PROTEIN SMOOTHIES FOR ATHLETES – INGREDIENTS & RECIPES

by | Sep 28, 2017 | Training & Nutrition

Smoothies for Athletes? Only with the Right Ingredients!

High-quality protein powder is just as important to an athlete’s diet as fruit and vegetables are. It’s important to replenish nutrients that are depleted during training. Smoothies are an excellent and fast source of nutrients for your body to absorb post-training. Simply place all the ingredients of your choice into a blender and create delicious smoothies to your taste in a flash. In this blog post, discover all the ingredients you need for a real smoothie for athletes.

Top Ingredients for an Athlete’s Smoothie

Those who are doing sports on a regular basis probably already know the golden nutritional rule: eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Unfortunately, most of us don’t have enough time to grab a piece of fruit or veg five times a day. An excellent solution to this is, of course, nutrient-rich smoothies, packed full of fruit, veg, and many other ingredients. While a big portion of spinach first thing in the morning seems unimaginable, when mixed in a smoothie, it’s hardly noticeable and is exactly what your body needs. By eating fruit and vegetables first thing in the morning, you set yourself up nicely with a healthy diet for an energetic day. When choosing ingredients, almost all fruit and vegetables will go well in a smoothie – just select those which you prefer. Make sure to remove the kernels, pits and stalks first. The most common smoothie ingredients are as follows:

Fruit

  • Bananas
  • Apples
  • Mangos
  • Kiwis
  • Berries, fresh or frozen
  • Oranges
  • Peaches

Vegetables and salad

  • Spinach
  • Green cabbage
  • Broccoli
  • Lettuce
  • Carrot tops
  • Rocket
  • Nettles
  • Cucumber

Liquids

  • Fruit juice (e.g. apple or orange)
  • Milk, plant-based milks (e.g. soya, rice, oat)
  • Yoghurt
  • Water

Optional

  • Protein powder
  • Oats
  • Chia seeds
  • Linseeds
  • Matcha
  • Goji berries
  • Acai berries
  • Linseed oil
  • Ice cubes

Combine whichever flavours you prefer. In summer, ice cubes or frozen berries are a great way to make refreshingly cool smoothies. Green smoothies, in particular, are too warm without some frozen ingredient and therefore, less refreshing. Ideally, you should alter your recipe in accordance with your training goals: if you’re looking to gain more weight, the fruit content should be quite high and you should include some high-quality fats such as avocado, chia seeds or linseeds. For a post-workout smoothie, aim for a high percentage of green – this will help you to regenerate and build muscle.

Protein Powder: Why and When Does it Belong in a Healthy Smoothie?

Generally speaking, everything that is nutritious belongs in a smoothie. You should bear in mind, however, that a high percentage of fruit means a lot of fructose. If you are exercising to lose weight, then you should ensure your smoothies contain a higher percentage of vegetables than fruit in order to keep the fructose content at a minimum. If considering adding protein powder, you must wonder when and why it belongs to a smoothie. The answer to this is quite simple: while endurance athletes remember to include enough carbohydrates in their diet, they often forget to include a sufficient amount of protein for the formulation and regeneration of muscle. Protein sources should never be forgotten and the best time for this is either directly after a workout or as the first meal of the day. The liquid smoothie is ideal for a post-workout meal as it can be digested quickly and easily and requires minimum energy expenditure. They are also a great snack option as they can be prepared in no time at all.

Smoothies are an excellent way to include protein in your diet and can be easily combined with high protein powder. After some strenuous endurance training, the Protein Plus 92%, for example, would be a perfect way to replenish protein stores. Whey isolate is the ideal component for a low-calorie drink after training because it contains neither fat nor sugar and is absorbed very quickly by the body. If you want to ingest a high amount of carbohydrates and protein at the same time, the RECOVERY 2.0 is the one for you. This protein powder contains exclusively high-quality ingredients such as whey protein, oatmeal and natural flavours. Zinc is added in order to strengthen the immune system, and magnesium is added to combat fatigue.

Two Simple Protein Recipes to Try

For a healthy protein smoothie that you can enjoy post-workout, we have two simple recipes for you that you can adapt to your personal taste:

The Green Health Kick

  • 2 bananas
  • 1 tbsp. linseed oil
  • 1 tbsp. protein powder, e.g. the Protein Plus 100% Whey Isolate
  • 150 g spinach
  • 50 g rocket
  • 125 g frozen berries
  • 150 ml soya drink

The Fruity Power Smoothie

  • 1 banana
  • 1 apple
  • 150 g frozen berries
  • 4 tbsp. oats
  • 1 tbsp. protein powder, e.g. the RECOVERY 2.0
  • 150 g low-fat quark
  • 200 ml almond drink
  • 1 glass low-fat milk

With both recipes, simply pack all the ingredients into the blender for 30-60 seconds, until everything is well mixed. Bon appétit!