I’m a big advocate of looking at food as fuel. You have to remember that when you eat food, it is not only delicious and satisfying a hunger signal, but it is also doing something in and for your body. One look at how this works is what you eat post workout. When you workout, your body uses glycogen (carbs stored in your body) for energy and protein stored in your muscles. Therefore, after a workout, your body is depleted of glycogen and muscle fibers are broken down. So, we want to restore that, right? Eating something with a little bit of carbs and high protein will meet the needs of your body post workout. Carbs will replenish glycogen and protein will decrease muscle fiber breakdown and increase protein synthesis. That might sound complicated, but it’s only because of all those fancy words. Fueling your body doesn’t have to be a big deal. Let me show you!
Here are a few of my favorite ways of fueling myself well and quickly post workout:
- HARDBOILED EGGS -
Eating them hardboiled allows you to not only do quick prep ahead of time, but also be able to grab that post workout fuel without any effort. Eggs not only give you a great protein source, but also contain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals that may specifically help your body use amino acids (the building blocks of protein) more effectively.
Hands down my favorite eggs are Happy Eggs– the hens are raised right making the eggs nutritionally packed (which is what we are going for, people!). In my opinion, the best way to hard boil eggs is with an instant pot. It takes 3 minutes tops, but really the best part is that these babies peel like a dream. Just pop them in an ice bath right after they are done in the instant pot (using instant release pressure), let them cool down, peel, then store in a glass storage container (I love these). They’ll be ready to grab n’ go!
- PROTEIN SHAKE -
All you need to make this quickly happen is protein powder + milk of choice (I personally love almond or cashew milk) + a shaker bottle.
Here are a few my favorite protein powders:
Ancient Nutrition (Vanilla,Chocolate, and Salted Caramel)
- GREEK YOGURT -
Did you know the average Greek yogurt has 18-20g of protein per 1 cup? Yes, please! EASY protein source. I prefer to get plain Greek yogurt, so I can control the amount of sugar added. Usually a small squirt of raw honey and adding in some berries is perfect amount of sweetness.
Here’s another combo I love and I use as a sweet tooth fix at night:
2/3 cup plain greek yogurt
a squirt raw honey
2 tbsp PB Fit powder or 1 tbsp nut butter
1 tbsp (ish) cacao/cocoa powder
Mix that up with a few chocolate chips.
- PROTEIN PANCAKES -
Just prep a big batch at the beginning of the week and you’ll have them to grab quickly after a workout or even for breakfast! They store great in the fridge throughout the week. You can also make them in “Pancake Bite” form.
Here are my two go-to’s to make them quick + easy:
Birch Benders(optional: add 1 scoop of protein powder)
Kodiak Pancakes(optional: add 1 scoop of protein powder)