favourite whey) and carbohydrate sources and you are golden!
Beside, remember to avoid smoothies with added sugars if you are buying one from the shop ;) As real fruit is all you need for a sweet treat. Fruit is a good option to go when preparing smoothie yourself, beside it will help sweeten your smoothie. However, you you will need protein and fat to keep your blood sugar from spiking too. I suggest you add,
- Greek yogurt
- Kefir
- Chia seeds
- Almond butter, avocado or coconut oil (for the fat, protein combo)
Also (as mentioned above) protein powders are also a great booster if you had a really tough workout or your diet is lacking in protein ;) And if you want even more of a nutritional punch, then toss in a handful of spinach or kale and trust me, you will not even be able to taste them once everything is blended ;). Win win!
To me, preparing smoothies at home is the best way to get nutritional smoothie into my blood running, beside I know exactly what food I love and what my body is craving for ;). Smoothies at home are so easy to make and it only takes you couple of minutes if you know exactly what are you doing ;) All you need to do - is to be prepared and have bunch of variety of ingredients at home (fresh veggies, fresh fruit, daires, nuts, seeds, etc.)
Here I share of of my 3 favourite smoothies with you.
1. Cherry pie smoothie
- 1/2 cup of frozen or fresh cherries
- 1 cup of natural yogurt
- 1 spoon of cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons of oats
- Vanilla protein whey (if you have just finished with your workout. I also add glutamine :))
- 4 ice cubes (if using fresh cherries)
- I love to add home-made granola on top ;)
Mix it all together (in a blender)an serve straight away ;)
2. Coconut Cocoa Smoothie
- 6 oz plain low-fat kefir
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/2 frozen banana
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 ice cubes (if you are using a fresh banana, add in two extra ice cubes)
- Add protein powder if you have just finished your workout ;)
Mix it all together (in a blender)an serve straight away ;)
3. Green chia seeds smoothie
- 4 oz low fat plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1/2 banana
- 1 handful fresh spinach
- 1 tablespoon Chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon good quality honey or agave
- 4 ice cubes (if using all fresh fruit)
Mix it all together (in a blender)an serve straight away ;)
Remember not to skip smoothie after each workout to refuel your body and get nutrients back in the system running. Hope you like my smoothie ideas, you are more than welcome to mix your own. Possibilities here are endless ;)
Until next time, S.
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