Friday Fun: Recovery Smoothie with NuZest plus Racing News!

As a NuZest Ambassador, I occasionally receive free product to try out, create recipes with, and share my feelings. All opinions are my own, as is this Recovery Smoothie recipe. This post contains affiliate links.

Life has been a little crazy lately. What with the holidays zooming toward us at lightning speed, a Thanksgiving Trail Race to put on, and, um, you know, my real job, I’ve been a little busy. That’s why when I received a package from Nuzest last week I put it aside and forgot to open it for a week.

I was so excited to finally open it up and find the dream pack of plant-based protein! First of all, I received a 3-pack of Clean Lean Protein Functional Flavors, plus a mix-pack of Quick Vita Kick and a box of the Good Green Snack Bars!

Since I had just finished a run, my first thought was to create a recovery smoothie. The Functional Flavors include Vanilla Matcha, Coffee Coconut and MCTs (medium chain triglycerides), and Chai Turmeric + Maca. All of these ingredients have powerful benefits, some of which have been used to improve health for centuries. I decided to use the Chai Turmeric + Maca for my Recovery Smoothie because of the great anti-inflammatory benefits of turmeric. And I love Chai.

Not only does the Chai Turmeric + Maca have the benefits of turmeric, because it is Clean Lean Protein you can count on it to be free of added sugar, artificial sweeteners, gluten, soy, and dairy. It is a complete protein with all nine essential amino acids and is made with European Golden Pea protein.

Maca is a root vegetable native to the Peruvian Andes and has been used to balance hormones, increase energy, and even improve sexual function.

Well that all sounds like a great combination for a recovery smoothie! But wait, there’s more!

I also received a box of Quick Vita Kick so I decided to incorporate it into my recovery smoothie as well. Quick Vita Kick is a potent blend of greens, fruits, vegetables, berries, pre- and probiotics, digestive enzymes, plus a full range of vitamins and minerals. It is great mixed with water or non-dairy milk, or in a smoothie. Like Clean Lean Protein it is free of allergens and contains nothing artificial. I chose the Cacao Banana flavor because you can never go wrong with chocolate and banana.

Recovery Smoothie with Nuzest

[ctt template=”2″ link=”6bchw” via=”yes” ]‪This delicious recovery smoothie made with @nuzest will hit the spot after a workout![/ctt]

Ingredients

2 bananas
16 ounces cashew milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 scoop Nuzest Chai Turmeric + Maca Clean Lean Protein
1 scoop or package Cacao Banana Quick Vita Kick
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 cup mixed berries
1/2 cup red grapes
1/2 cup ice

Directions

Add all ingredients to a blender and mix until smooth

Makes 2 12 ounce recovery smoothies.

Racing News

2017 wasn’t my best year as far as racing was concerned. I’ve done some races, but it seemed that in spite of great intentions my training never rose to the levels that I needed to excel. Between falls and injuries, poor timing, or general laziness, I didn’t reach some of my racing goals.

I plan to turn that around in 2018. While I don’t have a complete list of races yet, I just signed up for the Palm Desert Half Marathon, which is on February 11. I’m pretty excited. I haven’t done this race for a few years (or at all since it moved from Palm Springs), and it is a flat, fast course, so if I can get my training act together I should do well.

I also have some 5ks and half marathons on my radar, including the Carlsbad 5000 (All Day 20k!), and the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Half Marathon in June. And who knows? Maybe another marathon? While I love the idea of adding marathon #38 to my resume, I’m not sure if I’m ready to dedicate myself to the training. We’ll see.

One way or another, it’s a good thing to have this easy-to-make recovery smoothie recipe!

 

Have you made your racing plans for 2018 yet? What is your goal race?

 

 

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Weekly Linkups

My weekly linkups! Please stop by and check out all of the great recipes, workouts, and information that all these awesome bloggers share every week!

Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
Meatless Monday with Annmarie  and Dixya
Tuesdays on the Run with Marcia, Erika, and Patty
Inspire Me Monday with Janice
Wild Workout Wednesday with Annmarie, Jen, and Nicole
The Plant-Based Potluck Party with Deborah
The Running Coaches’ Corner with Rachel, Suz, Lora Marie, and Me!
Friday 5 2.0 with Rachel and Lacey and Meranda