We enjoy looking at new cookbooks. Some are great. Some don’t measure up and some become staples in our kitchen. See what you think.
Jackie Dikos, the author of Finish Line Fueling, is both a registered dietitian (RD) and a two-time Olympic Trails competitor in the marathon. She has the experience and professional training to put together a great resource for anyone who loves to run and wants to stay healthy so they can run some more. As Jackie Dikos so aptly put it in the beginning of the book, “A run makes the day more complete. It feels like cashing in a winning lottery ticket.”
The nutrition information provided by the author is fundamental and easy to implement. She positions her advice on food, not sport and nutrition supplements. She sets up her eating advice around five fundamental fueling recommendations that the runner should strive for in meals and snacks when possible.
- Consume quality carbohydrates that contain fiber.
- Eat lean proteins.
- Eat healthy fat.
- Enhance meals with colorful antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables.
- Be sure to drink enough fluid to maintain hydration.
Dikos addresses the stress a runner puts on their immune system and how to keep it in tip-top shape. She looks at running enhancements from beets to supplements and offers advice on why many food-based supplements work better. She deals with race strategies and shares some of what made her a successful runner. She explores problems runners face and how to overcome these issues, and offers runners many how-to kitchen basics. Two excellent charts provided are: Runner’s Nutrient-Based Grocery List and Runner’s Grocery Staples.
The last 60% of the book offers recipes divided by meals, pre-activity snacks, post-workout recovery, racing fuel, and carbo-loading meals. Each recipe comes with tips and a very complete nutrition profile.
If you are a runner or know one, they will enjoy Finish Line Fueling, Skyhorse Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1-5107-1962-0, $19.99,
