A smoothie is a drink with many benefits. It is quick to prepare and ideal for when you are doing sports. Discover the golden rules for creating a healthy smoothie and let yourself be inspired by recipe ideas adapted to your needs and goals: Weight loss, energising or protein smoothie, the choice is yours!
Why is a smoothie an excellent drink for athletes?
A smoothie is a creamy drink made from fresh and healthy ingredients mixed together. It is particularly appealing for sportsmen and women:
- A smoothie combines the benefits of fruits and vegetables with aromatic herbs to form a tasty cocktail, which can be adapted to your preferences and varies with the seasons. You can also include dairy products, spices and seeds in your smoothie.
- To make this drink, just wash and peel the fresh ingredients and put them in a blender or mixer: Make a quick snack at home for breakfast, lunch or snack time!
- It’s not just fresh and tasty, but it’s also highly nutritious: Only fresh ingredients that are rich in fibre, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins are used. The recipe possibilities are endless and you can easily adjust its protein, fat and carbohydrate content according to the ingredients chosen and your current goals.
- A smoothie is usually very easy to digest as it’s made of high-fibre, finely-blended ingredients.
- Most importantly of all, a smoothie is a drink, so it is more hydrating than a snack made of cereal bars, for example.
6 golden rules for making a special sport smoothie
To make smoothies that are fit for athletes, here are some rules to follow:
- Use only fresh and seasonal fruits or vegetables.
- Drink your smoothie immediately after preparing it in order to take advantage of all its nutrients as they can quickly deteriorate, especially the vitamins.
- Don’t add sugar: Stick to a low calorie, healthy drink.
- Use no more than 2 fruits to balance your recipes and get a good taste of each ingredient.
- Try adding 1 vegetable: Some fruit and vegetable combinations work particularly well: Kale and apple, orange and carrot, lemon and celery, for example.
- Don’t forget to add some aromatic herbs to your smoothies to take advantage of their benefits and create an authentic taste: Basil, mint, parsley, or why not fresh verbena leaves or thyme?
- To obtain a perfect texture, combine juicy fruits and vegetables with other pulpy ingredients and do not hesitate to add yoghurts or vegetable drinks to make your smoothies more creamy.
Our smoothie recipes for athletes
By following the tips given above, the recipe possibilities become endless! To create a tailor-made smoothie to accompany your sports regimen, here are some recipe ideas for different goals.
3 weight-loss smoothie recipes
The following weight-loss smoothie recipes combine low-calorie, detoxifying and diuretic ingredients to help you lose fat as well as to supplement physical activity:
- Pineapple lemon and ginger smoothie
- Apple mint and cucumber smoothie
- Celery carrot and lemon smoothie
3 protein smoothie recipes
With these protein smoothie recipes, body-building enthusiasts who wish to gain muscle and those who want to lose weight will be able to achieve their goals:
- Vegetable smoothie with soy, banana, nuts and cinnamon.
- Oatmeal juice, chia seed (finely ground) and strawberry smoothie.
- Greek yogurt, baby spinach and red berry smoothie.
3 energising smoothie recipes
To cope with winter morning workouts or to overcome a period of temporary fatigue, the following energising and vitamin-rich smoothie recipes are highly recommended:
- Orange, carrot and lemon smoothie.
- Ginger, turmeric and mango smoothie.
- Acai berry, beetroot and sage smoothie.
3 smoothie recipes to fully recover after workouts
After training, the body must absorb minerals in order to compensate for nutrient losses due to perspiration. Protein intake is also recommended to limit aches and pains and facilitate muscle recovery. A special recovery smoothie for athletes will be your best ally after training, for example:
- A banana, dark chocolate and almond milk smoothie with almonds.
- Avocado, strawberry and Greek yoghurt smoothie.
- Tomato celery lemon smoothie.
Check out our Health & Fitness page for more advice.