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

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!