Sentence per picture and a list of post-run meal/snack ideas!!!

Picked up the girls from school and they asked to make a pit-stop on the way home…. for ice cream.

I’ve learned to share things with Brooke because she’ll take about 4 bites before being done and I just take over from there.

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It is happening and before I know it I will be looking up to my nephew (I’m almost 5’9”….and he is only thirteen).

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The bag of popcorn that stays in the car at all times for my snacking emergencies.

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A great day for some soccer game watching and thumb sucking.

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Just brushing up on my jump roping skills… it is harder than I remembered.

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Have been really craving some summer rolls w/peanut sauce so I bought the rice paper wrappers and got to work making this recipe.

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Turns out that mine did not turn out as pretty as hers did…

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But they tasted amazing and hit the craving.

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Brooke requested making chocolate milk and drinking it on the porch together after dinner and I agreed that should happen.

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Just know that if I find matching items for me and her that I will always purchase them.

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I am always on the look out of different great post-run meal/snack ideas and thought I would share some of my favorites and would love if you shared your go-to meals too! It is super easy to get sick of what we normally stick to so hopefully we can come up with a great list of awesome meals to grab right after a run to help our bodies recover fast from our workouts!  I am definitely not a nutritionist and I don’t calculate the exact ratios for my meals after a run but I DO make sure to eat something full of carbs and some protein and close to the 3:1 ratio that has been recommended!  You can read more about exact ratios here!

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*KODIAK CAKES.  I adore the protein packed ones with some fruit on top and this is what I eat most often after a run!  (Nutrition for the pancakes per serving—>  30 grams carbs (5 grams fiber) and 14 grams of protein).

*Hard boiled egg and a bowl of oatmeal

*Almonds + banana

*Protein smoothie—>  my go-to blueberries, Fit 4 Her (or your favorite protein powder), frozen banana, almond butter and milk!

*Chocolate milk!!! —> Carbs, protein and lots of B vitamins!

*Cottage cheese and grapes (or your favorite fruit).

*Toast with 1-2 scrambled eggs on top (the combination of the two is ridiculously good).

*Veggie omelette with a side of fruit

*Apple and peanut butter.  Probably as quick and easy as it comes but so good that you’ll run the last mile of your run really fast in order to get to this snack:)

*Hummus + veggies + pita.

*Bagel with peanut butter (also known as heaven;)

*Egg burrito with salsa!

*Smoothie bowl topped with granola and fresh fruit.

*A sweet potato with some shredded chicken on top (maybe I’m the only one that could eat this at any time of the day but this might just be perfect for afternoon/night runners).

*Egg scramble with ground turkey, veggies and cubed sweet potato.

*English muffin with a fried egg

*Pretzels and string cheese (this is what I ate after pretty much every run when I was pregnant).

*A protein bar!

*Beef jerky and some dried fruit

*Greek yogurt with a sliced banana and berries on top

*Rice cakes with peanut butter

*Deli sliced turkey wrapped up in a tortilla… I also LOVE deli turkey with crackers (I’m a big fan of wheat thins).

What are your favorite post-run meals/snacks?  Vegetarians/vegans reading—> what are your main sources of protein?  

Are you hungry after a run or does it take you some time before you start feeling hungry after you finish?

What is your sentence of the day?!

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66 comments

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My absolute favorite post run drink is chocolate milk. I didn’t think my family really paid that much attention to it but then my Mom came to see me run a half marathon once and as soon as I crossed the finish line she had a chocolate milk on ice waiting for me!

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I love eggs bacon and fried plantains or sweet potatoes post run. Maybe some apples or kale thrown in too, so good!

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It just depends on the run. Sometimes I’m hungry right away, other times the idea of food makes me sick to my stomach. On summer days, the last few miles of a run I’m usually dreaming of a banana, peanut butter and chocolate milk. Yum! I don’t know why I don’t crave that at all during the cooler months though. Cooler months I usually just go with a pb&j sandwich.

Jumping rope – harder than you’d think.

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I wish I was like Brooke and took a few bites and was done, but I’m a bottomless pit :) I’m usually always hungry immediately following a long run or race and like to eat some sweet potato and usually a protein like chicken!

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I’ve been eating ABBA Paleo protein bars after my runs recently. I won 4 boxes of them (yay!) and am slowly becoming addicted. Especially to the coconut flavor.

Love your matching sandals!

