How Electrolytes Can Help Your Workouts (+ A Healthy Muffin Recipe!)

As athletes, dreamers, and go-getters, we always want to be at the top of our game.

We want to constantly crush our workouts. We want to get as many new PRs as we can. And we want to keep getting fitter, stronger, and more awesome as often as we can.

In order to do this, not only do you need to work hard, stay consistent, and fuel your body properly, you also need to prioritize getting in enough water.

Yes, we all know water is important, but few of us actually make it a priority.

But without enough of it, you’ll be constantly walking around dehydrated, meaning your workout performance will suffer, you’ll have trouble thinking, you’ll get headaches, muscles cramps, not function at full capacity… you get the idea.

One way to make sure you avoid this is to drink water that includes electrolytes, minerals including calcium chloride, potassium bicarbonate and magnesium chloride that carry an electrical charge, which makes them good at transferring electricity in the body.

In partnership with Simple Truth, here’s how drinking electrolytes can help your workouts:

It Helps Prevent Dehydration

Being dehydrated doesn’t just mean you’re thirsty. Depending on the level of dehydration you’ve reached, you could experience a whole bunch of uncool symptoms, including headaches, sleepiness, dizziness, cramps, irritability… the list goes on.

Not only will going into your workout dehydrated not help you work hard during your workout, it’s also going to make it harder to go after all of your life’s dreams.

Electrolyte-containing water can help prevent dehydration by helping to keep your body fluids balanced and maintain proper water amounts in your body. If you’re working out and sweating a lot, water containing electrolytes can be especially helpful since the body loses electrolytes when sweating.

It Makes Water More Palatable

Saying something is palatable is really just a fancy way of saying that it tastes better. And when something tastes good, you’re more likely to want to have more of it—which, in the case of water, is a good thing.

Although even plain water with electrolytes can offer some taste benefits, flavored water can also be a really good option because it provides just a touch of sweetness that for most people, makes them want to drink more.

There are a lot of good choices out there, but one of my favorite flavored electrolyte-based water is Simple Truth Vapor Distilled Water. It has zero artificial sweeteners or preservatives, includes electrolytes for taste and recovery, and comes in five awesome flavors (my current favorite is Mandarin Orange).

I also love that it comes in one liter bottles so I always know I’m getting enough water_, and that it’s cheaper than most store-bought water (it’s about 1/4 price of most brands!).

Better Hydration, Better Performance

Staying hydrated before, during, and after your workouts is super important_. Not only will it help you get closer to crushing your latest 100 burpee challenge time, _, it’ll also help you recover faster so you can get on with crushing_ your next workout.

Healthy Raspberry Oat and Applesauce Muffin Recipe

Along with staying hydrated, it’s important to fuel your body right! This raspberry oat and applesauce muffin recipe using Simple Truth ingredients will satisfy your sweet tooth and give you the energy you need to crush your workouts and your day.

Ingredients:

• 3 packets Simple Truth Organic Instant Oatmeal (1 cup)
• 1 cup Simple Truth Unsweetened Applesauce
• 3/4 cup Simple Truth Organic All Purpose Unbleached Flour
• 1/2 cup Simple Truth Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1/3 cup Simple Truth Coconut Sugar
• 1/4 cup Simple Truth Coconut Oil, melted
• 1 tsp Simple Truth Organic Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Simple Truth Organic Ground Cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Simple Truth Large Egg
• 1/4 cup Simple Truth Organic Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries, halved

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with silicon liners or grease the muffin cups.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oatmeal, applesauce, milk, egg, vanilla, butter and sugar.

Next, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Pour in the applesauce mixture and stir, then mix in the raspberries and chocolate chips until just combined.

Scoop the batter in the muffin cups, then bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don’t overbake or the muffins will be dry.

Remove the muffins and let cool completely. Store in the fridge or the freezer. Eat up!

Macros (per 1/12 recipe)

Calories: 140
Fat: 7g
Carbohydrates: 22g
Protein: 3g
Fiber: 2g

 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kroger. The opinions and text are all mine.