Smoothies are great because they are an easy and fast way to get tons of nutrients in a glass. It’s a good way to start the day and a great recovery snack after a hard workout. Furthermore, it helps bring the body temperature down after training in a warm environment.
Also, you can also change your recipe and have a new smoothie everyday. However, most smoothies contain the same basic ingredients:
- Milk or plant milk (almond milk, coconut milk…)
- Protein powder (whey or vegan powder, such as hemp powder)
- Greens (kale, spinach…)
- Bananas
- Other fruits (berries, mango, apple…)
- Nuts or seeds (hemp seed, chia seed, almond butter…)
- Ice
If you want to “superfood” your smoothie, you should add maca powder. It is a plant from Bolivia and Peru and it was highly valued by the Incan empire. It is rich in vitamins, including vitamins B1, B2, C, D and E and it is a good source of iron, potassium, copper, magnesium, selenium, phosphorous and calcium. Maca root is also a source of fiber, protein, fatty acids and alkaloids. Maca powder has an earthy and nutty taste. Here’s a chocolate and maca smoothie recipe:
Chocolate and maca smoothie
- 2 bananas
- 1 handful of kale or spinach
- 1 cup of almond milk
- ½ tablespoon of macca powder
- 1 tablespoon of raw cacao powder
- Dates or maple sugar (if you want a sweeter smoothie)
To “superfood” your smoothie you can also add beets. Studies show that beets help reduce the amount of oxygen consume when exercising and hence improve performance. This is due to the presence of nitrates in the beets. If you have a good blender you can add a whole and raw beet or you can also use beet juice or beet powder. Beets taste great when combined with berries like strawberries and raspberries. Here’s a beet and strawberry smoothie recipe:
Beet and strawberry smoothie
- 1 peeled beet or ½ cup of beet juice or 1 scoop of beet powder
- 1 cup of fresh or frozen strawberries
- 1 handful of kale or spinach
- 1 apple
- 1 cup of water
Here are the best smoothie recipes of some of the best triathletes:
Jan Frodeno
Banana
protein powder
raw milk
peanut butter
maca powder
Gwen Jorgensen
frozen fruit
peanut butter
yogurt
almond milk
honey
Helle Frederiksen
Banana
Strawberries
Mango
Pineapple
Papaya
Almond Milk
Cinnamon
Caroline Steffen
Carrots
Celery
Ginger
Beetroot
Cucumber
Paula Findlay
Frozen banana
Blueberries
Greek yogurt
Almond milk
Whey protein
Giant handful of spinach
