Following on from our last post on what to eat before you work out, we have put together some ideas on the kinds of food to eat after your workout is completed. Whilst it’s tempting to reward yourself with a piece of chocolate cake or a big bag of crisps, you’ll be doing yourself a disfavour in doing so. Unlike before, your body now needs food that will quickly provide it with nutrients that help it to recover and promote muscle growth.
Depending on what your goal is you will need to eat within 15 to 45 minutes of working out so that your body is able to absorb as much of the protein and carbohydrates as possible. A protein based smoothie can be a great way to give your body what it needs fast, a simple recipe would be natural pea protein powder combined with raspberries, oats, almond milk and spinach. Whilst these are perfect to grab as soon as you finish exercising, they aren’t the most satisfying way to give your body what it needs.
For something a little more fulfilling an omelette is a great post workout meal due to the high levels of protein content and can be packed full of vegetables like broccoli and peppers to give an antioxidant boost. A simple tuna sandwich on fresh wholemeal/buckwheat bread is a great and simple way to make sure you are giving your body a combination of protein and complex carbohydrates, or if tuna isn’t your thing switch it for turkey instead. Greek yoghurt is more protein packed than regular yoghurt with lots of good bacteria too to aid digestion, pair it with some blueberries, as they are rich in antioxidants and you have a super nutritious recovery snack.
If you’re after something bigger, such as your lunch time or evening meal, choose chicken or salmon, which also helps reduce inflammation, and pair it with sweet potato as the carbohydrates in it aids recovery of glycogen levels which become depleted during exercise. Alternatively, you could create a vegetable dense stir-fry with the chicken and can swap up the types of vegetables depending on what you fancy or have in the fridge.
