Planning Workout Recovery: Protein Packed Overnight Oats

Over the years, I've learned lots about how both to fuel and recover from a good workout. From my post-workout rest and nutrition tips, to some recovery smoothie ideas, to the much perfected rebound ball recipe I wrote back in the early days, this household has workout recovery in the bag.

Obviously, the two most important things to do after a workout are rest and proper nutrition. Though we don't do it often, I find that early morning workouts require a different kind of muscle rebuilding strategy, especially if your planning a serious weights workout. While I don't usually do this and stick with morning cardio, Andrew is a big fan. Having said that, neither of us recommend you do weights on an empty stomach. Eat anything before you hit the gym, whether it's a couple of dates, a banana, or anything to get your blood sugars running.

For after? I've expanded the infamous vegan overnight oat recipe to post-weights workout perfection. Why oats over the usual fruit-protein combo? I guess to switch things up mostly, but also because grains are a slow release complex carb that'll help the muscle-builder of my heart get all the recovery nutrients he needs after a long morning. Other than that, every ingredient in this recipe is in some way designed to help you recover. It goes something like this:

Protein Packed Overnight Oats

Yield: 1 Serving

1 C oats*

1.5 teaspoons of chia seeds

1 scoop of protein powder

1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoon of raisins and/or cranberries

cinnamon to taste

dash or two of salt

1/2 apple, chopped

1 bunch of grapes, halved

1/2 banana, sliced

1-2 tablespoon of maple syrup

1 tablespoon of nut butter

1 C home-made almond milk

1/4 teaspoon of molasses**

Optional ingredients:

maca powder

mesquite powder

astragalus powder

*this recipe actually had a barley, rye, spelt, & oat flake mix

**molasses has tons of vitamins & minerals, while being a slow release sugar

1. Mix all the dry ingredients + fruit in a bowl.

2. Mix in all the liquids, and stir, and leave overnight in the fridge

With that, stay tuned for my next post! This one was something of a teaser for it, which will feature more on workout recovery and a long-delayed giveaway! Otherwise, hang in there all you weekday worker folk, it's almost the weekend! Soon it'll be time for fun, a break, or just some relaxing down time, like this little heartthrob has also perfected: