Runner’s Zen: Leeks – Benefits & A Recipe!

As some of you know, I’ve been doing a lot of studying and research when it comes to food. I’m a student at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and I’m naturally curious when it comes to food. Learning about how food can heal and fuel a body has been an amazing experience and I really enjoy sharing the benefits of what the right foods have to offer us.

In addition to learning about foods, I’ve also been trying to make new food lately. I’ve gotten in this rut where I’m eating the same thing over and over, and so I’ve been trying to spice it up. There are however, a few ingredients that I’ve never used before that I’ve recently fallen in love with, and leeks is one of them. Before I dive into one of my favorite recipes with leeks, I wanted to give you a little bit of free knowledge and tell you not only how to get more leeks in your diet, but why you should be putting the in your diet. If you’re unfamiliar with the website WHFoods.com, I would recommend checking it out. It has amazing information and recipes – I reference that website a ton!

Leeks belong to the same family as onions and garlic, which are referred to as Allium Vegetables; they also contain a lot of the great benefits that onions and garlic provide. They contain a lot of kaempferol which is a flavonoid that has been shown to help protect our blood vessels from damage. They provide the body with folate which also plays a key role in keeping our cardiovascular system in check, because it makes sure that the levels of homocysteine are normal, and excess levels of homocysteine are known to cause cardiovascular disease.

Now that we know that eating leeks is GREAT for your heart, I’m going to share with you my favorite leek recipe. I found this recipe on an app on my iPad and used it because it’s gluten free and completely paleo for all you paleolithic enthusiasts.

Pan Roasted Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms & Leeks

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
12 shitake mushroom caps, thinly sliced
1 leek, white part only, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
** I doubled this recipe so I had leftovers, and because the chicken came in a package of 4 breasts.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F (or 200C)

2. Heat half of the olive oil in a skillet over medium/low heat

3. Add mushrooms and leeks, stir and cook for 4(ish) minutes or until they’re tender

4. Remove from heat, sprinkle with half of the fresh herbs, and half of the S&P

5. Add the rest of the oil to the skillet and brown the chicken on both sides

6. Cut a small pocket in the top of the chicken breast, but don’t cut all the way through the breast. I cut a concave slice down the center of the whole breast.

7. Fill the pocket with the mushroom/leek mixture, as much as you prefer

8. Season the chicken with the remaining herbs and S&P

9. Put into a glass roasting dish and put it in the oven for about 15 minutes

10. Serve!

Please let me know what you think of this recipe if you try it. I am so in love with it, but would love to hear if you make it different or add a different ingredient!

Until next time – stay healthy!

Sarah xo

Happy Lifting!