Check out our review of Matthew Kadey’s cookbook Rock Fuel
Cook your way onto the podium
Canadian nutrition expert (and regular Canadian Running contributor) Matthew Kadey gets creative in Rocket Fuel. This 256-page recipe book offers quick ideas for before, during and after the run. What differentiates this book from other similar cookbooks is in its creativity.
Kadey isn’t interested in status-quo snacking. Some of the James Beard Award-winning writer’s recipes sound delicious: apple sandwiches (where apple slices stand-in for bread), savoury mini crepe rolls and toast stacks. Others seem wild, but were surprisingly tasty, such as the spaghetti bolognese muffins and chocolate banana lettuce wraps. Yes, even lettuce tastes great with Nutella.
Where Rocket Fuel is at its strongest is in the classic recipes Kadey offers up with a sublte twist. After travelling in Argentina, Kadey concocted a “hand pie” recipe, which is an easy-to-make take on the empanada. Instead of stuffing them with meat or potatoes, he opts for combos like mango chutney and cashew butter, or (our favourite) apple, cheddar and rosemary. Whereas a meat pie wouldn’t probably work during a long trail run, the hand pie sits pleasantly in the tummy.
Check out Kadey’s exclusive companion story to Rocket Fuel on
As any serious runner can attest to, what you eat before, during and after a calorie-crushing run can make or break your performance. Take nutrition lightly during these critical time-frames and don’t be surprised when your fellow runners who have their sports nutrition on point leave you playing catch-up. But many athletes struggle to grasp what is the optimal fuel to eat before lacing up, while putting in the miles and then after hitting the shower. For this reason, packaged gels, bars and their ilk can seem like the perfect solution to meeting your energy needs. Often, they’re not.
To prove that the best fuel originates from your own kitchen and not a laboratory, sports dietitian Matthew Kadey has just released his new cookbook Rocket Fuel (VeloPress, 2016) which provides a bounty of functional and downright tasty ideas for diy pre, during and post-workout nibbles that will help runners and other athletes of all stripes rise above the competition. What follows are two performance-boosting recipes gleaned from the book and one developed just for Canadian Running (Yum, pancakes-to-go!). Time to break out the apron.