Build your post-training smoothie

Build your post-training smoothie with our Her Trails resident nutritionist, Thea Jayne (@theajaynenutrition)

Smoothies make an ideal post training meal as they are portable, endlessly customisable and easily digestible. It’s sometimes tricky to know WHAT to put into a post training smoothie. You might have questions like: “How much is too much fruit?” Or, “do I need to add protein?” These are important questions as there’s nothing more powerful than knowing you’re fuelling your body with what it needs.

A post training smoothie needs to provide a mix of protein and carbs, with the addition of good fats to keep you full. Women recover faster by consuming 30g of protein within 30 minutes of a hard workout. If you don’t get enough recovery fuel, you can risk putting your body in a catabolic (AKA breakdown) state and potentially stall recovery. Protein and carbs work together like magic to increase your glycogen storage rate and can help to reduce inflammation caused by exercise. Here’s a tasty recipe for Thea’s Creamy Banana Smoothie – it not only provides a balance of protein and carbs, but healthy fats like chia, avo and nut butters help to boost hormone health and control appetite. Spoiler alert – there’s a sneaky serve of veg in there too!

CREAMY BANANA SMOOTHIE

INGREDIENTS (serves 1)

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ tablespoon psyllium husks
• 1 serve vanilla protein powder
• 2 handfuls spinach leaves
• ¼ avocado
• 1 tablespoon almond butter (or nut butter of choice)
• 1 frozen banana