Post-Workout Smoothie

One of the hidden benefits of exercising in the morning is that it makes me want to eat better the rest of the day.  Why would I want to negate my hard work by eating junk the rest of the day?  This morning, I went to my first spin+boot camp class.  It was a small class, so the instructor could tell if any of us was slacking.  If we didn’t turn up the intensity, he would do it for us.  Ouch.  This is why I go to these kinds of classes: I would never push myself like that on  my own.  After shuffling home and showering, I crafted the smoothie that I had been thinking about during the entire 60 minutes of torture workout.  Keep in mind that I like my smoothies less sweet than many people are used to.  Also, I make them differently depending on what’s in the fridge or what I’m craving.  Today I wanted something smaller than a meal but bigger than a snack, around 250-300 calories.  This one also has a good carb to protein ratio of nearly 4:1, which helps your body recover after a hard workout.

Mango Spinach Smoothie

• 1 cup ice

• 1 cup mango chunks

• 1 small to medium banana*

• 1/4 medium avocado

• 2 cups or 2 handfuls fresh baby spinach leaves

• 1 persian cucumber, chopped

• 2 tsp chia seeds

• 1 tsp fresh mint leaves

• 1/2 cup low-fat greek yogurt

• 1 cup coconut water

Put ingredients in blender in order listed then blitz away.  Divide into 2 glasses and enjoy! Per serving: 278 calories, 8g fat, 9g fiber, 28g sugar, 11g protein, 850mg potassium, 24% RDA calcium, 17% RDA iron

*What is a medium banana? A medium banana is one that’s around 7 inches but less than 8.  A large banana is 8 to 8 3/4 inches, although it’s easier to find much larger bananas.  The calorie difference is 105 vs. 121, but the carbohydrate content can be important for some people.  A medium banana is approximately 27 g carbohydrates, and a large banana (less than 9 inches) has more than 31 g.  For people using carb exchanges, where 15g = 1 carb, a medium banana fits it well with 2 carb exchanges.  The bigger bananas, especially the franken-bananas I see often in the store, will cost you 3 carb exchanges.  A rule of thumb for portioning your bananas is to make sure it isn’t longer than your hand.  That will put you in the small to medium size range.  You’ll get the potassium and fiber benefits of the fruit without overdoing the sugar.