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LOVE the matching shoes!! :)

I’m typically not hungry immediately after running, but I love a huge cup of froyo a little later in the day after a long run or a race.

Sentence for the day: Keep hope alive, and hold nothing back.

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It definitely takes me a while to feel hungry after a run even if I feel hungry *during* the run. How strange is that?! I guess while my body is coming down from the high (lol) it needs a little bit to adjust back to normal. I like to have a nice cold smoothie or eggs/toast. Since I run at night I end up having brinner a lot because I’m always craving eggs/toast and it’s so simple to make!

You’re such a cool aunt taking the girls for ice cream after school! Could you pick me up after work today and take me for ice cream? ;)

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My favorite post run meal is oatmeal with an egg, apple, and chia seeds. I’m usually hungry within 15 minutes of a run, but even if I’m not I eat something to start the recovery process.

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Favourite post workout/run snack is my homemade power bars with oats honey and other goodies in them! (Got the recipe on the blog and i am more than happy to share!) I really think they are a great hit!
Your matching items are the cutest thing!!!! I’d definitely do this when i m a mama too!And “oh you got a porch?!?” sooo jealous…

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I LOVE spring rolls! They taste good even if they look awful..but even then they look cool since the skins are see-through. Love them to use up a bunch of veggie!

I can never eat after races. I have no appetite at all but I always force myself to eat something. Sometimes it’s not pretty :(

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just had kodiak cakes post-workout this morning! they’re so easy, I love it. and car popcorn is genius. I always have a snack in my car because you just never know when you’re going to get stuck and need some food.

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I tend to be hungry after a run. I usually crave salty so I’ll eat a handful of salty baked kettle chips with some hummus or have an apple with peanut butter.

Sentence for the day….I’m loving the weather here in NYC!

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I usually run in the morning before breakfast, so my post run snack is usually a big meal. But, before runs: toast with pb and maple syrup, pretzels with pb, or graham crackers and nuts=sit well in my stomach. Kodiak cakes tend to sit well pre-run too, and taste amazing with chocolate covered yogurt raisins mixed-in post run. Just saying :)

After a race I would rather learn Calculus than eat but post training run or even a workout = please step away from the pantry, I’m coming in hot.

Sentence of the day: Today’s tempo was tight, but now, so are my legs haha

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I usually follow a run with some coconut water, and then a bowl of natural yoghurt, honey, cinnamon, bananas and nuts. YUM!!

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Give me anything with a sweet potato and I’m a happy camper! After a hot run I can’t stomach much right away, so I usually go for a smoothie in that case.

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I can’t wait to start running again, but I have to lose at least 20 pounds first just for the sake of my knees. When I was running a couple years ago, I wouldn’t get hungry until hours after my run but I would make myself eat soon after because I think that’s better, right? Maybe I’ll have to look that up again. :)

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I need another trip to Utah.

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I’m addicted to Fairlife Chocolate Milk right after a long workout, whether running or weight training.

4 bites of ice cream? Oh to eat like Brooke…. *sigh* But luckily my local froyo place has pistachio flavored 8 calorie/ounce yogurt. 2-3 ounces with a little bit of cake batter powder sprinkled on and I’m golden for 50 calories.

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I’ve been vegetarian my whole life and I eat vegan probably 50+% of the time. A lot of grains and vegetables have some decent protein as well as tofu, beans/lentils, veggie “meat” alternatives, eggs, cottage cheese, greek yogurt… and so on.

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Post-long run, pancakes were always my go to with banana and some kind of nut butter. Any other longish run where I should refuel within that 30 minute window typically gets a Luna Bar, or a banana with nut butter. I was 99% vegetarian during my marathon training and my main sources of protein were greek yogurt, nut butter, whey protein, eggs, and nuts.

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I read somewhere not too long ago that you don’t have to eat within 30 min of your run. That’s been debunked. It can be an hour or longer, it doesn’t really matter how long after so long as you do eat something. Still, I don’t think I could go longer than an hour after running without eating. I’d feel faint.

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My favorite post-run easy snack/meal is a glass of chocolate milk and an English muffin with peanut butter :)

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My post run favorite meal is always oatmeal! Mixed with eggs and/or Skoop protein powder it’s always perfect! My son is my height now and it’s so scary how time flies by. I’m only 5’4″ but still my baby is growing up so fast!

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My son turned 13 last week. He’s taller than me and I’m 5’8″. Yikes!

