I love food. Mostly, I love real food. I love to cook, and I love to experiment with new recipes. A friend (and physio/running coach) told me about this great cookbook, Run Fast. Eat Slow. Hooray! Running and eating in the same cookbook! I had to grab a copy.
Written by friends and former University of North Carolina cross-country teammates Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky, the recipes were developed by Kopecky (chef, author, nutrition coach, runner, and proud mother) and tested by Flanagan (four-time Olympian, American record holder, and world-class marathoner). Safe to say these brilliant women know what they are writing about.
The philosophy of Run Fast. Eat Slow. aligns very much with my own—eat real food in the right proportions, the right fat is good, and don’t count calories! The book also contains several make ahead recipes to cram into your freezer for time-crunched mornings. Super handy when trying to get the husband, the kids, and myself out of the house on time!
So far, I’ve made the Can’t Beet Me Smoothie, Superhero Muffins, Breakfast Cookies, and Fartlek Chilli and they were all delicious and kid approved. Recently I replaced my tried-and-true pre-race breakfast with the Can’t Beet Me Smoothie before a 5KM race and I won my age group! Having never medalled before, I might just believe the smoothie had something to do with my success. Find the recipe below.
To celebrate Shalane’s NYC Marathon win, I’m giving away a copy of Run Fast. Eat Slow! All you have to do is review Cowichan Valley Running on Google and/or Facebook by midnight November 20 to enter. I’ll do the draw and announce the winner Tuesday, November 21.
Good luck!
—Laura
Can’t Beet Me Smoothie
Save time by using raw beets (instead of baked). Puree them in a high-speed blender.
Ingredients
- 1 cooked beet, peeled and quartered
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 small frozen banana
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or other milk of choice
- 1 cup coconut water
- 1-inch knob fresh ginger, peeled
- 1 Tbsp. almond butter
Instructions
Place the beet, blueberries, banana, milk, coconut water, ginger, and almond butter in a blender. Blend on high speed for several minutes until smooth. Makes 2 servings.