Banana Cacao Mucuna Pre-Workout Smoothie Recipe
This energizing smoothie is made with banana and cacao powder for a rich tasting chocolate banana flavor.
With the addition of cinnamon, mucuna, whey protein and coconut oil, it provides an energy boost before weight training or other activities where you need a lot of fuel for your body.
Why the Ingredients in This Smoothie are Great Before a Workout
Banana
Bananas are a healthy fruit, high in potassium, prebiotic soluble fiber, magnesium, manganese, vitamin C and vitamin B6. They do have a problem though — high levels of natural sugars.
This makes them not the best food to eat regularly, or add to your smoothies, if you’re trying to lose weight. Right before a workout though, with all their potassium, magnesium and vitamin C, bananas are excellent.
Cacao
Raw cacao, like this organic powder from superior criollo beans, is a high-powered version of all the benefits of chocolate, without the excessive sugar and fattening vegetable oil.
Exceptionally high in magnesium for optimal muscle function, raw cacao also contains l-theanine for mental alertness without the high stress hormones from most caffeinated beverages.
Mucuna Pruriens
Mucuna is a potent South American herb that has the unusual ability to gently stimulate dopamine production.
Increased dopamine has been shown to stimulate human growth hormone production, which in turn can increase your body’s lean muscle mass.
Powdered mucuna is great in your smoothie before a workout and there’s more on using mucuna pruriens for dopamine and testosterone here.
Cinnamon
The spice cinnamon adds a wonderful aroma and taste to this smoothie but its real purpose is to regulate blood sugar spikes.
It’s recommended to add a teaspoon of real Ceylon cinnamon like this one to any smoothie recipes with banana or other fruits with reasonably high levels of natural sugars.
Coconut oil
The medium chain triglycerides in coconut oil are an excellent source of slow burning energy that have been shown to stimulate fat burning within your body.
Like cinnamon, coconut oil evens out blood sugar spikes and adding it is recommended for any recipes containing banana or other fruits with a lot of natural sugar like pears, mangos or melons.
Grass Fed Whey Protein Powder
Grass fed whey powder is a superior protein to add to any smoothie but it’s especially important before a workout or exercise where your body will need to repair muscles after you finish.
Research has shown it’s very valuable to consume protein both before and after a weight training for best muscle-building results. You can read more about the many benefits of grass fed whey protein here.
Milk of Your Choice
I recommend 1 cup of coconut milk, diluted with 1 cup of water for more of the thermogenic effects of coconut’s medium chain triglycerides.
You can also use hemp milk, almond or hazelnut milk, coconut water or organic cow’s milk (if you tolerate it well). Conventional feedlot dairy milk and soy milk aren’t recommended from a health perspective.
Ingredients List
- 1 ripe banana.
- 1 tablespoon of organic coconut oil.
- 20 – 30 grams of grass fed whey protein like this.
- 2 teaspoons of raw cacao.
- 1 teaspoon of high potency powdered mucuna like this one.
- Half a teaspoon of Ceylon cinnamon.
- 1 cup of coconut milk + 1 cup of water. Alternatively, use 2 cups of almond, hazelnut or hemp milk, coconut water or grass fed, organic cow’s milk.
- Optional: A scoop of green powder, like the excellent Organifi Green Juice, will significantly increase the nutritional properties of this smoothie.
How to Make a Workout Boosting Smoothie
- To make this special pre-exercise drink, first pour in your coconut milk and water, or other milk of your choice, into your blender.
- Add the cacao, cinnamon, mucuna, grass fed whey protein, coconut oil and peeled banana broken into a few pieces last.
- Add a couple of ice cubes if you like it colder and then put the lid on tightly and blend it all up well.
- Drink immediately for the best taste and results, though this smoothie recipe should keep for a short while if needed.
Timing for Best Results
Due to the potent ingredients in it, it’s generally not recommended to make this energizing smoothie recipe up too late in the evening.
The best time to enjoy it is about half an hour before you start a workout for extra energy and focus during training.
If you really want to maximize your results you could also make up this testosterone boosting smoothie after exercising as well.
You can of course blend it up any time you need more get up and go. It’s definitely worth trying just before a workout, run or playing sports though, where you can really notice the extra boost it gives you.
I hope you like this pre-workout smoothie recipe with mucuna, cacao and banana enjoy the way it makes you feel. Please share it and feel free to comment with any other high energy ingredients you’d add to it.
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