Banana Blueberry Smoothie

This banana blueberry smoothie is a great post workout smoothie recipe. Made with banana, blueberries, and almond butter, it’s antioxidant rich, and helps replenish and restore your muscles to expedite recovery.

If you’ve been following me for some time I’ve been pretty vocal about smoothies. You can read about it here for a full rant, I mean explanation. So why on Earth am I showing you a smoothie recipe?? I believe food can be functional and have a purpose to literally serve as fuel. I also believe that food can be so much more than just fuel, but that’s a topic for another day. Back to smoothies.

This summer heat & humidity has been brutal. And I mean brutal! I’m not sure how I trained for a 1/2 marathon last summer. Equally as crazy? Painting my house in the summer. Yep, you heard that right! In the middle of renovations (see below) and painting the house is just one of the things that I’ve been doing. Not the brightest idea to do in the summer in Miami. But, painting my house vs having someone do it for me was just one way I was able to save thousands.

Enter this banana blueberry smoothie for not only a post-run recovery but also a post-painting recovery! There’s something about the heat and hydration and this smoothie is what I’m able to do vs eat sometimes. Give me an hour or so after this and I’m ready for a meal, but rather than wait to ‘recover’ this liquid serves as my fuel – see, serves a purpose. If I’m not too parched I will eat a meal, but sometimes this is just what the dietitian ordered! (It is not my everyday breakfast. See previous discussion as to why not).

4 Reasons This Post Workout Smoothie Is Great for Runners

• Blueberries help recover from a workout or painting a house. In this study blueberries were found to improve exercise-induced inflammation and oxidative stress. In other words, blueberries are a great fruit to include post-exercise to help expedite recovery.
• Additionally, blueberries are packed with antioxidants and flavonoids, as well as potassium and vitamin C. It’s sometimes why blueberries are referred to as a ‘superfood’, they’re packed with SO much goodness. Blueberries have been shown to lower your risk of heart disease and cancer and are also anti-inflammatory. I’m not one to highlight any one fruit, but blueberries are definitely one to remember to include in your line-up!
• I used cow’s milk as it not only provides carbohydrates from the natural sugar, lactose, but also provides protein. If you are using an alternative milk in this recipe, make sure it’s one that does have carbs (as many do not) and protein (many do not). And that’s why not all smoothies are created equal.
• It provides the perfect 4:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein, with a hefty dose of antioxidants. I added 1/2 a small banana and the 1/2 cup blueberries. You can add more blueberries less banana if you prefer, although that would change the ratio of 4:1 carbs to protein. The key is that these need to be frozen to give a good consistency to the smoothie.

What You Need For This Banana Blueberry Smoothie

• Frozen or Fresh Blueberries
• Frozen Banana, sliced
• Almond Butter
• Skim Milk
• Vanilla

How To Make This Banana Blueberry Smoothie

Simply throw all the ingredients into the blender. I used both the frozen blueberries and banana and they add just the right amount of thickness level with the amount of liquid I added. Again, adjusting and adding more milk to make it thinner will adjust the carb/protein ratio and that’s okay. Blend. Serve and enjoy. That’s it!

LOOKING FOR OTHER IDEAS FOR BREAKFAST?

• Overnight Oats
• Hard-Boiled Eggs
• Pancakes
• French Toast

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