If you suffer from a nervous tummy days leading into a race, mint is a great way to settle the nerves in your gut and get more food down. Research shows that mint helps to settle the stomach and can aid athletes in getting fuel down even when they don’t feel like eating (1). If you are not interested or able to drink cow’s or soy milk consider an alternative plant milk with protein powder. Make sure the protein powder provides 8 to 16 grams of protein for the smoothie. Add coconut oil and spinach to add calories and nutrients and make it more of a ‘meal replacement’ when tummy times are tough.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cow’s or soy milk
- 1 frozen banana
- 3 large dates
- 1/8 teaspoon mint or peppermint extract
Optional add-ins:
- 1-2 teaspoons coconut oil
- 1-2 handfuls spinach
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
Instructions:
- Add cow’s or soy milk to a blender. Then add all other ingredients.
- Blend until smooth. You’ll need to blend for a while to arrive at a smooth texture.
Notes:
If you’re not into bits of date in your smoothie, I recommend soaking the dates in warm or hot water for a few minutes before throwing in the blender. This will help to soften them up and blend better. Personally, I like the small bits of date.
1. Naureen, I., Saleem, A., Sagheer, F., Liaqat, S., Gull, S., Fatima, M., & Arshad, Z. (2022). Chemical composition and therapeutic effect of mentha species on human physiology. Scholars Bulletin, 8(1), 25-32.
