hey all, I’ve got a question about recovery drinks since we are on the subject recently. I’ve got a few 3+ hour rides coming up and need to make sure I’m replenishing well between.
my wife and I have been trying to go to the store once a week because of covid. We usually do the curbside pickup. as such, I usually time all of the meals and things we have in the house with pretty good precision. This week we had to bump our pick up date a little bit later because of a snowstorm and
I ran out of all of my usual recovery shake ingredients. I usually do almond milk banana peanut butter and a little bit of recovery powder. Even the recovery powder I ordered from sis has yet to arrive.
does anyone have any very simple recipes or ideas for a recovery shake that requires minimal ingredients? I do have things like milk, peanut butter, honey, and a few other basics. But no fruit.
I’d love to hear a few different recovery shake ideas that I can make with minimal ingredients! Cheers and thanks for the help 
milk and chocolate milkshake powder
I do have some chocolate! So basically what you’re saying is I should reward myself with a dessert I’m on board with that
If you have time, recovery meals don’t have to be shakes. You could do some oats with pb and milk or yogurt with honey & granola, or a simple pb and honey sandwich. I’ve also been shopping less so I stocked up on bags of frozen fruit. I also chop bananas and keep them in the freezer to add to shakes.
science… 
I do have plenty of oats (case lot sale ftw). I usually do that for breakfast, but recovery sounds good too. Thanks!
If chocolate shakes are wrong, I don’t wanna be right! But they ARE right. Win/win.
FWIW, the peanut butter isn’t helping you recover. Dessert is a better recovery food! Homemade chocolate chip cookies are a decent option, as is the oatmeal as others mentioned. Even a Clif bar is pretty close to 3/4:1 as discussed.
I add a bit of peanut butter for taste and to feel a bit more satisfied until dinner. Something about a bit of the stuff with banana is magical. and since the podcast was talking about how it’s as much mental as it is physical, having something to look forward to, I would say it IS helping me recover, just in a slightly different way
1% milk, chocolate whey powder, maltodextrin powder, and unsweetened cocoa powder. Very delicious.
My coach just asks me to have 600ml of skimmed milk and some chocolate milk powder (36 grams of powder) which equates to 22g of protein, and 60g of carbs Easy, cheap, and a nice excuse to have lots of chocolate milk. EDIT: I can also add that 95% of the workouts I do is with just water in the bottle…
And that the shake is merely to replenish right after the workout, until I have time to make a proper meal.
It also helps immensely with lowering the craving that usually makes me overeat after workouts…
Skim Milk and Tang is my go to. I like the “creamsicle” flavor… Might definitely be a “bodge” but I really like it. Just mix 12oz milk with equal serving of Tang. (Don’t mix it ahead of time, or it will really be a bodge. Just mix and drink right after)
I forget the exact numbers but it’s somewhere right around 4:1 carbs:protein.
More important to me is getting a nice meal afterwards, so I’ll do some oatmeal with fruits or chicken salad, sandwich, etc. afterwards too.
There are some studies (Dylan Johnson mentioned this, I think) that show the reason why Carb+Protein works is because of the calories, and you’d be better off just having more calories and carbs only. So if I don’t have something on hand, I’ll just drink a soda (i know… i know, but i really do feel it helps me the next day) or a gatorade and then focus on the meal too, of course
100% on board with that!
This paper pretty much dispenses with the idea that chocolate milk is specifically better than other recovery drinks. But there is much stronger evidence for the use of a carbs and water, and maybe protein, for recovery in general.
The conclusion of the paper:
Conclusions: Athletes with limited time for recovery between consecutive exercise sessions should prioritise CHO and fluid ingestion to enhance subsequent athletic performance.
I think it’s good to keep in mind that a specific “recovery drink” is unnecessary. Per the conclusion, you only really need liquid carbs if you were doing back to back events or maybe a second workout in the same day. You also don’t need powders or supplements unless your diet was deficient.
Otherwise, regular food will top you off and get you ready for the next workout and it will be healthier than liquid calories.