There
are three times a day I am the most tired: just when I wake up (obviously),
2:00 in the afternoon, and when I get home after working out.
Eggs in the morning occasionally make me nauseated, which is
actually quite common, so trying to find a quick, energy-boosting alternative
can be critical. I have bad acid reflux if I drink too much coffee on an empty
stomach, not including getting jittery and occasionally sweaty. Therefore,
finding a fast alternative to cooking and brewing can be critical for my starting my day out right.
If I do get a good breakfast in with a bold, dark coffee, I often
push lunch back and hit a wall around one or two in the afternoon. I need a
pick me up without imbibing coffee, high-sugar protein bars or
soda. I’ve been staring at a computer monitor for about six hours straight. At
this point, I start feeling drained and unfocused.
After a solid hour-long swim or a fitness class, I feel pretty
worn out by about 6:00 p.m. sometimes I’m so pooped I can’t lift a spatula to
save my life, which is odd because the television remote is heavier and I still
use that. Maybe I’m just lazy and don’t feel like cooking.
Directions:
For the sake of your blender, and to get a smoother beverage, add
the ingredients in the order listed.
Notes on Ingredients:
- I use frozen fruits and berries
because it gives the smoothie more body and keeps it cold. That, and it's
WAY cheaper. I typically get my frozen fruit at Giant. To use
fresh fruit, you can pour the mix over ice or blend ice in first.
- In every recipe, the protein
powder is optional. I have made and enjoyed each of these recipes with and
without various protein shake mixes. However, protein mix makes the smoothie much more filling.
- Milk can be substituted for soy
or almond milk, but I have not tried rice milk yet. Let me know if you do
and how it tastes.
- I try not to have smoothies with
blueberries before/during work, because the blueberry skin gets easily
caught in my teeth.
- If you experience rancid gas after one of these smoothies, you may be adding too much protein powder. Cut it back to half a scoop if you're feeling like Pumba, clearing the savanna after every meal. Adversely, you can add more than one scoop for after an intensive workout.
Servings: This gives me good 24 ounces of smoothie. For a lunch
replacement, it’s perfect. For dinner, it’s a bit much at times. To reduce the
serving size, decrease the yogurt to ½ cup and the milk to ¾ cup.
- 1 cup milk
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- 1 cup low-fat strawberry yogurt
- 1 banana
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- ½ cup frozen blueberries
Servings: This makes about a 20-ounce drink.
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup orange juice
- 1 scoop of vanilla or chocolate protein powder
- 1 cup plain or vanilla low-fat
yogurt
- 1 banana
- ½ cup frozen pineapple
- ½ cup frozen mango
Afternoon Energizer1
Servings: This makes about a 16-ounce beverage. For more substance, toss in a banana.
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup plain or vanilla low-fat yogurt
- 1 cup of frozen mixed berries - strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries
- ⅓ cup frozen pineapple
- ⅓ cup frozen mango
Eye Twitcher
Servings: This makes about a 20-ounce drink. This is obviously the least healthy beverage of my recipes. It makes for a good weekend dessert and a fantastic hangover cure. Just drink plenty of water with this if you're using it for the latter.
- 1 cup milk
- 2 shots of cold espresso2 or 1 cup cold coffee
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 2 scoops chocolate ice cream (optional)
Notes:
1 You can add 1 scoop of vanilla protein mix to Afternoon Energizer to make a
different flavored Classic smoothie.
2 For espresso, I use the espresso shots you can pick up for free at Rutters and WaWa.
Related
Links: Cutting
Carbs
