Post-workout recovery drinks & Justin’s Nut Butters

I almost always drink some sort of recovery drink post-workout. If I’m lifting weights (most of my workouts except Zumba), lots of sources recommend getting some protein in your system the following 30 minutes to help rebuild your muscles. I also like the opportunity to get something into my system as I don’t have much or anything to eat prior to my morning workouts, something I’ve been used to for years and years.

My drinks are usually pretty similar – banana and chocolate seem to be flavors I never get tired of, and my drinks usually have at least one of those, those I’ve often experimented with variations of vanilla or  using greek yogurt as a base.

So I usually mix things up from this list (note that it’s usually never more than 2-3 ingredients per drink):

• protein powder
• peanut flour
• peanut / almond / hazelnut butter
• water
• greek yogurt
• almond milk
• bananas
• peaches/nectarines
• strawberries
• blueberries
• cherries
• spinach / kale leaves
• honey
• cinnamon
• cocoa powder
• hot pepper (only if I’m feeling adventurous)

The “method” is pretty simple: Take a tall plastic container/glass, a wand/stick blender, and your drink ingredients. Blend and drink! In the summer, I use a frozen banana instead of a fresh one for my drinks, which makes an instant “milkshake” with its consistency, with no milk or extra sugar needed. To do this, slice up a banana or two and put them in a Ziploc to freeze. I usually lay the bag flat so that the bananas aren’t in one big clump, and it makes it easier to break them off / separate the right amount later.

The post-workout recovery drink pictured in this post had only two ingredients: frozen banana and Chocolate Hazelnut Butter from Justin’s. I added a little water to thin things out as well. Do you do post-workout recovery drinks? What’s in yours? 

I’ve waxed on about how much I like Justin’s Nut Butters in past posts (Maple Almond Butter is my favorite, with Chocolate Almond a close second), and I was pretty excited when they reached out to send me this care package packed full of their nut butters and their new Chocolate Hazelnut Butter. I’ve already shared some of the contents with people in my coworking office (sorry Automattic colleagues!), but I made sure to keep quite a bit for me. I love the single-serving packets for travel and just squeezing into my mouth. 🙂 Thanks Justin’s!

Have you tried Justin’s nut butters? Do you have a favorite flavor or one you wish they made? I think I’d like to see a cinnamon peanut or almond butter, guys!

Disclosure: I received the Justin’s nut butters from the company, but I didn’t promise a post in exchange for them, and I wasn’t compensated in any way to write this post. All my words and opinions are mine.