If you’ve spent time on our site, you probably know that we’re quite religious about eating as soon as we can after our daily workout.  After all, the word “hangry” wasn’t coined for nothing—and we’re no stranger to it—if we don’t eat soon after a training session, things can get pretty ugly. 🙂 Lyssie doesn’t get in Tammy’s way; Tammy knows not to get in Lyssie’s!  Since we’re not in the business of making enemies 😉 we don’t waste time before eating. 🙂

It’s not only our mood that takes a hit if we don’t eat soon enough, it only took a few times of waiting too long to eat after a workout (or after a meal for that matter!) to quickly learn that if we wait too long to eat and don’t get enough protein, we end up having a gnawing feeling in our stomachs for the rest of the day and we just can’t seem to feel satisfied, no matter how soon we eat our next meal.  Plus, as registered dietitians, we know about the importance of getting enough protein at each meal when it comes to satisfaction and we’re also well aware of the importance of eating within 30 minutes after an exercise session (particularly if it’s intense) to take advantage of the time when the body is most receptive to refueling its’ muscles.  Getting adequate protein is the tougher of the two, especially if you’re on the go or don’t want a protein-rich food to go bad or get you sick (chicken, fish and dairy products like yogurt, cheese and eggs can’t be out of the fridge for more than a few hours before they become not-so-friendly to eat for several reasons!).  For many of our clients (and for us too!) a Greek yogurt is an easy go-to option for protein, but frequently we want something else– and so do our clients—let’s face it, yogurt just ain’t staying fresh and safe in a gym bag all day! 😉

 

A few recipes you may like:

Microwave Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Green Warrior Weight Loss Smoothie

Baked Apple

Cucumber Blueberry Water Flush

Lemon Ginger Turmeric Tea “Detox”

Lemon Ginger Detox drink and  Vitamin C Infused “Detox” Water)

So, when Vital Whey sent us a sample of their protein powder we were excited to see what it was like—we had heard it was amazing and just the way we like it since it’s made from cows that are grass-fed and graze year-round on pastures.  It’s GMO-free, hormone free, and pesticide and chemical free! Totally our jam! Hallelujah!

The container we received from Vital Whey was their plain (unflavored) protein powder and these two veggie-loving RDs, each with our own killer sweet tooth had never really played around with an unflavored protein so admittedly, we we’re a little concerned that with our sweet tooth, we wouldn’t really like it.

Nervously, we did “the test” first—you know—the one you do when you like to consider yourself brave 😉 — you wet your finger, dip it in a little spoon of protein powder and put your finger to your tongue…

What we tasted was a light, pleasant-tasting flavor that we enjoyed!  Unsweetened, plain! Who knew?! 🙂 And we started creating a smoothie—and it blended into a creamy deliciousness that we LOVE!

We’re always creating simple, easy on-the-go smoothies, and with this plain, unflavored Vital Whey protein powder (85 calories and 16 grams of protein per scoop!) we’ve found our new go-to, and neither our taste buds, our tummies or our bodies could be happier! 🙂

Purple Power Protein Smoothie

Makes 1 serving (about 16 ounces)

 

Ingredients

1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
3/4 cup water
1 scoop Vital Whey unflavored protein powder
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
½ medium frozen very ripe banana (freeze once brown spots)
2 medium dates (or prunes), pitted
½ cup ice
Dash of cinnamon, optional
½-inch ginger, peeled, optional

Directions: Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Makes one 16-ounce serving.

Nutrition facts per serving: 217 calories, 2 grams fat, 1 g saturated fat, 18 grams protein,  34 grams carbohydrate, 5 g fiber,  76 mg sodium

We’ve proudly partnered with Vital Whey for this sponsored post.