So you’ve spent an hour working out to get fitter on the bike. Or you’ve just finished a long ride and really made those legs work. And you just know you’re going to feel it tomorrow.
That muscle ache is a good sign that you’ve pushed yourself and your muscles. But what do you do now? You’re probably hungry at this stage. But instead of plowing into the first thing you find in your cupboard, or grabbing a big take away, why not help your muscles recover and grow making the most of all that effort you’ve just put in?
Enter the homemade protein smoothie. Lots of protein to help rebuild those muscles, and plenty of carbs to help satisfy that hunger.
This recipe is for a relatively simple and easy to make smoothie that is one of my gotos immediately after a workout. It uses only a small number of ingredients which I tend to have in my cupboards most of the time. Simply whack all the ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth.
It is also very versatile and makes a great base for what ever flavour variation you prefer. Swap out the chocolate for some frozen berries for example.
I use milk in this recipe to aid with the consistency, but you could use a low fat or Greek yoghurt if you prefer. You could also use a nut or oat milk if you want to avoid dairy products.
The 100% peanut butter is simply one from Aldi, and can be substituted by any peanut butter you have available. I prefer the 100%, personally, because it has no added sugar and contains the most protein for your buck.
If I really want to boost my protein intake, I’ll also add some vanilla flavoured protein powder, usually half a scoop to keep an easier to drink consistency, but that’s a personal preference.
If you want to get really technical and need to measure your daily protein requirements based on activity, Fitness Volt have a very useful protein intake calculator.
This article was originally published in 2019
