Our best bedtime smoothie will not only help you sleep more deeply, get better restoration, and feel energized in the morning. It will also help you be more anabolic through the night so that you build up more muscle.
Anabolic processes produce more testosterone and build organs and tissues. And these include the growth and mineralization of bone and increases in muscle mass. This smoothie is great for athletes and bodybuilders.
A series of posts on smoothies
This is the tenth in a series of posts on Smoothies. Here is the full list you can click on:
- Smoothies for Good Health
- Are Smoothies Bad for You?
- Making the Perfect Smoothie
- Tips For Making Smoothies
- Can You Make Smoothies Ahead Of Time?
- Morning Energy Smoothie
- Stress Relief Smoothie
- Brain Power Smoothie
- Breakfast Power Smoothie
- Best Bedtime Smoothie
- Hangover Smoothie
- Digestion Smoothie
- Running Smoothie
- Muscle Building Smoothie
- Fat Burning Smoothie
Best bedtime smoothie
First, we’ll give details of the recipe, and then we’ll get into the benefits of each ingredient.
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ a banana
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 cup cherries
- 1 Kiwi fruit
- tablespoon honey.
Whole milk
Whole milk is important for testosterone because testosterone is made from healthy saturated fats. And there is plenty of saturated fat in whole milk.
By the way, the majority of testosterone production occurs during sleep, especially around 4 AM. And testosterone is important for women as well as men. It’s part of the Circadian Rhythm.
Peanut butter
Peanut butter is here in part to provide a source of protein while you are sleeping. So the testosterone can put the protein to work building muscle.
Honey
Honey is perfect for providing energy both slowly and quickly. This is because its fructose and sucrose are absorbed into the bloodstream at different rates. You need energy while you sleep in order to enjoy the greatest restoration.
One of the reasons many of us can wake up feeling unwell and a bit groggy is that we have low blood sugar. We all know how bad we feel If we haven’t eaten anything for a while. And this is how our body feels having not eaten anything for 8 hours!
Honey can solve this problem by ensuring you have a steady energy supply throughout the night. Seth Rogen, among other health writers, recommends honey right before bed.
Cherries
As well as being a great source of vitamin C and an excellent antioxidant, cherries are also a natural source of melatonin. This is the sleep hormone.
Melatonin is what the brain produces to get us ready for bed. It helps us fall asleep faster and enjoy a deeper rest.
Kiwi fruit
Kiwi fruit is carefully chosen for its synergistic effect with the peanut butter and the banana.
Within these three ingredients, there are ample sources of zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B6. These are the very same ingredients that make up the popular supplement ZMA.
ZMA is a supplement used by athletes to encourage deeper sleep and also to produce more testosterone.
The magnesium and zinc will also likely have powerful beneficial effects on ‘brain plasticity.’ They will help your brain to rewire itself and form new connections, cementing everything that you learned during the day!
The bedtime smoothie also contains ingredients that make it a smoothie recipe for healthy digestion.
Smoothie equipment
You can’t make a good best bedtime smoothie without the right equipment. So here are some things to have on hand. Make sure you have sharp knives for cutting, a good cutting board, and the following.
Blenders for smoothies
The blender is at the center of the smoothie universe.
We like the Nutribullet Pro as having the best individual overall value for money out there. But it is not really big enough for making smoothies in bulk, which is what we recommend here. Click on the red Nutribullet Pro link below.
The Vitamix is the Top of the line premium choice but, in our opinion, there is no need to spend so much. Click on the red Vitamix link below.
Our best overall choice is the Ninja BL770. Click on the red Ninja BL770 link below.
Nutribullet Pro
Ninja BL770
Vitamix
Mason Jars for smoothies
As explained elsewhere, we don’t like the “smoothie pack” prep. technique. We know it’s popular but, for us, it’s just inefficient.
We much prefer to make smoothies in bulk (at least a week’s supply) and freeze them in individual wide-mouth, “ready-to-drink” Mason jars.
Remember to leave an inch or so at the top to allow for expansion of the liquid as it freezes.
We like the jars that have holes for straws. And you can travel with them too.
Click on the red link below.
Mason Jars
Spatula for smoothies
You must have a long, flexible spatula to make sure you scrape all of the good stuff out of the blender.
Click on the red link below.
Spatula
Reusable Smoothie straws
You don’t want to be throwing all those used straws away. Click on the red link below for the reusable kind.
Reusable Smoothie Straws
Smoothies for weight loss
Many of us (maybe even most of us) started out with smoothies as a way to lose weight. So, while we are not advocates of crash or fad diets, here is a great fast start introduction to smoothies and losing weight.
in the 21-Day Smoothie Diet by Drew Sgoutas, Drew returns you to a regular diet that includes smoothies, after the 21-Day period.
Click on the red underlined link below. The program is digitally delivered. And it has a 60-day money-back guarantee. So there is no risk to you.
And, just below the link, you can see what Amanda has to say about it.
