Love at first Bite: Baking from "Run Fast. Eat Slow."

Alright now, don't get too excited. I'm not sharing any recipes from the New York Times best selling book, you'll have to buy it yourself. Or borrow it from a friend or the library.

When a Oiselle teammate gifted me Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kkopecky's cookbook, Run Fast. Eat Slow., in our holiday gift exchange, I was thrilled. I'd been hearing rave reviews from many runners over the past several months and two of our teammates brought baked goods from the book to our team holiday party that were both delicious. After one bite of the sweet potato breakfast cookie, I knew it would be one of the first recipes I'd make.

While I won't be able to try all the recipes, there are a good number that are vegan or can be altered slightly to be so. I do love that the book focuses on whole foods that naturally provide the nutrients we need as runners and athletes through tasty dishes. It proves once again that healthy food and delicious food are not mutually exclusive!

Before they get into the recipes, there's a section that provides information on foods we should all have in our pantries and eat often - with explanations of why the food is good for us and tips on how to select and/or store it, which is really important. Another section called "Runner's Remedies" is devoted to looking at different issues runners face and how food can help us deal with them. As someone who believes strongly in the idea that "we are what we eat" I believe that how we eat has a direct impact on how we feel and that many ailments can be addressed - at least in part - by focusing on our diet.

Okay, back to the sweet potato breakfast cookies...

I've been known to eat cold sweet potatoes with nut butter on early morning flights, so the idea of sweet potato in a cookie recipe sounds genius to me. They're packed with vitamins and fiber and, in my opinion, are simply delicious. Here they naturally add a sweetness to the cookies.

The recipe is pretty easy but you do have to plan ahead since baking the sweet potato and giving it some time to cool is important. It always take me longer the first time or two that I make a recipe because I read the instructions and measurements about a million times to make sure I don't mess anything up (I've done it before). Thankfully it still didn't take too long because I'd not a big fan of overly complicated recipes that take a long time to prep.

Mine turned out a bit different from the ones I tasted at our holiday party, but both versions were delicious. The recipe calls for 11 ingredients, most of which are probably in your pantry and there are no refined sugars. With the benefits of sweet potato and ginger, these are delicious and healthy.

While not highlighted in the name, these cookies are vegan. A major benefit of vegan cookies is that it's perfectly fine to eat the raw cookie dough left on the spoon!

I hope you give the book a try - if you haven't already. If for no other reason than it's always good to switch things up and try new recipes once in a while.

If you have the Run Fast. Eat Slow. cookbook, what's your favorite recipe? * Do you prefer to bake or cook?