I love cookbooks. Yes, I know that you can find a recipe for almost anything online, and as such, a big, hardcover cookbook might feel a little archaic. Even if I'm likely to turn to the Internet to find a recipe, there's something about reading my way through a printed collection of recipes that I enjoy immensely. I always look forward to the end-of-year recommendations of "the best," and I often buy a couple. This year, I already had purchased a copy of Roxana Jullapat's Mother Grains, which I saw on several lists. And I ordered Jesse Szewczyk's Cookies: The New Classics even though I hardly need more cookie recipes to try. But it was Rise and Run by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky that has really won me over. And frankly, the book encapsulates everything I've been trying to do with my muffin experiments: making something healthy to eat pre- and post-workout.

I've never been a runner — or an athlete of any sort, so their previous bestseller, Run Fast Eat Slow, wouldn't have caught my attention. But now I am. Both. I've started running, training for my very first 5K in March.

Perhaps it's no surprise I'd never heard of the authors superhero muffins. Hashtag superhero muffins, even. (I did discover that I'd bookmarked the original superhero muffin recipe — I'd just never baked it.) But having read the cookbook cover-to-cover — remember, they're not just a collection of recipes; they're arguments about how/what/why to eat! — I've decided to rethink my workout meals, incorporating the superhero muffins into my diet in lieu of the protein bar that I'd typically wolf down before heading to the gym or onto the yoga mat.

As I've advanced in my training — from complete novice to beginner — I've learned a lot about what I need to be eating before and after I workout. While I've been focused on hitting my protein goals, many of the protein bars I've eaten have been geared towards folks who are on a keto diet. I'm actually recognizing that I need more carbs (and a bit of caffeine) to do my best, and as such the high fat, high protein snacks aren't really cutting it. I also want something pretty digestible as there's nothing worse than bending over to do a deadlift or squat and having my guts protest loudly.

Enter the superhero muffin. I'm not going to include the recipes here because I just baked directly from the cookbook — the everything bagel superhero muffin, that is — and it seems like you can either buy the book or get a recipe from the authors' website. That said, I'm going to work my way through all the superhero mufin recipes. As the name suggests, the one I've tried so far, the everything bagel superhero muffin, is a savory muffin, and it's incredibly filling (coming in at about 270 calories per pop). It's perfect with a little cream cheese, but just fine on its own too.

One of the things that I love about the Rise and Run cookbook in general and the superhero muffin recipes in particular is that the text indicates if the muffin is good for recovery, for endurance, for digestion, and so on. I don't seem to have any issues eating then working out — I do try to give myself at least 30 minutes so that I don't cramp up and drown or whatever. It's actually the whey powder in protein bars that seems to cause me much more intestinal grief.

When I first started reading the cookbook and felt as though the authors had done everything I really wanted to do with my muffin experiment. The project felt a little superfluous. But I'm going to continue with it nonetheless — keep trying to make different kinds of muffins that I'll eat post-workout, starting off my mornings with the superhero and then progressing from there. I'm sort of hoping too that by following these particular muffin recipes closely — recipes that are already designed with athletes in mind — that I can greatly improve what I'm baking and eating for myself.