Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky. Shalane Flanagan is an elite American runner; you may know her as the woman who won the New York City Marathon this past November. Elyse Kopecky is a whole foods chef, food writer and nutrition educator. Elyse and Shalane met in college at the University of North Carolina where they were teammates on the cross-country team. After graduation, they both moved to Portland, Oregon to work for Nike. Nike sponsored Shalane and Elyse worked as a digital marketing producer. Elyse later realized digital producing wasn’t the right fit for her and after ten years, quit and moved to New York City to study at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts.
Image courtesy of Run Fast. Eat Slow.
Both Shalane and Elyse are hardcore athletes. The two women are passionate about nutrition, as nutrition is a key part of fueling an athletic lifestyle. Shalane and Elyse’s cookbook is not only special because of the amazing recipes, but because of the points they touch on. The first few pages of the cookbook are filled with descriptions on ingredients they love (the one they love the most is fat!) and foods one should focus on to relieve GI stress, anemia, and amenorrhea (absence of a period), which many female runners suffer from. Shalane and Elyse’s cookbook, however, is not just for athletes. Today, grocery store aisles are stocked with processed foods and there are tons of fad diets promoted that, are in reality, not healthy. A lot of people today, especially young women, struggle with living up to the “perfect” bikini body expectation. There is also a widespread fear of fat. Fat is actually extremely good for you and your body needs it! Fat carries our nutrients – without fat we would not be able to absorb some vitamins. Fat has also been shown to boost your metabolism and leave off weight gain. If you are someone who struggles to eat a healthy diet, whether you struggle from food fears or anxiety or have a hard time incorporating enough fresh foods into your diet, Run Fast. Eat Slow. is the cookbook for you!
Image courtesy of Run Fast. Eat Slow.
Since it is finals week here at Drexel, I decided to start out with the simpler recipes since I was running low on time. With breakfast being the most important meal of the day and key in fueling my brain for finals studying, I decided to make the Ginger-Molasses granola. The granola was super easy to make and just as delicious! It was made with old-fashioned rolled oats, shredded coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, dried fruit and some spices. The first step was mixing the oats, coconuts, seeds, dried fruit and spices in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, you had to stir together ¼ of a cup of honey, 1/3 of a cup of virgin coconut oil, and ¼ of a cup of blackstrap molasses on low until slightly melted. You could also do this on the stovetop. The final step was to pour the molasses, honey, and coconut oil mixture over the dry ingredients and spread onto a baking sheet. The recipe recommended cooking the granola at 275 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. The final product was outstanding! It was crunchy, flavorful, and most importantly, incredibly good for me! This granola is homemade with fresh ingredients, unlike the store-bought stuff which is often times loaded with added sugars. The blackstrap molasses used in this recipe is the darkest variety of molasses and stocked with potassium, calcium, iron and magnesium. These minerals are super important for athletes, and women in general. Calcium is extremely important for bone strength, which is important, as many women have low bone density. This granola can be stored in glass jars with a lid in the cupboard for up to several weeks. It is great on yogurt, in smoothies or just to snack on when you hit the books at the library.