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Blueberry, Banana + Almond Protein Shake // Pre- and post-workout fuel

Blueberry, banana, and almond protein shake

 

Your eyes do not deceive you. This is indeed an actual post! It’s been what, maybe 5 months since my last entry? Good lord. Sorry about that. It’s just that, well…I’ve been caught up in a few things lately. For one, my personal chef business got busier so that has me cooking a lot more which leaves me tired a lot more and lazier to cook at home a lot more. Which is kinda funny because my other thing I picked up is this thing called the gym? So, even though I’ve felt lazy to cook, I’ve felt all sorts of energy to kick my own ass working out. Makes total sense, right?

By now I’m sure you know me well enough that you just nod your head and go along with it. 🙂  Thank you for that.

Another fun thing that happened is that Jason and I ran our first 5k race!

 

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It was SUCH an awesome experience and I encourage everyone to do it at least once– although I bet if you do it once, you’re gonna wanna do it again. This running thing, it’s a whole lot of addiction and the “runner’s high” is definitely no joke. You feel on top of the world after running, for reals.

(By the way, I can’t believe I’ve been away from blogging for so long. Now that I’m writing again, it feels so damn good! I’ve missed this. And YOU! I’ve missed YOU!!)

So, I’m pretty excited about this here protein shake. I’ve been all about protein shakes lately since putting fitness on the forefront. I can’t tell you how many crazy combinations I’ve made in the last few months but I thought I’d at least start with this one. I’ll get better about posting the recipes for the others soon.

I know blueberries aren’t in season, yada yada yada, but I adore blueberries, and if you use a good bag of the frozen kind (or have your own stash of blueberries that you’ve frozen from this past summer, if you do, high five to you domestic diva) they’ll be just fine since they usually pick them at high season. Blueberries are so incredibly good for you– they have the most antioxidants out of any fruit or vegetable, are high in vitamin C, and have a low glycemic index.

I like stacking my protein shakes with extra stuff to supplement my workouts but feel free to not include them if a.) you’re not as crazy as me and/or b.) you just don’t have them or want to take them. This recipe includes BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acid) powder to help my muscles recover after exercise and maca powder, a root vegetable grown in the Peruvian Andes that has been known to enhance strength and endurance. The maca powder doesn’t have much of a taste, if anything it’s sorta nutty (that’s the likely answer to everything these days right? “It tastes nutty.”). And the BCAA powder is unflavored, albeit a bit chalky but blends well in the protein shake.

I’ve also included an option to add a teaspoon of coconut palm nectar if you like things sweeter but it totally doesn’t need it (unless your fruit is particularly un-sweet that day).

 

Blueberry, Banana + Almond Protein Shake

 

Makes 2- 12 ounce servings (I usually drink half of it before working out and the other half afterwards)

 

8 ounces unsweetened vanilla almond milk

3/4 cup frozen blueberries

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I like 2%)

5 ice cubes

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use this one from Optimum Nutrition)

1 scoop BCAA powder, optional (I use this one from GNC)

1 tablespoon maca powder, optional

1 teaspoon coconut palm nectar, optional if you would like extra sweetness

 

// Put everything in the blender and give it a whir until smooth. Drink!

 

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