Recover Right with an Ice Cold Smoothie

Ahhh, smoothies!  We’ve moved on from the ready-to-go Jamba days and have put some more thought into delicious ways to refuel, snack, and simply enjoy the power of smoothies.   SOAS team member and Registered Dietician, Beth Shutt, adds an insight of what we can get out of our tasty treats. 

Recipes created by Hailey Manning and Karleen Dirmantas.

Beth suggests to refuel with about 10-20 grams of high quality protein after a good long ride.  If you are using the smoothies as a means of recovery, the key components are protein, carbs and electrolyte replacement. All these smoothies have a protein component with either Greek yogurt, Muscle Milk, or regular milk. The benefit of using yogurt or regular milk is that you will get some good calcium and vitamin D in addition to the protein. The benefit of using something like Muscle Milk is that you get the added electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium, etc...) that you've lost during training. A major plus on all sides!

Karleen’s Chocolate Berry Smoothie

1 “Ready to Drink” Cookies and Cream Muscle Milk

6 Frozen Strawberries (or mixed berries of blue, raspberry, strawberry)

So simple and perfect for recovery! The fruit in the smoothies adds both carbohydrates and electrolytes (most notably potassium) in addition to a lot of other vitamins and minerals and phytonutrients! :) Plus the fruit just makes the drinks taste good.

Karleen’s PB Banana Smoothie with Kale

1 C Almond Milk

6 oz Greek Yogurt

1 T Agave Syrup

1 T Peanut Butter (Or Almond Butter)

1 Frozen Banana

1 Handful of Kale

You could also use spinach or regular milk or soy milk. Adding kale, spinach, etc... is an excellent idea that Beth ALWAYS recommend. Essentially this is an easy way to get in more nutrient packed vegetables without having to taste them! Many people don't like vegetables and have trouble meeting their daily veggie goals so this is a good way to do it. Although the greens may turn your smoothie green, the smoothie still tastes a lot more like fruit than spinach! :)

Hailey’s Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

1/2 C pumpkin puree (not pie filler...full of sugar!)

1 C Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

2 Scoops Muscle Milk Vanilla Light Protein Powder

dash of cinammon

1 frozen banana.

If I am feeling uber healthy, I will add as much spinach as the blender can handle. Regular milk would be OK as well. And you could always do one scoop of protein for a lighter smoothie.

Hailey’s Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie

2 Scoops Muscle Milk Light Chocolate Protein

1 frozen banana

1 C Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

1 C frozen strawberries.

Same as above with the spinach but it rarely happens! Regular milk would be perfect as well but I don't drink it anymore.

Beth also recommends adding ground flaxseed - a great way to get more fiber and healthy fats!

With the summer heat creeping in it’s time to cool down with these delicious creations.  Let us know what you think!