Bingo 21: Rec’d
I run and so a good bit of my social media connections relate to that; about a month ago, a gal on my local women’s running group posted that her favorite cookbook series was on Kindle sale; a handful of the other ladies voiced their support/intent to purchase this title. I’d heard of it before, so I figured, why not?
I have to admit, I hadn’t quite made the connection that Rise and Run: Recipes, Rituals, and Runs to Fuel Your Day would focus on breakfast; in hindsight, that makes sense, I just didn’t quite get there until I actually saw the book. I’m one of those people who struggles a little with consistently eating a decent breakfast because I don’t want to and sometimes can’t eat right away first thing in the morning. I was nervous about this, but the good thing about this book since it’s geared towards people on the go, most of the recipes are portable, so stuff I can have in the car on my way to work, or can easily bring to work.
I kind of skipped the first couple of chapters because the rituals and runs section was either way too basic (did you know a chef’s knife for kitchen work is handy?), too I don’t care (I’m not an elite athlete or a mom), or too assuming I have tie to prepare a new recipe for every meal all week (seriously, whoever designs those kinds of meal plans has way too much free time).
The first set of recipes was also not terribly impressive; the book was way too insistent that what are basically various spins on the egg-bake in a muffin tin idea be called “savory superhero muffins”; they actually argued against the label ‘frittata’: “don’t think ‘frittata in a muffin cup.’ Think “muffins minus the sugar, plus cheesy addictiveness with hidden veggies.’” Trying too hard/ treating your reader as a child much? Total honesty, I don’t really like eggs by themselves that much so I wouldn’t be into this section anyways, but that tone was annoying.
It’s also a tad ironic since the following chapter is “Classic Superhero Muffins” which are actual muffins, one I might even want to try, although I do question the base recipe; 3 eggs seems a bit much for what is otherwise a standard “health food” muffin that leans on oats and almonds instead of wheat flour for the base. I do like the look of “Grain-Free Pineapple-Coconut Superhero Muffin” though; it’s not so much the lack of grain as the reliance on sweet potato and pineapple, although I don’t know about coconut flour; that stuff is pricey and there aren’t enough other uses here to make it seem worthwhile. I also like the look of the strawberry rhubarb muffin although I live in an area where rhubarb is kind of hard to come by; I happen to like that flavor though since I grew up with it, so I might seek out the ingredient.
There are two other sections that I have fewer feelings on; the snacks section is pretty standard stuff like health cookies, spiced nuts, and granola. The other breakfast section does include some things that might be interesting like “savory red lentil oatmeal”, “teff porridge with pear and pecan”, or “tropical fruit salad with farro” (under the ‘brunch’ category, the need for which is an argument for another day.
Overall, I’m not mad at this purchase, but I would be if I’d paid more than $3 for it.
