Wondering what to eat after that yoga session? We’ve go the answers…
This post comes from wellness experts, Alexandra Dawson and Ksenia Avdulova!
This past July, Alexandra Dawson and Ksenia Avdulova of the Wellness Warrior Collective — a collaborative series exploring the elements and interconnectedness of whole body wellness through the lens of self-love, positive thinking, and holistic living — packed up their yoga pants for four days of scenic yoga, moon parties, and wildflower walks at Wanderlust Festival, Squaw Valley. With their diverse backgrounds and overwhelming passions for spreading health and living their lives in motion, they’re here now chatting their favorite post-yoga bites.
While in Squaw Valley for Wanderlust Festival, we set an intention to really step up our snacking games. With our schedules jam-packed with yoga practices, meditative dance, media events, and wildflower and singalong hikes, we knew we had to bring some solid, sustaining snacks along for the ride and be prepared to make the most nourishing recovery meals and treats to keep us going strong.
Studies show that a good snack or meal after a workout benefits performance and recovery (not to mention belly and taste bud satisfaction!). For the final installmentof our Wellness Warrior Collective series, we’re sharing our top 5 post-yoga snacks (or meals – depends on how hungry you are!) with a few favorite recipes thrown in to get you back on your feet post yoga, or really, after any longer exercise.
Wellness Warrior Collective’s Top 5 Post Yoga Bites
1. Avocado toast – so much more than an Instagram celebrity, we are absolutely smitten by the infamous avocado toast! When deliciously ripe avocado is combined with beautifying coconut oil and hearty, seedy bread, you’ve got yourself the perfect post-yoga (or really, anytime) meal. We love topping our toast with extra red pepper flakes for that magical pop of color and heat or spicing things up with this Avocado Turmeric Toast Recipe.
2. Yoga Glow Pops (recipe below) – we love anything cool and portable, especially post sweaty yoga sesh! As vibrant as they’ll make you feel, these sweet and simple pineapple, orange, ginger, and turmeric popsicles are packed to the brim with immune boosting Vitamin C and a nifty antioxidant and enzyme called bromelain – perfect for keeping muscle soreness and inflammation at bay to get you back on your mat quicker.
3. Purple Goddess Smoothie Bowl (recipe below) – when post-workout hunger hits, we know all too well a simple smoothie just doesn’t suffice. That’s where the smoothie BOWL comes in – your opportunity to make your everyday smoothie a bit more belly filling. Try adding healthy fat-packed ingredients like avocado, nut butter, or coconut oil for the perfect meal to not only help you recover, but get your creative juices flowing (think toppings!). We’re pretty fond of our berry and banana-rich Purple Goddess Smoothie Bowl, if we do say so ourselves!
4. Grain-Free Cookie Bites- never ones to turn down a sweet bite, we love reaching for these, dare we say, HEALTHY bite-sized, vegan, gluten, and refined sugar-free Dark Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies for that replenishing burst of energy. Made with nourishing almond flour, coconut oil, coconut butter, and coconut flakes, we bet you can’t eat just one.
5. Chia Pudding – as simple as letting raw chia soak in your favorite dairy-free milk (we love almond and coconut!), we absolutely can’t get enough of this fiber and protein-rich bowl of creamy goodness. Try topping your pudding with raw nuts, seeds, granola and berries for added flavor, texture, and nutrition.
Yoga Glow Pops
[makes 6 popsicles]
Ingredients:
1 cup pineapple, fresh or frozen, minced, divided
½ cup fresh orange juice
1 – 1 ½ inches fresh ginger, skin removed
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
In a high-speed blender, mix ¾ cup pineapple, orange juice, ginger, and turmeric until very smooth. Divide mixture evenly amongst popsicles molds, topping each off with an equal portion of the remaining ¼ cup fresh pineapple.
Cover the molds, insert sticks, and freeze until firm.
Purple Goddess Smoothie Bowl
[makes 2 smoothie bowls]
Ingredients:
½ cup frozen blueberries
½ cup frozen blackberries
⅔ banana
½ avocado
1 cup kale
⅓ cup almond milk
1 tablespoon coconut butter
In a high-speed blender, combine all ingredients and blend well. Pour into your favorite bowl, top with your favorite goodies, and enjoy with love.
Topping Ideas:
½ cup mixed berries
½ banana, sliced
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
1 teaspoon chia seeds
¼ cup dried coconut flakes
⅓ cup granola
1 tablespoon almond or peanut butter
+ What is your favorite post-yoga fuel?
Alexandra Dawson: @tallulahalexandra & inmybowl.com
Ksenia Avdulova: @breakfastcriminals & breakfastcriminals.com
