Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I've started going to the gym recently, and I was wondering what a good post-workout snack would be.
I usually go around 10:00 am, so I've already had breakfast, and I finish around 11:30. I prefer to eat a later lunch, so I don't mind if it's filling.
At first I was eating apples and peanut butter, but that made me feel icky. I bought some hemp protein the other day (this kind) and today I made a shake with 3tbsp of the protein powder, 1/2 an apple, 3/4 cup almond milk, some ginger and cinnamon. It tasted alright, and afterwards I felt much better than I did when I was eating the apples and peanut butter. Lots more energy.
I was wondering if this was an alright thing to eat after my workout (if the protein & carb balance was okay). Should I be adding some sort of fat to it too?

I usually do 20 minutes of cardio, and then around an hour of weights/strength training. My goal is to build some lean muscle.
I figure if anyone could help me out it would be you guys.

Thanks!

1c soymilk
1 scoop protein powder
1/2 a frozen banana
3-4 frozen berries or peach slices

If I'm starving I'll add a slice of Ezekiel bread + molasses.

yeah you can't wrong with a smoothie with protein powder. i always bring a shake with protein powder (20-25 grams of protein), 1 banana, spinach or kale, and water. Then later I just eat as normal when I get hungry again.

Thanks guys :3
I was kind of weirded out by drinking "protein shakes" at first, because I guess I never viewed myself as the kind of person who would drink them. I've gotten over it though.
Veggie powered muscles, activate!

there's no need to add fat as the nut milk has enough in it. what you're having is pretty much ideal to be honest.

If I'm not having a meal, I usually have a protein shake or if I'm wanting something more food like, a piece of toast with PB and banana.

many people advocate a 4:1 carb to protein ratio for post workout. Ive heard both sides of needing fuel as soon as you can (within 60min) to time not being a huge factor. Personally after a workout im usually hungry and make a smoothie if im at home or a quinoa/millet/ect porridge at work.

Protein shake is a definate satisfier, I usually blend one up with a banana and some berries for muscle repair.

That or a muesli slice or bowl of oats.

The 4:1 carb/protein ratio is definitely worth exploring; it's been established for a while now and I've found it definitely makes for better recovery and energy later on.. anyway I just thought I'd chime in with a suggestion that might be trivial or might not- if you ever don't have access to a blender or other ingredients for the all-important protein shake, I have found chocolate milk to an excellent on-the-go alternative. Especially when I play hockey, I like to have the Edensoy (or similar brands) mini-boxes of chocolate soy milk. The milk itself has protein and the chocolate flavor has added sugar for the quick acting carbs. Most Clif bars have a carb/protein ratio in that same range as well...

chocolate soy milk rules! it always makes me feel like a whole new person whenever i drink it after a run. malted soy milk is pretty rockin' too, but harder to find (i can only ever get it in chinatown).

peanut butter and banana sandwiches are pretty key, too.

I would agree with what pretty much everyone has posted. The main issue is replacing carbohydrates as opposed to protein (don't let any muscleheads fool you). This is to spare the body of excessive protein loss via the breakdown of muscle. Essentially, if you work out hard and eat too little you'll push your body into cannibalizing your lean body muscle.

From my understanding, protein has less to do with timing (relative to workout) and more with frequency and regularity. When you breakdown muscle via weight resistance (lifting) the amino acids will travel into a pool to eventually be re-utilized. While it isn't bad to take in "some" extra protein, it really is an incredibly meager amount needed. Anything over will essentially be deaminated (removal of the amino sub group) to be utilized as a carbohydrate (while not significant, it still strains the body slightly).

So why do I use protein powder after working out?
I recently switched from soymilk to almond milk which brings along a loss of ~5 to 6 grams of protein per serving (but the calcium content is great!). So I normally mix ~1 Tsp of rice protein into my almond milk.

Just aim for regularity in your diet, Listen to your body and eat when it tells you it's hungry. (Typically 4 hours after a meal and 2 - 3 hours after a snack).

Goodluck and get those gains.
If you are interested I'd recommend checking out the vegan Body Buildilng forum (www.veganbodybuilding.com), but watch out there are still lots of protein overenthusiasts over there too.

apple juice + vanilla rice protein. oddly yummy.

I've started p90x recently (the gym just wasn't doing it for me, the environment weirded me out too much) and I'm on my second week. I love it, and I'm already starting to notice changes :D!
I'm still working through the hemp protein that I bought, but I'm almost done, and I was thinking of getting rice protein next because of the faster absorption. Is this a good idea?

My after-workout drink formula has changed a bit. I'm going for the 4:1 carb/protein ratio. I thought about drinking chocolate milk (the idea is so appealing) but I'm trying to avoid excess refined sugar, and since I'm taking in about 10 grams of protein in my post-workout drink that would be 40g of sugar. Yikes!
As of now I'm using 3 tbsp hemp protein, 1/2 cup almond milk (sweetened), 3/4 cup water, and 1 frozen banana. Tasty and easy!

I'll have to try apple juice out though...

VeganDietician-
Thanks for the great advice and the link to vegan bodybuilding!
I have the feeling that I will be lurking there for extended periods of time.

nebulae - p90x is why i started doing that - it is 4:1 :)

do you make apple juice or is it store bought? are you using sun warrior or something else for the vanilla rice protein.

Sweet!
I knew from lurking the p90x forum that you were a coach, so I figured you'd have good info when it came to post-workout drinks and p90x.

p.s.
I second Eric's questions

What brand of vanilla rice protein do you use? I've been doing unflavored soy + apple juice and it would be surprisingly not gross if the protein powder would dissolve. The thought of adding vanilla makes me think of apple pie with ice cream!