Eating to recover doesn’t need to be boring

The food we eat after exercise can have a profound affect on how our bodies adapt, recover and subsequently perform. As a result, it is best that we aim to consume a post workout meal or snack that ticks all three boxes of the 3 R’s of Recovery: repair, replenish and rehydrate. 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the 3 R’s, here’s a quick crash course.

Repair: When we workout we cause damage to our muscles - it's a normal process for building and conditioning them. Consuming an adequate supply of protein at regular intervals throughout the day will supply our bodies with the building blocks (amino acids) our muscles need to effectively ‘remodel’ and repair themselves. Supplying these recovering muscles with a high quality source of protein in the hours following exercise can help get this repair process under way.

Replenish: The type, intensity and duration of our workouts will determine how much energy we burn and how much glycogen (stored carbohydrate) we deplete. Depending on how tough our workout was, or when we plan on working out again, we may need to pay particular attention to how we replenish these depleted fuel stores. The simplest way to make sure we are replenishing our energy and carbohydrate stores appropriately is to stick to our Carb Codes.

Rehydrate: During our workouts we may sweat, especially if it’s a tough session or we’re exercising in a hot or humid environment. This sweat isn’t just water though, it also contains salts that we’ll also need to replace. Foods rich in electrolytes are a great option to help us with this.

Now we’ve covered the 3 R’s of Recovery, let’s see how our pancake recipe ticks these boxes….

• Rich in protein to aid muscle repair.
• Can be tailored to Carb Codes by adjusting the toppings to our individual carb and energy requirements.
• Rich in natural electrolytes to help replace the salts lost through sweat.

Check out the recipe below

‍High Protein Recovery Pancake Stack

Serves 1‍

Time 10 mins‍

Difficultly: Level 2 Got some skills‍

Ingredients

• 1 Egg
• 1 Scoop (30g) Vanilla Protein Powder
• 1 Banana
• Tbsp Milk
• Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Optional Toppings

• Low Carb: Fresh berries, crushed nuts, seeds.
• Medium & High Carb (depending on portion size: Sliced fruits, granola, muesli, honey

Preparation

1. Blend the egg, banana, milk & protein until the mixture is smooth.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
3. Pour the mixture into the hot pan creating multiple small pancakes.
4. Cook in batches for 45-90 seconds each side (when you start to see bubbles its time to flip!).
5. Repeat until all the mixture is gone.
6. Plate up and tailor your toppings to your Carb Codes to serve! 

Nutrition Information per serving without toppings:

Kcals 332
Carbs 27g
Protein 29g
Fat 5g

Discover more recipes in our Low Carb Recipe Book and see how they fit in with your Carb Code when you sign up to hexis.