After a long run, there is nothing I want more than a nice, cold, fruity smoothie. And so I have diligently mapped out every juice smoothie joint in a ten-mile radius from every trail I run in OC.
After several months of slowly going financially bankrupt due to handing over copious sums of hard-earned money in exchange for 16-oz hits of frozen fruity bliss, I decided to attempt to make my own smoothies at home. And perhaps still be able to send my kids to college.
So being the masterful innovator that no one has ever said I am – I took a long look at all of the things I consumed during the day for recovery and hydration and decided to blend them all together.
Because practicality, yo.
And to my astonishment – it tastes f@!#)ing amazing.
The Recipe:
- 1 container greek yogurt (flavor by pref – I like Mango)
- 1/2 frozen banana
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 16oz glass filled loosely with ice, then water to fill in rest of glass
- 1 scoop of BCAAs (I use Xtend Watermelon)
- 1 Nuun tablet (Lemon-Lime adds a nice citrus tang)
** optional: scoop of protein powder (unflavored collagen seems to mix best)
Mix it all in a blender and voila! You get branch chain amino acids, you get electrolytes, you get protein, you get glycogen restoration, you get a damn fine super fruity delicious treat, my friend.
So this is my current favorite post-run recovery drink. There’s lots of ways to mix it up and experiment with flavors, fruits and supplements. What’s your favorite recovery drink or treat?