Want to lose fat? Gain muscle? Perform optimally? Nail down your nutrition. A critical component of that is post-workout nutrition. Post-workout nutrition includes what’s taken in towards the end of and immediately after workouts.
Exercise is essentially controlled acute inflammation: We increase body temperature, blood flow, break down tissues, and use up energy stores. This smoothie is designed to refill energy stores, mediate inflammation, and speed up the recovery process. The Rainbow Berry Smoothie is scalable, provides appropriate proportions of nutrients, along with numerous vitamins, and minerals. Unless it’s tough for you to maintain/gain weight, it should only be used post-workout, not as a stand alone meal.
Ingredients:
(Carb/Protein/Fat…calories)
- 6 oz. Water
- 1/4 cup Blueberries (5/1/0 22cal)
- 2-3 leaves Rainbow Chard (5/3/0 23cal)
- 6 slices (approx. 1 cup) Mango (28/1/0 107cal)
- 1/4 cup Flax Seed (8/5/12 148cal)
- 1 scoop Protein Powder (I use Optimum Nutrition’s Gold Standard 100% Casein) (3/24/1 120cal)
- 8 oz. Unsweetened Almond Milk (2/1/3 40cal)
- 1 tsp. Ginger (0/0/0 2cal)
Micro/macronutrient notes are listed below. The smoothie can be scaled for specific goals in the following manner:
Weight Loss-Cut the amount of mango, flax, and protein powder in half.
Weight gain-Add 1-2 servings of nut butter or avocado.
Maintenance-but you are a small, large, or very active individual: Scale using the adjustments listed above to reduce/increase calorie content accordingly
Nutrient Totals:
- Calories: 462
- Carbohydrates: 47 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Fat: 16g
Micronutrient Notables:
Mango
High in Vitamin C, A, B6, Fiber
Blueberries
High in Vitamin C, K, Manganese
Rainbow Chard
High in Vitamins A, E, C, and K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Fiber, Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Copper, Potassium
Flax Seed
Provides Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Protein, Fiber, and High in Vitamin B1, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Selenium
Ginger Root
Provides anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties