Yum Yum Yum

You can sleep, stretch, and apply all the heat and ice you want, but if you don't give your body the nutrients it needs to recover, then your efforts were for not. Within a half hour after intense and/or long workouts, eat (or drink) a snack. But it's also important to make sure that what you eat for the rest of the day is "good". While every athlete's nutritional needs differ in terms of their optimal protein : carb : fat ratio, variety is key. However, and I'm just throwing this out there, you don't have to combine all of that variety into one bowl. It's okay to eat your banana separate from your roast beef and kidney beans... in fact, I highly recommend doing so!