Post-Workout Red Lentil Smoothie

When my favorite post-workout powder was discontinued I decided to come up with my own, made from whole foods, and pureed to keep it easy to drink and digest quickly.

While lentils do provide a fair amount of BCAAs (Branched Chain Amino Acids) which are supposed to be great for muscle recovery -- it was still only about half of what I was getting from my powder -- so I do eat a hard-boiled egg after my smoothie to compensate for the rest. Another thing that was missing from my Red Lentil smoothie was Vitamin C, so I have a piece of citrus fruit either before or after my smoothie as well.

This is still a great way to get post-workout protein and carbs quickly, and without all the sugar or sugar-substitutes!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp EVOO
3 medium carrots, roughly chopped
2 large rips celery, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup red lentils
4 cups water

Instructions:

1. In a 3 qt. saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add carrot, celery, onion and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir to combine, then cover and let vegetables sweat until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes
3. Add the lentils and water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to low and let simmer, covered, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and puree in blender, or in saucepan with immersion blender.
5. Pour into 4 Ball jars -- each jar just to the top of the "B"
6. To serve, add about 1/2 in. water and heat the jar in the microwave -- you can drink it right out of the jar!