Cherry Bakewell Protein Shake

I'm seeing a personal trainer at the moment so I've been getting back into having protein smoothies. My real passion is making healthy food both tasty and indulgent so I thought I'd do one with a bakewell tart theme. Sports nutrition is a complex subject and it wasn't covered on my diploma but I went on a one day workshop about it and it's so important to get nutrition right when exercising, whatever your goal is.

At the moment I'm just trying to lose some weight rather than build muscle but protein is always important for muscle recovery.  After my second personal training session my muscles were so stiff I could barely walk normally and it took 3 magnesium baths for me to feel normal again! However,...

Not just about protein!

Yes, protein is important but so are

other ingredients!

Some people might think just eating protein and no carbohydrate is the thing to do when trying to build muscle or lose weight, but it's actually counter-productive. Carbohydrates are necessary for exercise and when our body is starved of them, it uses the amino acids in our muscles as fuel before using our fat reserves.  This is why when rapid weight loss occurs with high protein diets, it is often muscle that is lost. When the person reverts to normal eating or ends up binge eating because of the carbohydrate deprivation the result is more fat being gained and difficulty losing the weight.
The answer is to eat a suitable combination of carbohydrates and protein depending on your body composition.  In general we need around 0.8g protein per kg of body weight, more if we are trying to increase muscle.

The correct amount of carbohydrate is crucial for exercise, I've ended up feeling dizzy and faint on occasions due to not eating enough before exercising. In general we should eat around 30-60g carbohydrate per hour of exercise, depending on the intensity of exercise and whether you're trying to lose weight. No point drinking a whole bottle of Lucozade if you're just going for a 10 minute jog!

Nutritional benefits of these ingredients

• Cherries are a great source of antioxidants, important to neutralise the free radicals generated by exercise.
• Bananas are a good source of carbohydrate for energy and potassium, essential for fluid balance.
• Almonds are a good source of magnesium, needed for the activity of the adrenal glands.
• Pea protein is a source of branched chain amino acids, needed for muscle repair
• Flax oil is a source of omega 3 fats, essential for reducing inflammation.  
• If you choose a calcium enriched milk alternative, this along with the exercise will help keep your bones strong 

Plenty of healthy boxes ticked!

ooh it almost matches
my hat!

Ingredients

100g Cherries (pitted or you could use frozen to save time)
1 medium banana
25g ground almonds
15g pea protein
250ml soya, almond or coconut milk
10ml flax or chia oil.

• Add the liquid ingredients first to the blender
• Chop the banana and add to the mixture
• Add the pea protein and ground almonds
• Add the cherries and then blend.
• Enjoy!

This is usually quite filling so I don't usually drink the whole thing in one go but if you're after something that will sustain you for a good few hours, these kinds of smoothies are great.