Post-Exercise Electrolyte Smoothie

Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free option

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Serves 1

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Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free option 〰️ Serves 1 〰️

This smoothie is giving sports drinks a run for their money, if I do say so myself. It’s not only delicious, but it contains the same four electrolytes that feature in common sports drinks, but from wholefood sources: Potassium from banana, sodium from sea salt, calcium from tahini, and magnesium from cacao powder. We lose electrolytes through sweat and particularly more so during these warmer months. It can be difficult to replace these nutrients unless we are intentional about incorporating them into our diet. So, this smoothie is perfect to be having post-exercise, but it also happens to go down well at any time of the day.

I’m really pleased with not just the nutritional benefits of this smoothie, but how tasty it is. I don’t know about you, but I don’t eat foods that I know are beneficial to my health unless I enjoy the flavour of them. These ingredients, the banana, sea salt, tahini and cacao powder, come together with the addition of some plant-based milk, almond butter, maple syrup, and a protein powder. Think creamy, nutty, and sweet. For this smoothie, I recommend a vanilla protein powder, but I could also foresee salted caramel or chocolate flavour working nicely too.

To see a video of how to make this dish, click here.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup plant-based milk (I used oat, use gluten-free if needed)

• 1 banana, frozen

• 1 tablespoon unhulled tahini (see note)

• 1 tablespoon almond butter

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

• 1 tablespoon cacao powder

• 1 pinch sea salt

• 1 serve vanilla protein powder

METHOD

1. Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend well until smooth. Enjoy immediately!

   1 cup plant-based milk (I used oat, use gluten-free if needed)

   1 banana, frozen

   1 tablespoon unhulled tahini

   1 tablespoon almond butter

   1 tablespoon maple syrup

   1 tablespoon cacao powder

   1 pinch sea salt

   1 serve vanilla protein powder
   

   Note: Tahini is a smooth spread made from blended sesame seeds. There are two varieties: Hulled and unhulled. Hulled tahini has been made with sesame seeds that have had their outer husk removed. The flavour is more mild and the colour is lighter. On the other hand, unhulled tahini is made with whole sesame seeds, including the outer husk. As a result, the flavour is more pronounced (slightly more bitter), the colour is a little darker, but the paste is more rich in calcium. If you’ve never tried tahini before, you could start with the hulled, see how you like the flavour, and then move to the unhulled next time.