7 Healthy Post-Workout Meal Ideas To Boost Recovery

 

What you eat immediately after your workout is one of the most important meals of the day.

Proper post-workout nutrition refuels your body so you can get fitter, faster, and stronger. Without it, your body just won’t be able to recover fast enough, which can impair performance and impact any muscle building or weight loss goals you currently have.

And it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, when you work out really hard like we do, you need to eat after your workout! So don’t skip it.

Ideally you’ll wolf down some protein and carbs (avoid fats immediately post-workout since your body can’t absorb them quickly enough) as soon as possible after your workout, but try not to wait more than an hour. I’m always famished after my workout so I never have a problem eating right away! 🙂

Here are 7 healthy post-workout meal ideas to satisfy your hunger and boost your recovery:

Post-Workout Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie

I know it sounds super weird, but it’s really good, I promise! You can also add less oatmeal depending on your daily macros and personal goals.

Ingredients:

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use whey protein)
1/2 small banana
1 cup coconut water
1/3 cup frozen strawberries
1/4 cup old fashioned oatmeal (uncooked)

Blend everything together and drink up!

Approximate macros per entire recipe:

Calories: 274
Protein: 28.4g
Carbs: 35.6g
Fat: 3.1g
Fiber: 4.9g

Hearty oatmeal applesauce protein pancakes

I could eat these every single day for breakfast and post-workout. Yum.

Ingredients:

1 serving vanilla protein powder (this equaled one large scoop for me)
1/4 cup oats
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used homemade)
2 egg whites
3 Tbsp cottage cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder

Blend all of the ingredients together, then pour into your desired pancake shapes on a non-stick pan. Flip when they start to bubble slightly on top.

Approximate macros per entire recipe:

Calories: 300
Protein: 40g
Carbohydrates: 26g
Fat: 4g
Fiber: 4.5g

Check out the full recipe here.

Raspberry protein muffins

These muffins are actually great both pre and post workout, but if you’re eating them post-workout, make sure and have a couple of them.

Ingredients:

1 cup oats
1/2 cup Cinnamon Roll whey protein powder (or just use vanilla)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup almond milk
2/3 cup raspberries (I used fresh ones)
2-3 dates, pitted (or your sweetener of choice)

Blend everything together except for the raspberries. Scoop into muffin cups then cook at 350 F for 30-35 minutes or until slightly browned on top.

Approximate macros per 1/10th recipe:

Calories: 90
Protein: 8g
Carbs: 10g
Fat: 2g
Fiber: 1.5g

View the full recipe here.

Post-workout pizza (!)

If you’ve never checked out her site, Anna Sward from Protein Pow has an absolutely amazing assortment of delicious, healthy, protein-packed recipes. And she’s a really amazing artist as well!

I’ve made her simple yet delicious protein pizza recipe a ton and every time I’m amazed at how satisfying yet still healthy it is. The mix of protein and carbs makes it perfect for post-workout—I like to top mine with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, arugula, broccoli, and basil.

Ingredients (for the pizza base):

1/2 cup gluten-free oats
1/2 cup liquid egg whites
1 tablespoon coconut flour

Blend everything together, then heat up a non-stick pan with a tiny bit of coconut oil on it. Pour on your batter, then spread to desired thickness and flip once bubbles start appearing on top. Once the crust is done, add your toppings and put in a toaster oven (my preferred method) or oven broiler until it’s as crispy as you want it to be.

Approximate macros per entire crust:

323kcals
23g protein
41g carbs
5g fat

Make sure to check out the full recipe here!

Berry protein cheesecake

Healthy cheesecake as a reward for working hard? Yes please!

Just remember to make this ahead of time (it needs to chill) if you want it ready immediately after your workout. You can also leave out the crust to make it easier and lower in fat and calories.

Ingredients for the crust:

1/2 cup almond meal (or ground almonds)
1 1/2 Tbsp almond butter

Ingredients for the filling:

1 cup low fat greek yogurt
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup vanilla whey protein powder
1 egg white + 1 whole egg (2 egg whites or 2 eggs would work too)
2 Tbsp coconut flour (this helps to give it a nice consistency)

Ingredients for the topping:

1-2 cups frozen berries (I used the Costco three berry mix because it’s awesome and cheap!)
1-3 Tbsp maple syrup (depending on how sweet you like it, other sweeteners will work too)
1-2 Tbsp water

Go here for the full berry protein cheesecake recipe.

Macros (per 1/6 cheesecake):

Calories: 200
Protein: 15g
Carbs: 15g
Fat: 9g

High protein banana muffins

 

Bananas are a great post-workout snack because they give your body a quick burst of energy when you need it most. These banana muffins make eating bananas even more delicious.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup vanilla protein powder
2 really ripe bananas (the riper the better)
3 egg whites
3 Tbsp coconut flour
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
4-6 dates, pitted (depends on how sweet you want your muffins to be)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup walnuts (skip these if you want to lower the fat content)

Blend everything together except for the walnuts, then break or chop the walnuts into small pieces and scoop everything into muffin cups. Cook at 350 F for 40-45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when you insert it.

Approximate macros per 1/10th recipe:

Total calories: 82
Protein: 5g
Fat: 3.5g
Carbohydrates: 9g
Fiber: 1g

View the full banana protein muffin recipe here.

Pumpkin protein pancakes

 

I know, I know, more pancakes! But these are also really good, and yes, I still eat them even when it’s not traditional pumpkin season. If you want to up the carb content to make them better post-workout, just add 1/4 cup oats to the recipe.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup organic canned pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 serving vanilla protein powder (this equaled two scoops for me)
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Same as the other pancakes, just blend all of the ingredients together, then pour into your desired pancake shapes on a non-stick pan. Flip when they start to bubble slightly on top.

Approximate macros per entire recipe:

Total calories: 234
Protein: 41 g
Fat: 2.5 g
Carbs: 11 g
Fiber: 3 g