Nursing Friendly No-Cook Energy Bites Recipe

One of the best things I have made recently are these energy bites or protein bites. They are packed with all the good stuff you need to stay active with your little one and produce a lot of milk. They are great snacks and are really nice to have around when you're starving but the baby wont let you put them down. As with most things I don't use a precise recipe, but here is the basics of how to make them. You can also customize them however you like by adding or subtracting different things.

3/4 Cup toasted almonds
3/4 Cup  uncooked instant oatmeal
1 bag pitted dates
1/2 Cup raisins (can use dried cranberries, blueberries, pomegranate etc.)
2 Tbsp vanilla protein powder (can add more or less per your preference)
1/4 Cup flax seed
1/4 Cup Maca powder (not necessary but we have it in house so I add it)
Peanut Butter
Organic Honey

Add the peanut butter and honey until the mixture is sticky enough to roll into balls. Place balls onto a sheet tray an put in the freezer for 15 minutes. Then transfer to ziplock bags in batches of 12 and store in the freezer. When you want them just store them in the fridge so they keep their firmness. They will last almost forever since they're raw.

Latest Craving: Olive Oil Cake

I have never been one for overly sweet desserts or intricate baking, so when a client requested this for their final course of a tasting menu I happily obliged. The recipe was simple, and although I wasn't sure what it would ultimately taste like, I knew it was a blank canvas for a truly spectacular dessert. I paired this recipe with a homemade rosemary orange syrup (recipe below) and fresh whipped cream. The end result was a sweet and savory dessert that tasted a lot like an orange Creamcicle (without the artificial aftertaste).

photo by James Ransom

Recipe (adapted from Maialino's)

makes a 9-inch round cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/3 cups extra virgin olive oil

1 1/4 cups whole milk

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest (about 1 orange)

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup rye whiskey or Grand Marnier (optional)

*For Rosemary Orange Syrup:  1 to 2 ratio of orange juice to granulated sugar, 1 tsp dried rosemary, pinch red pepper flake. Reduce by 1/2 to a syrupy consistency and cool.

Heat oven to 350F. Oil, butter or spray your 9-inch cake pan that is at least 2 inches deep. 

In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk olive oil, milk, eggs, orange zest, juice and whiskey. Add the dry ingredients. Whisk to combine, but don't over whisk.

Pour batter into your cake pan and bake for 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes, until the top is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes.

Run a knife around the edges and remove cake from cake pan and set on a wire rack to let cool completely (about 2 hours). Serve at room temperature with the orange rosemary syrup and some fresh whipped cream.

XOXO

Lisa

Fitness and Health While Pregnant

My 24 week pregnant self

The theory with fitness and wellness during pregnancy is that pregnancy is not an excuse. Since I've been reading the message boards on the What To Expect app, I have noticed how many women are using pregnancy as an excuse to go all out, and I mean ALL out in regards to their diets. They post pictures and comments about their cravings and indulgences, constantly one-upping each other with more and more trash that they are putting into their bodies.

I should have prefaced this post with the fact that I am a food snob. As a professional chef and a slow food advocate I am a 100% believer in the power of sustainable, local, real food. I have read books on the subject of nutrition and would say that I am pretty knowledgeable on the subject of food. That being said, I don't diet and I LOVE food. I simply eat when I'm hungry and try and make the best choice as to what I put in my body. I love good food, especially carbs and make no apologies for not living a gluten-free existence. I take food very seriously and even more so now that I am pregnant.

This is a time in our lives as women that our decisions on food and wellness are affecting our growing babies and setting the stage for their health and behavior later in life. It is already proven that starting around week 22, a fetus can start to actually taste the food you are eating! It makes me so sad to hear about women drinking soda and eating fast food during pregnancy because they just "had to have it!" because your baby is being exposed to harmful chemicals, preservatives and insane amounts of sodium and processed sugar.

As a pregnant woman myself I call bullsh*t on the craving excuse. Of course there have been times when something especially bad for me sounded great, but you improvise, you satisfy your craving in other ways, or else you satisfy the craving in moderation. The most common pregnancy cravings are for sweets and even I have had them on occasion. My solution is eating fresh fruit. It's the summer here in South Carolina and there are several farms right up the road and let me tell you, nothing you can get from Dairy Queen tastes as good as a farm fresh peach. I seriously can't get enough fruit and have stocked my fridge with fabulous seasonal options like watermelon, nectarines, cherries, peaches and melon. I have also made sure to have squares of dark chocolate and almonds on hand when I need something a little more decadent. The antioxidants in dark chocolate are actually beneficial to your body (especially if you're staying active) and the almonds add a nutritious crunch that adds to the yumminess.

Now on to fitness. I hate working out. I've always been an active person but it has always been a love/hate relationship with exercise. I'm not the girl who loves to wake up at 5:30am and make it to two classes before 9am. I enjoy sleep and on the scale of 1 to lazy, I would rank myself close to sloth-status. However, it's a necessary evil, like going to the doctor or brushing your teeth. In my book, there is no option, you work out, you stay active and you sleep better knowing that you are taking proper care of yourself. Sure, I would love a perfect body and six-pack abs like a Victoria's Secret model but I have made peace with the fact that a) I'm not built that way, and b) I love food too much to ever have 4% body fat. I'm satisfied with staying trim and trying to ease gracefully into my 30's without letting my cellulite spread too rapidly.

