Athletes, including marathon runners, seek high protein healthy dietary options.  Like all people though, they also want tasty, often signature cuisine when traveling to cities or states that are known for regional dishes. One such specialty when traveling in our great Commonwealth is the Kentucky Hot Brown.  Incredibly tasty, it also unfortunately is packed with carbohydrates and fat.  According to the USDA Dietary Allowance, a competitive athlete needs .45 to .72 grams of protein per pound.  This is up to double that required by the average person.  Eggs, which make up the base ingredient of the Nutrition team’s signature Hot Brown Frittata, have 6-7 grams of protein.  Eggs, regarded not only as a source of protein, but as a source of high quality protein, contain all nine essential amino acids.  The second component of the bread alternative is kale, which gives a fluffy texture to the dish and is a nutrient dense low calorie food.  Additional protein is provided by a slice of chicken breast, color and flavor are added by the signature tomato atop the serving and a modest amount of bacon bits are added to stay true to the hot brown namestay.

Kentucky State University (KSU) Community Outreach Coordinator Mason Crawford has refined this healthy alternative to the Kentucky Classic at numerous events where the Thorobred Nutrition Kitchen is utilized to provide healthy eating cooking demonstrations.   With the assistance of others is the Land Grant extension program, the earliest version was launched as a part of the 2018 Governor’s Derby Day Celebration in Frankfort.  In 2019, the perfected frittata sampling, complete with recipe cards, was expanded to the Derby City itself, Louisville KY.   The mobile nutrition kitchen was on working display in the trade show area of the Derby Marathon Exposition in the Kentucky International Convention Center. In addition to partnering with the Derby Festival and marathon staff, KSU continued its involvement with the Frankfort festival as well a short time later on Derby Day.  By providing samples to runners picking up their registration packets, runners were able to try a protein and nutrient rich hot brown inspired food to add to their menu of athlete friendly dishes.

As a result of this collaborative effort between the Nutrition team and Land Grant Communications Department, KSU greatly increased their identity within the running world. Having top notch Nutrition Education and Exercise Science programs, events such as this reinforce our university’s commitment to the healthy lifestyles, a trait emphatically embraced by marathoners.  During the two day event April 25^thand 26^th, over 1750 samples of the tasty dish accented with caramelized bell pepper and onions in the egg and kale crust and topped with low fat cheese to emulate the traditional hot brown appearance were cooked and distributed.  An additional 250 samples were passed out on May 4 in Frankfort. Reviews were positive by event goers at both events and most gladly took the recipe cards.  The expectation is that these attendees will integrate the Hot Brown inspired Kale Frittata or at least a derivative of it into their family’s diet.  Follow up at the 2020 Derby Marathon Expo and Governor’s Derby Day Celebration will provide information on the reaching effects of this program.  The Kentucky hot brown inspired kale frittata  can be made almost completely from fresh Kentucky Proud ingredients.