Coconut, Banana And Whey Protein Recovery Smoothie

The Quest For The Ultimate Post-Workout Recovery Smoothie

My coconut, banana, nectarine and whey protein shake smoothie

My Coconut, Banana And Whey Protein Recovery Smoothie

Getting enough protein in your regular diet can be a challenge as a active individual. Whether I've been out on the bike for a few hours training, been out trail running in the nearby Sherwood Forest or hit the weights hard in the gym, I know my body needs protein for recovery and as a result I've always got a tub of protein shake powder on the go for after a hard training session. 

Drinking the same protein shakes over a period of time can get quite monotonous and subsequently really put you off taking them. Some protein powders taste significantly better than others but from my experience there's a sure-fire way of making them taste good and that's by adding fruit. Even if it's just adding a banana to a standard vanilla protein shake you can add flavour whilst getting a superfruit into your diet and get you well on the way to your '5 A Day'

I also see smoothies as a way to get fruit into a diet which is somewhat lacking in that aspect so any opportunity for me to add healthier foods into my diet is definitely a bonus when you consider what you can put into a protein shake smoothie

Coconuts and Banana's are superfoods

Not only are bananas and coconuts great fruits for adding flavour to a smoothies; They're also classed as superfoods for their health benefits making my coconut and banana protein shake smoothie great for more than just post exercise recovery.

Coconuts were known as kalpa vriksha in the ancient Indian Sanskrit language which translates as "the tree that supplies all that is needed to live". It's flesh, milk and oil have been recognised for many years as having fantastic immune system benefits, antibiotic characteristics and antibacterial properties. Whilst being relatively high in fats 

Bananas are a near perfect fruit for sporty and active individuals to benefit from. They are rich in potassium which is a key mineral used in muscle cellular actions. They are also rich in the carbohydrate we need for during exercise and to replenish our glycogen stores quickly after training.

Ingredients for my Coconut, Banana and Whey Protein Shake Smoothie

My protein shake smoothie ingredients

• 2 bananas
• 1 nectarine
• 1/2 a fresh coconut
• 2 scoops of whey protein powder
• 500 ml of cold water

How I made my simple protein shake smoothie

The hardest part of preparing a smoothie with coconut is actually getting to the point where you just have coconut flesh. If you've never opened up a cocnut before-It's hard work. My favoured technique involves a trip to my toolbox for a hammer and then to smack away along the sides of one of the seems you will be able to feel along the outside of the shell although the video below has an alternate technique

Once the coconut is cracked into pieces I then tend to score off small pieces of the flesh to pull away from the outer shell. The pieces will still be attached to the inner shell and can be a nightmare to cut away so I tend to use a simple cheese grater to grate away the pure, succulent white flesh into a bowl. Once I've grated half of my coconut the other half gets wrapped in cling film and placed in the fridge until I need it next. 

The grated coconut flesh goes into my smoothie maker (or a blender) along with the flesh of the two bananas, and a cut up nectarine so that the central stone is removed. I tend to pour in a couple of servings of  whey protein powder and add around 500 ml of water although you could add a little more water if you want two big servings 

In the garden with my banana, coconut, nectarine and protein shake smoothie