Need More Fat In Your Diet? Add This Basil Oil To Just About Anything

We're primed to hack it on the race course after a helluva long year. Are you? Sure, true to your unstoppable grit, determination, and perseverance, you've done your best to stay OCR-ready while sheltering at home. But with Spartan races back in full swing, it's time to clean up your nutrition program and ditch poor pandemic habits once and for all. In partnership with Renaissance Periodization, we created a four-part MACROS 101 series to optimize your nutrition so you can get faster, stronger, and prevent injury. Download the free nutrition plan and use these healthy recipes to inspire your next meal. We've got you covered for your most EPIC return to racing ever. AROO!

When you need a little extra heart-healthy fat in your diet, basil oil goes a long way. Oil aside, basil is an excellent source of vitamin K (improves bone density), manganese (helps metabolize carbs and protein), iron (transports oxygen to muscles), vitamin A (supports your vision) and vitamin C (boosts immune health). It's also rich in calcium, magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids.

When combined with extra virgin olive oil (super easy to do, by the way!), basil oil enriches just about any meal. "This oil packs a punch of nutrients," says Nick Shaw, co-founder of Renaissance Periodization and nutrition coach to OCR elites, CrossFit champions, UFC fighters, Navy SEALs, Olympians and more. "It's great on sandwiches and drizzled on prepared proteins for a change of pace." Add this recipe to your cooking regimen and you'll never go back—plus, it's so good, you'll want to drink it.

Pro Tip: "For a complete meal with carbs, I love to drizzle this over poached egg whites on whole grain toast, with a side of oven roasted tomatoes," says Shaw. "Talk about a nutritious, mouthwatering plate."

basil oil ingredients

Instructions:

Rough chop the garlic.
Sprinkle coarse salt on top of the rough chopped garlic and run your knife through it. Then turn the knife on its side to press and smear the salt and garlic together. Alternate chopping and pressing/smearing until a paste forms.
Add basil leaves, garlic/sea salt paste and EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) to a mini food processor. Process until smooth.
Add pepper if desired.

Pro Tip: If you hate the punch of raw garlic in oils, this technique of combining salt and garlic to make a paste before adding the rest of the ingredients will soften the intensity of the raw garlic.