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Of course, PEANUT BUTTER on basically anything, but my favorite is on a big bowl of oatmeal with some cinnamon!!!

I also love apples and yogurt.

PS – Your food pics always make me hungry no matter how much I have already eaten before I read your posts;)

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Eating leftover ice cream is one of the perks of motherhood ;-) My list of post-running meals is so similar to yours! When I have time, usually on the week-end, I love to eat sushis post workout… I always crave salt! Like popcorn… mium ;-)

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It takes me a few minutes to want to eat anything after a run. So I should probably eat better after a run since I have the time to make something better than yogurt or fruit. Right now I mostly have cut up fruit with a little whipped cream on top. But I also love eggs, a yogurt, chocolate milk, stuff like that.

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Too funny- i made summer rolls myself once too, and they turned out very very similar looking (but also delicious tasting!!)

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bananas, scrambled eggs with avocado, or a salad!

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Thwow that’s pretty awesome to make those rolls. I’m terrible with cooking and folding wraps do I wonder how it would go for me LOL.

Brooke sounds like my kind of sharer. Four bites and the rest for me LOL.

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Tortilla smeared with either almond butter or Smuckers natural peanut butter & thinly sliced banana…roll it up and its a yummy post-run roll up!

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I usually run on an empty stomach in the morning, so I’m STARVING when I get back. (longer runs I eat a banana before). However, if you’ve never had a hot bowl of oatmeal and put almond butter and bananas in it, I highly recommend that! Favorite post-workout meal for sure! The almond butter practically melts in there and it’s heaven!

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After a longer run or race I usually have no appetite but I love making smoothies when I get home. Usually the only thing that sounds good is fruit! I could demolish an embarrassing amount of watermelon haha.

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For a lovely complete protein, try gallo pinto- it’s Costa Rican beans and rice. It’s super easy, cheap, can make several meals, and holds up well in the fridge. There are plenty of recipes online but basically, sautee 1 onion and 1 red bell pepper in a little oil, add a couple of minced garlic cloves, stir in 1 c cooked rice, add a few tablespoons salsa lizano (a must, amazon carries it), add 1 c black beans, salt to taste, add some cilantro, Eat. You can serve with eggs or mix scrambled eggs in if you want even more protein.

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I haven’t had chocolate milk in ages. How do you make your chocolate milk?

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Chocolate milk! My HS coach used to give us chocolate milk after our long runs and it’s stuck. I am awful at eating quickly after a workout, but I try to at least grab something with protein, like peanut butter and toast. There’s an organic smoothie place way too far from us, but I was going there and getting a peanut butter, chocolate covered almond, banana, coconut milk, almond milk smoothie and that HIT THE SPOT.

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Wow your nephew is really tall! Mmmmm…. I LOVE chocolate milk.
I am trying that summer roll recipe this weekend!! It looks so fresh and delicious.

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I always find that I’m hungry after regular workouts but not hungry AT ALL after long runs. It’s weird, but I have to force myself to eat something after a long run. My marathon is in 10 DAYS!!! coming for you New Jersey!!! :D

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It takes me about an hour to become famished after a run and I do like to have something like a protein shake or smoothie right after if I do a long run.

I eat a lot of huevos rancheros. :)

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i’m a big fan of apple + almond butter post workout or a realllly cold smoothie on a hot day :)

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I pretty much want to eat all the things right after a run. It really hits me about 2 hrs after when I just want to eat more. I like food……

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I’m bad at eating 30 minutes after a run. I usually take a shower and get ready for the day, then I cook food which is more like an hour after my run when I eat. After todays runs I plan on eating a sweet potato topped with leftover taco meat, whipped cottage cheese and some salsa! I also like to eat tuna w/ mayo and plantain chips after a long run!

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My perfect post workout snack are coconut oil fried plantains and scrambled eggs with greens. I workout early in the morning so breakfast is my snack! Truthfull I could eat sweet plantains any day.

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I love an apple with peanut butter or a rice cake with avocado and a fried egg.

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As a vegetarian my main sources of protein are tofu, egg whites, and whey protein. :) I love apples and peanut butter post-workout!

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Those dipped swirly ice cream cones look so good! And I can’t believe how tall your nephew is, he will definitely be over 6 ft!

I’m never hungry right after a run but once my appetite returns I really like spaghetti and meat sauce or PB and J on a bagel.

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OMG. I am so craving some summer rolls…and don’t worry, mine turn out as pretty as yours!! lol

Most of the time I’m not hungry, but I make myself eat something…otherwise it gets me later on when I’m least expecting it!

