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Dec
27
Eating on the Run: Sweet Potato-Saffron Protein Shake
December 27, 2009 |
Recipe Marathon: Day 3.
Protein shakes make great parking lot dinners. We make it a point to have one blender bottle in each car while rushing to the gym or martial arts class through evening peak hour traffic. If you’ve not eaten since noon, gulp half of it down before reaching class.
Finish the rest on the way back home. Fix a quick salad, and we’ve finished dinner without turning on the stove. This happens three or four times a week. While the content of the smoothie may differ, the basic structure is the same.
For those with serious fitness goals, the most important meal is the post-workout meal. There are four components to muscle recovery:
- restoring fluid and electrolytes (through a liquid rather than a solid meal),
- replenishing glycogen (through high glycemic complex carbs),
- reducing muscle and immune stress (through antioxidants and Vitamins A, C and beta caretone), and
- rebuilding muscle protein (through a fast release liquid protein).
For maximum effect, the protein must be consumed immediately after and within 30 minutes of the workout. Having a protein shake in the parking lot of the gym or dojang (or on the way home) is the best way to accomplish this.
The post-workout shake formula (16 oz shake) is designed with this in mind.
Per person, blend
1/4 cup steamed, skinned sweet potato
a pinch of saffron
2 dried unsulphured apricots
2 dates
40 grams - two level scoops - of vegan protein powder (30 grams protein)
a combination of homemade almond milk and rice milk - 8 oz.
seeds from 1 green cardamom
a pinch each cinnamon and nutmeg powder
1/4 tsp salt
a little water
The rice milk, sweet potato, apricots and dates provide the carbs. The sweet potato is a particularly good candidate for this. It is rich in antioxidants and minerals, as well as Vitamins A, C and beta-carotene, which help in reducing oxidative and immune stress. (Nutritional data),
Other good candidates are yellow/orange fruits and veggies like carrots, yellow pumpkin, mango and papaya.
The almond milk replenishes fluid and provides protein and fat, the salt provides electrolytes and the protein powder helps muscle recovery.
What kind of protein?
We order our vegan protein powder from trueprotein.com - a custom mix made of 50% Gemma pea protein, 40% non-GMO rice protein and 10% L-Glutamine powder (for decreasing muscle soreness).
The texture is a bit grittier than whey protein, but taste wise it’s neutral.
How much protein does a person need?
A lot of vegans and raw foodists will tell you that “we get all our protein requirements through a normal balanced diet rich in whole grains, beans, fruits and veggies.” That may work for most people.
According to Joel Fuhrman in Eat to Live the U.S. required daily allowance is calculated by
multiplying 0.36 (grams) by your body weight in pounds or 0.8 (grams) by your body weight in kilograms.
That translates to about 44 grams of protein a day for a 120-pound woman and 54 grams for a 150-pound male.
It doesn’t work for us. Yes, one cup of cooked spinach has 6 grams of protein, but we have neither the time nor the inclination to eat 6 cups of cooked spinach each a day. We work out five to six times a week and used to experience a lot of fatigue. We increased our protein intake over the past couple of months and see a marked improvement in both muscle recovery and strength.
As Mike Mahler points out:
Telling people that they can get all of the protein that they need from eating spinach and leafy green vegetables is impractical. Just because it works for the gorillas does not mean that it will work for us …
For athletes, 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of lean muscle is optimal for increasing strength and size.
For example, Bee weighs 117 lb with 19 percent body fat - i.e. about 95 lbs in lean muscle. She should shoot for 0.7 grams x 95 (60-70 grams of protein) to maintain her size and 1 x 95 (90-100 grams of protein per day) to build more muscle.
At 135 lbs and 12.5% body fat, Jai needs 80-90 grams of protein to maintain his size and 110-120 grams to build more muscle.
Those who claim protein supplements are unnecessary probably don’t work out too often and/or are not vegan. To keep your body constantly in positive nitrogen balance, you must consume a complete protein every three hours. For many people, especially those who don’t eat meat, fish, dairy or eggs, doing this is nearly impossible. That’s when a high quality protein supplement is the most helpful.
Is too much protein a bad thing?
Anything above 1.5 grams per pound of lean muscle is overkill and may have negative physiological effects. (Link) It could lead to a buildup of toxic ketones and cause your kidney to go into overdrive, leading to dehydration and the loss of bone calcium.
It may also compel an otherwise sane person to sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“The difference between Sly Stallone and me is I am me and he is him.”
“I think gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman.”
Can you drink with your parking lot dinner?
Not if you’re driving. You can add some tequila or brandy to your dinner if you’re in the passenger seat.
Saffron
This is also our entry for Dhivya’s JFI: Saffron event @ Chef in You.
Almond, almond milk, Apricot, cardamom, cinnamon, Date, fitness, nutmeg, NUTRITION, pea protein, plant protein, protein, protein powder, protein shake, Rice, rice milk, Saffron, Sweet Potato, vegan athlete, vegan recipes, Vegetarian Athlete, vegetarian recipes
Have never imagined a drink with sweet potatoes though! We eat it boiled as such or sometimes steam, skin, mash with a teaspoon of ghee and grated coconut and a pinch of elaichi. I bet they were easy to eat too! Love the last pic! So guys I am eager to read announcement of CLICK again
I like sweet potatoes.
wow!! I’m so going to try this today. I recently started adding protein powder to my smoothies [again after 7 yrs] and love it!!!
Wonderful. I have been feeling very tired after a run and find it tough to eat sambar-rice after a run, drinking would be much easier. Drinking sweet potato! Interesting and protein information in layman terms. Can’t wait to try this.
Do you have any links or suggestions to make protein powder at home? We get only milk based protein powder here.
try thayir-chadam instead. or have a big bowl of dal. don’t know how to make protein isolate at home, but whey protein is okay if you get it hormone-free.
Just read your “hold the bahbeee” post and wow! I have the same reasons. Your replies have been articulate and bang on the point. People get so offended if we bring the carbon footprint thing up, but it is the truth! Read from bottom up! http://thechroniclesofa.blogspot.com/search/label/dang
Jai n Bee
Excellent post again.In one of your posts you said you have recently started using EV coconut oil in smoothies.Where do you buy yours n which brand did you like.I have never gone wrong following what you guys have blogged about or liked yourselves
most stores including hellmart carry it. health food stores or online sources are good as well. any brand that is organic and unrefined works - nutiva, garden of life … there are many.
Dear Bee and Jai,
Was on vacation last two weeks hence the delay in replying. Love the sound of your protein shake. We usually go for Whey Protein but next time I will try this. Can this be made ahead and refrigerated? Also can you please tell me how long does this keep? I cant imagine making this after my workout - I am still in the ‘completely-exhausted-after-workout’ stage! My better half usually keeps his energy levels intact having being used to extreme activity levels!!!
Thanks for sending this for JFI…Wishing you both a prosperous and beautiful 2010.
I love finding surprises, and I always do when I visit. Today, it is the sweet potato, served within a protein shake. Those tubers are such sweet delights, but I must admit, I would never have thought to use these beauties in such a manner. Thanks for the ‘heads-up’!