Pregnancy makes working out even more tedious. You're exhausted, your body hurts (for good reason) and the notion of exerting extra energy seems impossible. My tip is to give yourself a break in the first trimester. I beat myself up for taking a few weeks away from my normal gym routine once the morning sickness and exhaustion set in. I was terrified that I would never get back to working out and as a result would spend my pregnancy in sweat pants on the couch growing fatter. This was not the case. Once the second trimester hit I felt like myself again and back to the gym I went. You have to modify your workouts to accommodate your growing and changing body, but for the most part I do everything I used to do pre-pregnancy.

Believe it or not, working out helps a LOT with the symptoms you will undoubtedly deal with. I prefer yoga and weight lifting with moderate cardio mixed in. Everyone needs to find what works for them but the key is to stay active! It will make it much easier to lose weight postpartum (so I've been told) and get back to your before baby body.

Pregnancy is an incredible time but it definitely comes with its fair share of challenges. Keeping yourself healthy and active not only benefits you during the journey, it will give your baby a step-up in life from day one.

XOXO

Lisa

Happy Anniversary to Us! 1

Happy anniversary to us!

This past weekend Matt celebrated a huge milestone, our one year anniversary. It is incredible that a year has gone by so fast, but when we looked back at all the incredible things we've done this year it becomes easier to believe its actually been 365 days.

We spent the weekend out of the house, which for us is a big coup. We started off the celebration on Saturday morning. We drove out to Bowens Island and rented a tandem kayak and spent the morning in the sunshine on Folly River. The weather was absolutely majestic, the air was warm but the breeze was cool and the tide brought us out with ease. There wasn't another soul around and we paddled and talked, reflecting on our year together as a married couple.

When we got back after a two hour excursion we were both starved so we rushed home to change out of our wet bathing suits and hightailed it to the closest seafood shack on the water. We sat outside on the deck and indulged in fried shrimp, hush puppies, waffle fries and sweet Arnold Palmer's. We watched the boats go by and relaxed into a seriously blissful food coma.

The big event was dinner that evening. Matt has a client who is the general manager at a fabulous Charleston institution called Circa 1886, so we got all dolled up and went to dinner around 7pm.

To say dinner was fabulous would be an understatement. Not only was the restaurant extremely romantic but the food and service were beyond expectation. We leisurely enjoyed a decadent six-course meal that left us both stuffed and serene. The highlight for us both was dessert, which is saying a lot because neither of us would consider ourselves dessert people. The GM sent out a cheese plate that was to die for and we had ordered their croissant doughnuts, also known as CRONUTS. The cronuts were pretty much the best thing I have ever had and I definitely get all the hype about them.

Sunday was another downtown day. We strolled around the old houses and waterfront parks of Charleston, taking photos with our new fancy Nikon camera, stopping only to have breakfast at a quaint crepe place. And would you believe our luck, we happened upon a couple getting engaged in the park. We took it as a good omen for our own anniversary and snapped a few pictures of the happy couple. The rest of the day was spent in normal Sunday fashion, on the couch watching a good movie and waiting for our Sunday night television to begin.

It was a truly perfect weekend

XOXO

Lisa

88 and Rising

Our air conditioner broke yesterday. This wouldn't be such a bad thing if we didn't live in South Carolina. It is now 88 degrees inside and mounting, because I also happen to cook all day for a living. Even our dogs have fled to bathroom tiles to get cool....can you say, domesticated?!

I've been prepping all day for a dinner party I have booked for tonight. Here's the menu:

Mini Charcuterie Plate: 

warm mozzarella, tartufo salumi, EVOO and crusty baguette

*

Creamy Mushroom Pecorino Risotto

*

Pan Seared Mahi Mahi, Farmers market Succotash, Purple Cauliflower Puree

*

Herb Crusted Lamb Chops, Eggplant Capponata, Whipped Feta

*

Dark Chocolate and Orange Bignets

Sounds fabulous right?! I think so...although I am biased because I am the chef. The dinner isn't until 8:30pm so I have all day to prep and enjoy this lovely fall heat wave I have brewing in the house. Matt is coming with me tonight to be my sous chef and server, which will make it a lot of fun. I am so glad he enjoys doing things like that with me because it means we don't have to spend our Saturday night apart. Hope it goes well! We could use the money.

XOXO

Lisa

End of Summer Salad

For lunch today I made an end of summer salad for my husband and I. This salad is perfect for these hot afternoons, packing a lot of flavor and freshness into every bite.

It is super simple. Anyone can throw this together in 10 minutes and really impress your roommate, significant other, or dinner guest.

serves 2
 ingredients:

1 grilled chicken breast, cubed
1 avocado, cubed
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 small red or orange bell pepper, diced
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
6 starberries, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
 juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons good quality olive oil
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Toss everything together and enjoy!