As both a runner and a morning person, I was stoked to see that Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky were coming out with a cookbook focused around morning routines and breakfast recipes. I’ve been madly in love with their Superhero Muffins ever since I first chanced upon the free version of the recipe online, and a few of my go-to recipes come from their Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow cookbook.

I love mornings, and I love breakfast, but I often resort to whipping up something quick and chocolately if I don’t have muffins or another meal prepped from the night before. Having a book chock full of breakfast recipes, with not one but two entire chapters of muffin recipes has put some pep in my breakfast step once again.

The past couple weeks haven’t been super heavy in the running department, since I am experiencing a particularly bad flare up of my chronic pain condition. While I’ve been medically cleared to run even during a flare, being in pain doesn’t exactly make a girl want to strap on her running shoes.

That, however, has not stopped me from immediately diving in to see what Rise & Run: Recipes, Rituals, and Runs to Fuel Your Day has to offer. Since it arrived on my doorstep on Tuesday, I’ve tried out two of the recipes and have a third one on dock for Sunday meal prep. Would I normally wait to try a few more recipes before reviewing a cookbook? Yes, probably.

But it’s Blogtober and I am a few hours shy of missing my first ever post day, so here I am, reflecting on the recipes I’ve tried so far. If I’d really thought ahead, I would’ve taken pictures as I made these meals, but really, I was just excited to start trying them, so here we are.

Sunrise Overnight Oats

The first recipe I tried from the book, these overnight oats are quite a bit different to something I’d normally make myself for breakfast. As in, they don’t feature chocolate, a general requirement when I eat oats in the morning. This recipe sneaks in some shredded carrot much like my favorite version of the superhero muffins, and incorporates apples as well. The primary flavor notes are cinnamon, apple, and honey, and while the recipe calls for homemade nut milk, I splashed in oatmilk instead because that’s what we generally have on hand.

After eating these oats for breakfast, I was surprised that I could noticeably tell a difference in my energy levels compared with my usual hastily assembled, sugary oats. They were delicious, as well, a sort of cold apple pie flavor with a bit of crunch from the apples and almonds. I think these will definitely be a go-to for me, because if there’s one thing I love, it’s shredded carrots sneaked into breakfast.

Homemade Pancake and Waffle Mix

No math before coffee is a lesson I’ve had to learn oh so many times. This morning, I learned it again when I tried to prep a smaller batch of the homemade pancake and waffle mix. As written, the recipe requires nine cups of oat flour, which begs the question, where are these women buying their oat flour? Where I shop, that’s two to three bags, at least. Needless to say, I intended to use only 3 and make a smaller batch so I could whip up the Belgian Waffles from the book.

Except that while I did divide the oat flour and all purpose by three, I forgot to do this when I splashed in the baking powder and cinnamon. Alas, I could either waste all that flour, or improvise my way to 9 cups of something or another, so I chose the latter, tossing in some almond flour and gluten free flour I had on hand.

Suffice it to say, I can’t judge the waffles that resulted from this mix too harshly given that I did not follow the recipe as written. That said, I can’t say I’m sad to have a bag of homemade waffle and pancake mix waiting in the wings, because even my weird improvised version tastes pretty darn good. There are several different recipes in the book that use this mix as a base, from the Belgian waffles I made this morning to pancakes to a savory waffle recipe. I suspect I’ll be baking my way through a few as I work to use this gallon bag of mix I wound up with.

Tomorrow, I dig into the sweet muffin chapter with a new-to-me superhero muffin variation–the dark chocolate banana, of course. At this point, I trust these women to write me a damn good muffin recipe, so I’m quite excited to give several of these a go.

The thing I like best about these books, though, is the tone. Elyse and Shalane don’t treat butter, flour, or whole milk yogurt as enemies, and it’s refreshing to see their recipe incorporating real ingredients that don’t try to “lighten up” baked goods. It’s more about the nutrient profile of the recipe and how those ingredients can nourish one’s body through the hard work of running (or, um, walking the dog).

This one comes with several non-food chapters about morning routines and running habits, as well, which I’m excited to read once I’m feeling a bit less down in the dumps about my own ability to lace up my shoes and go. The verdict: would buy again, 100%. I recommend to folks who enjoy a good muffin, to runners, and to people who enjoy eating secret carrots shredded into things as much as I do.