I'm a creature of habit. So much so, that as Sunday rolls around, I check the weather forecast slightly obsessively, crossing my fingers and toes that it doesn't rain. Every Sunday morning since we moved to Canberra, my husband and I drop the kids off and we head off on our date. A somewhat unconventional date, mind you - we head out for a big, two hour mountain bike ride.

Usually we come home with the kids afterwards and make some lunch. But I wasn't as organised as I thought I was so the lunch wait was a lot longer than intended. What's the point of this story, you ask? Well, amidst this conundrum, I was aware it was going to be over an hour before there was food to eat, so I grabbed a chocolate milk to tide me over. I even went a bit hipster with it and put it in a jar, though it was mostly so I could give it a good shake. Anyhow, chocolate milk's efficacy as a post exercise drink has actually come up in conversation several times lately, so I thought I'd explain.

The main purpose of a post exercise snack/meal is to refuel your energy stores. You literally have little packets of energy stowed away in your muscles, called glycogen which you deplete over the course of an exercise session. The other purpose, is to provide some of the building blocks that your body needs to repair itself.

As it happens, the nutritional profile of chocolate milk is ideal for both of these. It has the perfect balance of protein and carbohydrates for muscle recovery (as long as you don't go overboard with the chocolate flavouring), is relatively inexpensive compared to the sports products on the market, and it is packed full of calcium and vitamin D.

That of course, does not mean everyone should go out and start drinking chocolate milk every time they exercise. But it makes for an occasional treat and a bit of childhood nostalgia. Its also a very handy backup plan when a good food source isn't readily available after a big training or exercise session.