Monday, August 13, 2012 Summer Shake-Off Contest
Last day to enter contest: Monday Aug. 13, 2012
We'll announce the winner of a case of ZICO coconut water on Tuesday!!
Laurel and I still train together every day, even though she’s working out longer and harder than ever to prepare for the New York Ironman, while I’ve scaled back since I’m 4-months pregnant. Our eating habits are wildly different now, too. Laurel’s 18-mile runs leave her hungry for thousands of calories, while I actually need to slash my normally enormous in-season calorie consumption.
Case in point: Our recent favorite smoothie creations, below.
Read them, try them, or just glance at the titles, then comment below on which one you like best or tweet your response to @athletefood. No need to leave your email address in the comment, we'll track you down.
We’ll select one reader randomly and reward the lucky Athlete Food fan with a case of ZICO coconut water.
—Bec
A: Bec's Peach Blueberry Smoothie, B: Laurel's Chocolate Banana Shake
Bec's Peach Blueberry Smoothie:
Now that my workouts are much lighter, so are my recovery drinks. I replaced my usual high-calorie protein powder with low-fat kefir.
Kefir provides protein and probiotics. ZICO provides lots of potassium. Pineapple adds an anti-inflammatory boost. The mint lends an herbal flavor not usually found in a smoothie, and gives me an excuse to trim my overgrown mint plant.
To make this summer fruit smoothie, blend 1 white peach, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks, 1/2 cup plain low-fat kefir, 3/4 cup plain ZICO coconut water, and 10 mint leaves in a blender until smooth.
Laurel's Chocolate Banana Shake:
Most Saturdays in July Laurel rode 100 miles in New Jersey and then hit the Weehawken Track for mile repeats at her marathon race pace. After all the running, she needed a recovery drink dense with calories and nutrition. The Chocolate ZICO replaces electrolytes and the Ultragen protein powder helps her get down some protein between workouts. Flax seed meal, rich with vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids, has the added benefit of thickening the mixture to an almost milkshake-like consistency.
To make this dessert-like recovery drink, combine 1 12-ounce bottle of ZICO Chocolate coconut water, 1 scoop of Ultragen Cappuccino protein powder, 1 frozen banana, and up to 2 tablespoosns of ground flax seeds in a blender and blend until smooth.
Reader Comments (19)
The Chocolate Banana Shake sounds amazing! I absolutely LOVE the chocolate ZICO.. and anything chocolate :)
Gonna have to go with Laurel's chocolate banana shake. Chocolate Zico coconut water is amazing blended with bananas in a smoothie after a long workout!
I'm going with the Peach Blueberry smoothie! Although I adooooore chocolate, keep it away from my refreshingly cool smoothies! :)
I'm (sadly) allergic to chocolate so I'm gonna have to go with A. Yum!
both sound amazing, but I'll have to go with B. Can't resist anything chocolate...
Chocolate & PB all the way!! But we'd use almond butter. It's better for you.
They both look delicious! But I'd have to go with Bec's Peach Blueberry smoothie, I love peaches...and congrats on the new addition :)
Since I'm also training for IM-NYC (just hoping to finish by midnight), I should probably be drinking the choc-banana shake, but I like the lower-calorie peach-blueberry smoothie better. Good luck to Laurel at IM-NYC, and congrats to Bec on the exciting news.
p.s. I may be the world's slowest triathlete but I'm a huge fan of the Wassner twins!
Chocolate! Peanut butter! Mmmmmm. Easy choice (sorry Bec)
I am training for my first 70.3, so I will choose B.
Absolutly loves kefir so I'm gona go with A + my workout volume is on the low side of the scale.Congrads on the happy news to Bec, Mazal Tove! And good luck to Laurel on the IM. You think I can replace the Zico coconut water with any coconut water? Not sure they market out here in Israel.
I have to go with the fruity smoothy, A because I just love the taste of fresh fruits.
Going to have to go with peach/blueberry. A bowl of cut up peaches with blueberries is one of my all time favorite summer treats. And now I'm hungry... :)
I vote for A. It would be a refreshing change from my chocolaty routine ;-)
Sucker for chocolate and banana! Team B - Laurel.
I need to lose a few pounds so I'll have to opt for A.
Wow, they both look great, but given how hot it's been where I live the last 6 weeks or so, I think I'd go with A. The chocolate one would be good, though, after a long ride or run. Although I haven't tried the chocolate Zico yet because I wasn't sure how it would taste! Maybe this is a good excuse to try it. I usually like the Pomberry, Lime or Mango.
Im going to add a little almond butter to the seond one..... Mmmmm Larels Chocolate Banana Shake with illegally added almond butter (homer voice)
YUM!! I want to try both :) ... the blueberry / peach for breakfast, and the chocolate / banana post-workout. Now I need to go stock up on Zico... YUM.