What to Eat After a Workout: Cherry Protein Bowl

What to eat after a workout? This post workout protein bowl combines protein and carbohydrates, along with tart cherries, for maximum exercise recovery!

This post was created in partnership with Cherry Marketing Institute. All opinions are our own.

Do you plan the foods you eat after a workout? We hadn’t until now, but we recently learned that to help your muscles and energy recover, you should eat foods that contain both carbohydrates and protein within two hours of your exercise session. Here’s what to eat after a workout, and a great way to do it: this tart cherry protein bowl.

What to eat after a workout

With this info in tow, we set about to create a recipe around the question, “What to eat after a workout?” We set out to create a protein bowl tart cherries, since they’re known for helping to recover after exercise. While this might look like a simple bowl of yogurt with random fixings, we’ve picked each component in this bowl for a specific reason:

• Montmorency tart cherries: Studies suggest that Montmorency tart cherries may help you recover faster from exercise, decrease muscle pain and damage. Tart cherries contain compounds called anthocyanins, which block inflammation while preventing muscle damage.
• Greek yogurt: Plain yogurt recommended for what to eat after a workout since it’s primarily made up of protein and carbohydrate content. (It also has healthy bacterial cultures that are good for your digestive system and overall well-being.)
• Dried apricots are high in protein.
• Pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, almonds, and cashews are high in protein and along with cherries, are also recommended for post-workout recovery.

More with tart cherries: Farro Salad with Feta & Cherries

You’ll notice that we’ve used our favorite simple trick in this recipe. Instead of buying flavored, sweetened yogurt, we buy plain yogurt and sweeten it to taste with a little honey or maple syrup. This lets you customize the sweetness to your own preference with a natural sweetener, and avoids any additives in flavored purchased yogurts.

Also of note, the variety of cherries we’ve used here, Montmorency tart cherries, are not sold fresh since the fruits are very delicate when picked. Instead, they’re sold year round in dried, frozen, and juice forms. We also love that the fruit in this recipe is dried, making it an easy pantry meal if you have the yogurt on hand.

Want to fit in more exercise in your life? Try our 28 Day Workout Plan.

Did you make this recipe?

And now you know: what to eat after a workout! If you make this tart cherry protein bowl, we’d love to hear how it turned out. Leave a comment below or share a picture on Instagram and mention @acouplecooks.

This recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free.

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