This recovery smoothie helps replenish your body with tons of vitamins & minerals, fluid, protein, and fiber
So I am really trying to enjoy running. I am getting there, but it is definitely taking some patience.
I have a training plan that I made for myself using a few different ones I found online based on my schedule and current running level.
Currently, I am running three days a week and do barre3 5 days a week plus some light walking on my rest days.
Until I really start loving my runs, I have been looking for some external motivators to help me stick with my training plan. I found an article for how to make running a habit, and one of the suggestions was to reward yourself immediately after a run.
I like to reward myself with a cold, refreshing, delicious smoothie. This Recovery Smoothie is my new favorite. It has strawberries, pineapple, banana, and coconut water, plus yogurt for protein.
I typically add spinach but I was out of fresh spinach today, so my smoothie was without it. I love adding the spinach because it gives it extra nutrients plus it counts towards my servings of daily veggies {I try to eat at least 3-5 vegetables per day}.
I have a smoothie almost everyday, and I love to pack them with fruit. I have received comments before that my smoothie had too much fruit {it has about 2 to 3 servings which is not too much in my opinion!} or too many carbs or whatever. However, I typically don't use the nutrition facts on things I make myself to guide my daily intake. I focus on eating lots of veggies {at least 3 to 5 servings} and a moderate amount of fruit {2 to 4 servings} everyday. Some days I do, some days it's a little off. I don't stress about that.
I believe that balance is so much more important than making sure I get 45% carbohydrates, 25% protein, and 30% fat or whatever ratio you deem healthy. That takes all the fun out of eating and I believe it is certainly ok, encouraged even, to enjoy your food. I do eat to fuel my body, but I try to pick high quality food that I enjoy eating to fuel my body.
That's just my personal philosophy, so the nutrition facts for this smoothie don't phase me. Yes there are 55 grams of carbohydrates, but not a single gram is from added sugar. Fruit and yogurt have naturally occurring sugars in them that your body uses for energy. Plus, your body needs carbohydrates to fuel your body {carbohydrates are your body's preferred energy source}.
There is 20 grams of protein in the smoothie to help replenish my body and keep me full for a few hours. I typically exercise in the afternoon, so I make my smoothie my afternoon snack. It holds me over until dinnertime most days {occasionally, I'll grab a handful of nuts to eat with my smoothie if I had a small lunch or I'm incredibly hungry}.
I like to use frozen fruit because it makes it extra cold and nice when you get home from exercising. I usually buy frozen strawberries and other berries; then I will chop up pineapple or use canned pineapple and freeze that. I also freeze peeled bananas that I've broken into thirds. I don't like a ton of banana but just a little.
I dubbed this smoothie a recovery smoothie because it has protein and healthy carbs, plus it's chock full of vitamins and minerals your body needs including potassium, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and calcium. Also, there is a lot of fluid in there to help rehydrate you. Oh and on the off chance that you have a little too much fun the night before, this smoothie is great for those trying to recover from a long night out 😉
Recovery Smoothie
Ingredients
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt 6 oz.
- 1 cup cold water 8 oz.
- ½ cup coconut water 4 oz.
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- ½ cup frozen pineapple
- ½ banana {frozen}
- 1 cup spinach optional
Instructions
- Throw all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Add additional water or coconut water if needed. Enjoy immediately.
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