It’s nature’s perfect fitness treat.
The hardest part of eating a healthy, balanced diet is accommodating all of the healthiest fruits and vegetables. I don’t care how concerned you are with healthy living, you gotta admit, some veggies just taste like dirt. It is for this reason that I am eternally thankful for the invention of the high-powered blender. Whoever was the first person to think of blending up a bunch of produce with milk or yogurt or whatever and drinking it should be honored in the history books until the end of history as we know it.
Smoothies are the ultimate post-workout fitness treat. Not only are they cool and refreshing, but they’re chock full of healthy carbs from lush fruits to restore your energy and clean proteins from veggies to start that muscle-building process in earnest. In fact, studies show that compared to people who do drink a smoothie after a workout, those who don’t take longer to recover their energy and build muscle.
Because smoothies are chock full of fresh produce, they’re also fantastic for your digestion. Nothing gives you that fiber and water you need in bulk like a bushel of fresh fruits and veggies, and nothing gets a bushel of fresh fruits and veggies inside you quicker than a smoothie. Plus, if you add yogurt to the smoothie, it becomes a great probiotic treat, empowering the healthy bacteria in your gut with that probiotic goodness.
One little caveat, though: as convenient as it is to get your produce in smoothie form, you do still need to eat whole fruits and veggies on a regular basis. Blending your produce does make it easier to eat, and you do get lots of nutrition from it, but you don’t get all of it. So make sure to have dinner with a serving of veggies and some fruit for a snack in addition to your post-workout smoothie.
