Coffee Banana Recovery Smoothie

I’ve created a masterpiece.

Behold: my favorite post-workout recovery smoothie to date: the coffee banana recovery smoothie.

This popped into my head after a pretty intense workout session: 8 mile tempo run plus teaching an hour of Zumba. I love following my workouts with coffee and/or a banana, and today I thought why not combine them?

What a brilliant concept. Here’s what I used: a frozen banana (I almost always have a few floating around the freezer, usually because they’ve become too ripe to eat plain), 8 ounces of leftover morning coffee (this variety was vanilla nut), 4 ounces of milk, vanilla whey protein powder, and the last-minute surprise element: chia seeds.

Shane has been on a total chia seed kick. He makes awesome chia seed pudding and has been tossing them into kefir smoothies. I decided to hop on the chia seed train.

Chia seeds are an awesome source of Omega-3s. They provide a good deal of fiber and serve as a great aid in the digestion system, forming an almost-gel substance that helps break down carbohydrates.

I started by soaking the chia seeds for 15 minutes in the milk. This helps soften them. Then I added all ingredients into a bowl and mixed with my immersion blender until smooth. It’s important to serve smoothies immediately, as they thicken with time.

This works so well as a workout recovery drink: you have coffee, with benefits like performance boost and depression-fighter, banana with benefits of potassium, protection against muscle cramps and digestion aid, chia seeds for digestion aid and Omega-3s, whey protein powder which serves as an important building block for the body, and milk which adds necessary fat, lactose, and water content (as long as it’s not skim milk).

Fit for Life’s Coffee Banana Recovery Smoothie

Serves: one 12-ounce smoothie

Ingredients
8 ounces coffee of choice, cooled
4 ounces milk (can be regular, almond, coconut – your choice)
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (I use melaleuca brand)
1 banana (preferably frozen. If not, add 4-5 ice cubes to the mix)
1/2 tsp. chia seeds

1. Start by soaking the chia seeds in the milk for 15-20 minutes.
2. Mix coffee and protein powder first. Add the milk/chia seed combination, and the banana (optional ice cubes). Blend well.

Serve immediately.