April Smoothie Challenge Week 1: Perfect Recovery Smoothies

Thanks for joining us for the April Smoothie Challenge! We’re excited to kick off Week 1 with you guys.

If you missed our first post where introduced our April Smoothie Challenge, check it out here. Then, go ahead and join our Facebook group where we’ll be sharing all our recipes and fun ideas to make tasty and healthy smoothies throughout the month of April.

We have a special theme for each week of the April Smoothie Challenge. The theme for the Week 1 is Perfect Recovery Smoothies. 

Week 1: Perfect Recovery Smoothies

As athletes, we’re always being active and working out, and as a result have to pay special attention to our recovery. Eating a good, nutrient-rich meal soon after our workout is an important part of it.

HIIT workouts may temporarily suppress appetite, so some of you may not feel too hungry right after finishing. In that case, eating a large meal can be difficult, but drinking a smoothie should be much easier. Especially on a hot day, nothing tastes better than a chilled glass of a delicious smoothie.

Ideally, a post workout meal should have both carbohydrates and protein in it. The same is true for smoothies if you’re treating it as your post-workout snack. Fruit and veggies give these smoothies muscle-building carbohydrates, and protein powder, milk, or yogurt are great for adding protein.

Our Favorite Perfect Recovery Smoothies

Here are three post-workout recovery smoothies that we’re loving right now. All recipes are meant for one person.

Strawberry Oatmeal Recovery Shake

Ingredients: 

• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup oats (uncooked)
• 1 serving vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, or other milk
• 4-5 ice cubes (optional)

Directions: 

Blend everything together except the ice. Add in ice one at a time until you reach your desired consistency. If the smoothie seems a little too dry, add a little more milk until you get your perfect smoothie.

Macros:

Calories: 350
Carbohydrates: 54g
Protein: 30g
Fat: 4g
Fiber: 8g

Orange Vanilla Recovery Smoothie

Ingredients: 

• 2 medium oranges or 4-5 smaller mandarin oranges
• 1 small banana (can be frozen)
• 1-2 Medjool dates
• 1 tbsp peanut butter or other nut butter
• 1 tbsp vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 cup coconut milk, other nut milk or regular milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3-4 ice cubes (optional)

Directions: 

Peel the orange and separate into segments. If your oranges have a lot of seeds, you want to remove them. Slice the banana and chop the dates into small pieces. Put the fruits, nut butter, protein powder, coconut milk and vanilla extract in your blender and blend until smooth. If you use ice, add that last.

Macros:

Calories: 420
Carbohydrates: 77g
Protein: 14g
Fat: 10g
Fiber: 11g

Strawberry Maca Recovery Smoothie

Ingredients: 

• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 cup strawberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1-2 tsp maca powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Small handful ice cubes

Macros:

Calories: 300
Carbohydrates: 44g
Protein: 29g
Fat: 4g
Fiber: 8g

Feel free to adjust the ingredients of these smoothies to meet your own taste buds or macro goals.

We hope you like these smoothies as much as we do! Try these recipes out and share your favorite recovery smoothie recipes in our Facebook group throughout the next week.

The post April Smoothie Challenge Week 1: Perfect Recovery Smoothies appeared first on 12 Minute Athlete.

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