(Formerly Vegan) Cookie Dough Truffles

I adapted this recipe from Chloe Coscarelli, who was the amazingly talented 22-year-old vegan chef to win Cupcake Wars back in 2010.   These little cookie dough truffles are absolutely addictive.  I substituted the 1 and 1/4 cup of flour in the recipe for 1 cup of vanilla whey protein powder and 1/4 cup almond meal.  The best thing about these is that they are egg-free, so it's safe to eat them raw.  They are also easy to make.  And if you have kids, they will love the job of rolling the cookie dough balls in melted chocolate.  And then licking the leftover chocolate straight from the bowl, which makes for an easy cleanup.

Enjoy!

Very Berry Chia Pudding

Today's "pralines" are played by this delicious berry chia pudding.

Ingredients for two small jars:

• Greek yogurt (I prefer flavored and used caramel for this recipe), 2/3 cup
• Almond milk (vanilla, sweetened or not), 1.5 cups
• Chia seeds, 6 tbsp
• Frozen berry mix (I used Trader Joe's Very Berry Cherry, which had in it raspberries, cherries, blueberries, and blackberries)

Directions:

1. Mix yogurt with 2 tbsp of chia seeds and spoon into the bottom of the jars.
2. Blend almond milk with frozen berries and the remaining chia seeds and pour on top of the yogurt.
3. Refrigerate overnight.

This weekend's "crunches" are "Total Conditioning Extreme" class at the gym, which made me so happy and all around sore and Fitness Pilates class, which I hope will take the soreness away.

Happy Healthy Sunday!

Charleston Diaries

We just returned home from a long vacation to Charleston, South Carolina.    I have always been enchanted with the South.  I like everything about it, from the accent, to the memories of Scarlett O'Hara, to coconut cake and grits, the cheesy kind.   Best of all, the people are friendly, the atmosphere is relaxed, the ocean is so close, and it's warm year round.  We were in a rented house on the Isle of Palms, which is just outside of Charleston.  Since the weather was not beach friendly on a few of our days there, we've made a few excursions into town, visited the South Carolina Aquarium on Charleston   Harbor, USS Yorktown, Fort Sumter, South of Broad, and the Battery Park.

The house we stayed in was on the ocean and had a pool.  But who needs a pool when one has the ocean?

The first morning was warm and sunny and we spent it in the ocean.

In the evening, Alexis practiced her ballet moves on the beach

Beautiful sunset

On one of our walks on the beach we found a crab who was missing a claw.  We released him back into the ocean, hoping he'll grow another.

Hominy Grill is a local Charleston landmark.  We enjoyed the food and the atmosphere so much that we ended up eating dinner here on two different nights.

Butternut squash soup.  It had a distinct hint of ginger.  Delicious with toasted almonds.

Pickled shrimp.  I had to Google it on my phone as I was reading the menu.  Turns out it's a Southern specialty.  It was an appetizer, which served as my dinner one of the nights at Hominy's.

Hummingbird cake at Hominy Grill.

Homes on South of Broad

Battery Park

Arthur Ravenel Bridge, which you need to take to get to Isle of Palms from Charleston.  It's a beautiful construction.

USS Yorktown.   The kids met a veteran on board who commissioned the ship 71 years ago.  It was fascinating walking around the ship and learning about World War II. 

Patriots Point Charleston

Fort Sumter National Monument.  I can now say that I've been where the American Civil War started on April 12, 1861. 

Downtown Charleston.  I took this picture coming back from Fort Sumter. 

Peninsula Grill is the home of America's best coconut cake, which was featured on Food Network.

The Ultimate Coconut Cake from Peninsula Grill.   The picture doesn't do it justice.  It was eleven pounds of ultimate coconut goodness.

I so miss the beach already