This tasty Recovery Smoothie is a healthy, refreshing breakfast or snack complete with coconut water and loads of anti-inflammatory superfoods.
I’ve lightly touched on the topic here and there recently, but with our wedding now just a few short months away, I’ve been kicking it up a notch with my workouts and the fiancé and I have been focusing on even more balanced eating than usual. Luckily, the two go hand in hand. I can definitely tell what a difference it makes in my workouts when I’m putting the right fuel into my body!
It’s quite fitting that I stumbled across my new favorite coconut water, Amy & Brian, in the midst of this transition to higher intensity workouts and healthier eating. Even more fitting, I learned after the fact that their motto is “Be Better™” and they have dubbed 2016 the “year of improvement.” I am so on board with this! Especially with the wedding on the way, now is more of a time than ever for me to really focus on who I am and how I want to be transitioning into this new phase of my life.
Not only is Amy & Brian’s motto so in line with where I’m at right now mentally, but their coconut waters have also proven to be fantastic for me physically. As a competitive volleyball player growing up, I sometimes had long, grueling practice days. Unfortunately, I was not always in such a great place with my eating habits back then, and I would often get severely dehydrated. We’re talking migraines, nausea, the sweats….yuck. Back then, the only solution I knew of was to lie in bed with the lights off and try to keep down as much Gatorade as I could to replace all of the lost electrolytes.
When coconut water started having its “moment” a few years ago, I was thrilled to learn that the all-natural drink was loaded with electrolytes and minerals such as potassium, sodium, magnesium and chloride. I immediately started grabbing it up at the grocery store for not only my bouts with dehydration, but for any occasion where I felt I needed a natural jolt of all of these healthful components. (Long day of volleyball at the beach? You betcha!) My diet is much more on track now than it used to be, and I rarely experience dehydration anymore, but I’m so glad to have found a natural solution that helps me Be Better™.
Speaking of being better and natural solutions, did everyone know that this Friday, April 22 is Earth Day? Do you have any exciting plans? Any ambitions of how to make our world “better” in the coming year?
We actually celebrated Earth Day this past weekend, since Santa Barbara puts on a HUGE Earth Day Festival every year and it just happened to fall a weekend early. Did you know Santa Barbara is the birth place of Earth Day? That’s right, folks. Earth Day was inspired by the 1969 massive oil spill here in sunny SB. An unfortunate incident, but at least now we can thank it for a reason to celebrate this lovely world we live in!
In addition to my #lifegoals and #marriedlife goals listed above, I’m also going to make more of an effort to conserve resources whenever possible (especially water) and use less of the products that fill up our landfills (Ziploc bag obsession right here – need to break this.)
But I digress. The reason we are all here today is to find out what’s so special about this Recovery Smoothie, right? Well, let me tell you. This smoothie is a spin-off of my original Power Protein Smoothie (just ignore the horrible photos), but it’s loaded with even more nutritious ingredients that help our muscles recover quickly and get amped up for our next workout.
Of course, the star of the show is Amy & Brian Coconut Water – with Cinnamon! You read that right, folks. Not only do Amy & Brian make straight up, good ol’ fashioned plain (and high pulp) coconut water, but they also make fun, flavored coconut waters like Lime, Grape and Cinnamon. I chose to use the Cinnamon flavor because not only has the spice become a favorite of mine to add a pop of flavor to my daily smoothies, it also has anti-inflammatory properties due to the high level of antioxidants it contains and has proven effective at controlling blood sugar and increasing metabolism. Awesome!
We already mentioned the potassium we get from the coconut water itself, but of course we also have bananas to thank for giving this smoothie even more of the mineral to aid our cramping muscles. We also throw in maca powder for increased energy, an extra hit of Vitamins B, C and E, and improved stamina. Finally, we add some turmeric to the mix for even more anti-inflammatory properties and faster recovery. Oh, and we’re also getting plenty of protein from Greek yogurt, whey protein powder and almond butter to really help those muscles grow!
I know it sounds like a long list of ingredients, but I’ve made it easier to find a lot of the spices/supplements by providing links to them all on Amazon (whatever did we do before Amazon?) AND, the most exciting part of this post…
I’M HOSTING MY FIRST GIVEAWAY! That’s right, one lucky reader will receive a mixed case of all of Amy & Brian’s delicious coconut waters. Simply enter by using the Rafflecopter box below (yes, you can have multiple entries!), and good luck! Giveaway closes at 12AM PDT on Wednesday, April 27. Giveaway is only open to US residents and winner will be notified by email.
As always, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and tag #caligirlcooking in all of your CaliGirl Cooking creations!
This post was created in partnership with Amy & Brian Coconut Water. Although I did receive free product as compensation, all thoughts and opinions are my own. I truly LOVE Amy & Brian Coconut Water and am honored to work with such an amazing company!
Recovery Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 bananas
- 1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 2 cups kale baby kale or spinach
- 1 ½ cups frozen mango
- 1 ½ cups frozen pineapple
- 2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder
- 1 tablespoon maca powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 cup Amy & Brian Cinnamon Coconut Water
- ½ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Serve in two large cups, Mason jars or Blender bottles (affiliate link).
This sounds great! Can’t wait to try. Is it ok if I don’t have the turmeric? I’ve never even seen that but someone gave me the maca – did not know what to do with that. Glad your recipe has that too and my favorite Amy & Brian cinnamon.
Hi Peggy! You can certainly skip the turmeric, although it’s an amazing ingredient if you want to pick some up to add to your spice collection! Maca is amazing for so many reasons…Although if you don’t disguise it well, the flavor can be overbearing. It’s the perfect superfood to add to smoothies because all of the other yummy flavors disguise it well and you can’t even really taste it. Good luck and let me know how it goes!
This smoothie is delicious! Thanks for posting this recipe. I was also pretty hesitant about adding turmeric, but I could barely detect any hints of it in the finished product. Awesome.
Teresa – I’m so glad you liked the recipe! You’re right, you can barely taste the turmeric ???? Thanks for the feedback!