Healthy Mango Recovery Milkshake (Vegan)
If you’re looking for a healthy way to replenish your body after your workout, take a look at how you’re fueling it. According to Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Nutritional Practitioner Sarah Britton, what we choose to eat post-workout is just as crucial as what we eat pre-workout: “Much like pre-workout foods, post-workout food should be easy to digest so that your body can really focus on recovery. And because we’re really hungry after we work out, making something simple and easy is definitely key.” Enter her fast and delicious mango recovery milkshake: it’s full of heart-healthy fats and plenty of protein to keep you from crashing after a sweaty session on your mat.
THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE MANGO MILKSHAKE INGREDIENTS
Mango, Dates, and Oats will help replenish your glycogen stores. Glycogen is the fuel contained in our muscles and it’s really what we burn when we’re working out, so it’s important to put that energy back in.
Cashew Nuts, Chia Seeds, and Protein Powder aid in protein synthesis and help reduce inflammation.
Coconut Milk, Chia Seeds, and homemade Nut Milk provide healthy fats and help metabolize fat as well.
Turmeric is a super powerful anti-inflammatory that offers a natural alternative to taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatories.
MANGO RECOVERY MILKSHAKE RECIPE
Ingredients:
1 cup of coconut milk
¼ cup of rolled oats (soaked overnight and rinsed)
¼ cup of raw cashews (soaked overnight and rinsed)
1 small, ripe mango
1 tsp. ground turmeric
2 medjool dates (pitted)
1 tbsp. chia seeds
1-2 scoops plant-based protein powder
A small chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
Water or nut milk as needed
Directions:
Cut the mango open into small chunks and put it into the blender.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and blend until incorporated.
Tips:
Britton suggests soaking the oats and cashews the night before to “break down phytic acid that can prevent proper absorption of minerals in the digestive tract.” She adds, “When you’re soaking grains you need a bit of an acidic medium, and when you’re soaking nuts you need a bit of salt.”
When cutting the mango, try cutting it vertically on both sides, then scoring it into small chunks and opening it into the blender.
Be sure to choose a ripe mango. According to Britton, “When you eat non-ripe fruit, the sugars haven’t fully developed yet and it’s really hard for our bodies to digest.”
Try peeling the ginger with a spoon instead of a knife: “It gets into all of the nooks and crannies, and because the nutrients in ginger are very close to the skin, if you’re peeling it off this way you won’t be missing out on any of those nutrients.”
If you need to add more liquid to your mixture, add in some additional nut milk or water.
Just hit the gym? Mix up your mango shake and tune in to our Post-Workout Recovery Playlist on Alo Moves. Get started with a free 14-day trial to Alo Moves.
RECIPE COURTESY OF SARAH BRITTON:
Sarah Britton (BFA, CNP) is a Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Nutritional Practitioner based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Sarah is the creative force behind My New Roots, the award-winning food blog which features original recipes that taste great, look beautiful, and boast incredible health benefits. Following her philosophy of “making healthy choices every day”, she has been creating recipes for her readers all over the world since 2007.
Winner of the 2014 Saveur “Best Food Blog – Special Diets Blog” Awards, Sarah currently teaches cooking classes, runs workshops on detoxification and cleansing, food as medicine, and nutrition fundamentals. She creates exclusive menu plans and recipes for various media and gives lectures and speaks in public forums such as TEDx.