“Running with friends is the best” (had a tough track workout this morning that a teammate joined me for as we were both unable to make team practice tonight…couldn’t have done it without her!!)

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Generally I am not hungry immediately after running hard or long. I look for pancakes, sweet potato, omelets or a smoothie after morning runs. Later in the day I usually choose salad, turkey burger veggies and sweet potato or fish tacos. (I have a thing for grilled fish or shrimp tacos). When I skip meat I make sure to use beans, grains (quinoa and wild rice have a lot of protein) seeds and/or nuts to up the protein level. Hemp seeds are easy and mild tasting.

My mom used to get or make matching items for me. I loved it.

Brooke may only eat a little of that ice cream but she really gets into it. (and it’s great that she can eat a few bites and be done with it).

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After a race, food is just a big fat no. Gimme a hot shower and a huge black coffee and then my stomach can and will annihilate anything in its path!!!
After a run, I try to have some protein within 30 minutes before I have a full meal.
Many of your post run foods are on my list. Chocolate milk has got to be the best tho!!! For me it’s soy based.

As a vegan, my proteins are mostly soy based. I love edamame and smoked tofu. I make sure to get protein through legumes, grains like quinoa, peanut or almond butter, and high protein veggies like peas.

And those spring rolls!!! Yum! I don’t really care how they look – its all going to the same place anyway, right!?!?

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I’m pretty stuck on chocolate milk post run because it requires zero effort. I’m so glad I’m not the only one who struggles to make pretty spring/summer rolls! Good thing the taste overrides the appearance.

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I’m vegan and my favorite after run meals are:
–peanut butter toast
-scrambled tofu (so yummy!)
-protein shakes
-apple or banana with peanut butter
-salad with lots of nuts and beans
-chili or other beany soup or stew
-beans and rice
-burritos or tacos with lots of beans

I eat lots of nuts, beans, whole grains, and tofu, and never have a problem getting plenty of protein!

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Where are your brown leather sandals from? I’ve been looking for a pair like those!

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Hey Stephanie! I got them from Gap last year and Brooke’s are from old navy this year and I think they had some similar adult versions last time I was there! They are great because they match with everything!!!

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I almost always opt for sweet potatoes/potatoes and some kind of egg- hard boiled, fried, etc! Or some sourdough bread with pb!

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It usually takes me a while to get hungry after running so I eat a half hour to an hour after I finish. Those snacks sound so good! And my youngest brother is 14 and is almost 6’2″! The tallest one in my family and he is probably not done growing!!

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Where did you get your slippers please?

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HEY DONNA!! My mom got them for me from Costco for Christmas:) Costco has everything ha!

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Drinking my first Kevita! I had to go back and search your blog because I couldn’t remember which blogger had talked about these. Are you still drinking it/finding it to be beneficial?! Just curious – I feel like I have had a stomach ache every day this entire month.

My fave post run meal is a strawberry banana smoothie from Starbucks! But that’s usually only after longer runs. After my typical short 3 mile runs I’m never hungry right away – definitely wait longer than 30 minutes to eat :/ hopefully that doesn’t matter as much for shorter runs?

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ALSO I never knew you were so tall!

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I’m also a huge lover of kodiak cakes! I’d say most of my protein comes from eggs and lean meats. I also try to eat granola bars with more protein as a healthy snack or before a run.

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what awesome ideas. lately i’m obsessed with smoothies and combat crunch bars – seriously..have you tried the cinnamon ones?

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It takes me a little bit to get hungry after a run, but I love these ideas! Especially how simple they are. :)

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My absolute favorite post-workout snack is Breakfast cookie dough cereal. It’s so good! Recipe found here: http://fitnessista.com/2010/08/serious-cereal/

If I am in a hurry, I will have a piece of multi-grain toast with almond butter and sliced bananas or a protein shake made into a smoothie.

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I’m fifteen with a thirteen year old brother. He’s 6’1″. People often ask me if he’s older. I feel you…

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Hey! Do you have suggestions for pre-running snacks? Yesterday I had an Oatmega Protein Bar and a small pear an hour before my run and it did not sit well. I felt like I was running with a ton of bricks in my stomach : (

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protein shake, rice cakes + hummus, carrots + hummus, or half a box of Puffins if it was a rough day ;)

love those shoes – gotta pick myself up a pair!

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