Eating with a Top Chef

July 9, 2012 By Laura

OK, maybe not with…

I did eat AT Richard Blais’ new Atlanta restaurant, The Spence. ~~God bless cheat day~~. Chef Blais was the runner-up in season 4 of Top Chef, and then went on to win Top Chef All-Star season 8. He’s famous for his use of molecular gastronomy and ambitious flavor combinations.

His fearless approach to food was evident throughout The Spence’s menu:

Even the Parker rolls were presented with pizzaz (good thing, because I’ve always found their taste to be blah).

Dinner Rolls with a schemer of butter sprinkled with sea salt

For my appetizer, I couldn’t resist the gazpacho. It was listed on the menu as “Canned Soup of Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho.” I’d take this over Campbell’s any day. It was served atop radishes, smoky-toasted croutons, and what I think was a horseradish granita.

The presentation alone was worth the choice:

My friend and dining mate, Kathleen, chose the beet salad. It was a mix of roasted and raw beets, blue cheese, soft-boiled egg, and wasabi. The textures were perfection, though I could have gone for more heat… but you guys know how I am about fire.

On the to main event. I need to preface this by saying there are dishes the menu that were much more ambitious that what we ordered. The menu needs some explanation and – oddly enough – our server wasn’t recommending the more unusual items, even when asked. Did she not trust our pedestrian palates?

If I go back, I’m throwing caution to the wind and ordering the pork belly. It is brought to the table under a glass dome of rich smoke and unleashed for your viewing (and smelling) pleasure. The people next to us were over-the-moon about this dish. ~~It smelled so good I almost jumped into the guy’s lap when they removed his lid.~~

I selected the Cobia (a mild white fish). It was cooked to perfection – done sous-vide and finished on the grill to give it a nice crust. It was topped with a salsa of kaffir lime, pineapple, capers, and crisp green beans. Even better was the pine nut cream – it was like dinner-appropriate nutty whipped cream.

Kathleen ordered the Spatchcock chicken with asparagus and sea beans. The chicken itself was ho-hum (again, we should have ordered better), but the sea beans and a peanut dust served alongside the chicken were fantastic.

Last but not least: dessert. I had been looking forward to the carrot cake and peas, but it wasn’t available that evening (they change the menu weekly).

No matter, one bite into my selection and I forget the cake. I chose the Burnt Banana Ice Cream served with chocolate mousse mixed with lightly candied peanuts and drizzled with caramel. I could have licked the plate. The ice cream was just as good as it sounds, and the mousse was thick yet not too sweet. The well-balanced dessert that left me feeling satisfied rather than gluttonous.

Kathleen was craving cheesecake. She ordered what was listed on the menu as “Ricotta Cheesecake, Blackberry, and Graham.” This looked NOTHING like a cheesecake, but was impressive, nonetheless. It was incredibly light and was easily the most creative cheesecake interpretation I’ve seen.

The bill was presented with an old-fashioned key resembling the restaurant’s logo. I wonder how long before all of those are stolen?

It was quite pricey, but you will leave with a smile on your face once you eat the gift from the kitchen – a tiny creme-filled spiced cookie sandwich.

You’ll leave with an even bigger smile if you ~~man-up~~ boldly interrupt Chef in the middle of dinner service for a quick photo-op. In all seriousness he was very gracious, stopping to chat with several tables and patiently posing for photographs.

He asked if I was a “good blogger or a bad blogger.”

I think I’m good… I’m certainly not mean. ~~Most of the time.~~

________________________________________________________________________________________

I almost forgot the workout recap time! Figure competition training is still ON and I am loving it. It is taking a massive amount of discipline, but I know the reward will be well-worth it. Ever try doing barbell squats with a heinous sunburn on your shoulders? I don’t recommend it.

I think there are a few noticeable changes in muscle-size. Or at lease that what my mom and my BFF tell me.

Workout Recap (7/2- 7/8):

Monday – Back/Triceps, 2 mile walk
Tuesday – Shoulders/Glutes (w/ trainer), 3 mile walk
Wednesday – Chest/Biceps, 3 mile walk, jet-skiing
Thursday – Legs, 2 mile walk
Friday – Back/Triceps
Saturday – Shoulders/Glutes, 2 mi walk
Sunday – 15 min bike ride, 2 softball games

***

Thanks to everyone for their positive thoughts, comments, messages, and tweets after Friday’s post. It was a tough day, but you all put a smile on my face. 🙂

Have you ever eaten at a “celebrity” chef’s restaurant? Did it live up to expectations?

What was the best thing you ate this weekend?

Blueberry Protein Tart + WIAW

July 4, 2012 By Laura

Happy 4th of July!

I wasn’t going to post today, but how could I miss my favorite day of the week – Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday.

Last week I talked a lot about the nutrition plan I’m on to achieve my new fitness goal (competing in a figure competition). I’m still packing in the protein and keeping it (mostly) vegetarian. I’m struggling to find a wider variety of protein sources.

One thing I noticed last week was that my skin is breaking out from the increase in dairy. Greek yogurt and cottage cheese had become protein-staples. I’m aiming to just cut back a bit this week, limiting it to 1-2 servings of dairy per day, to see if that helps.

Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday theme for July is of “Food, Fun, and Fitness.” Girl reads my mind with these themes!

Check out my protein-filled fuel below; then click here to the WIAW round-up on Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s fitness treats!

Meal 1:

Last week I talked about how I’m now eating 7 meals a day. Meal 1 occurred yesterday at 8am. Knowing I had an appointment with my trainer later, I focused on getting as much energy as possible from my morning eats.

Workout energy can be quite tasty!

This is a Blueberry Protein Tart. I ate it for breakfast, but it would make one helluva dessert too!

The inspiration for this creation was Tessa’s own creation. I am not allowed the peanut butter she added, and I needed to reduce the size because when you eat 7 meals a day they need to be a tad smaller (yet still protein rich – that’s a whole other challenge).

Despite the omission of peanut butter, my crust was fantastically chewy and fudgey. And the “cream filling” was just perfect. If you haven’t invested in peanut flour, you should do so ASAP. I’m not kidding.

Recipe at the bottom of this post.

Meal 2:

This was my pre-workout meal. In effort to limit the dairy, I made a massive tomato and egg white scramble with basil and a drizzle of balsamic. I’m also allowed 1 T of sunflower seeds, which I sprinkled on top of the mix.

Meal 3:

This meal is like lunch. Since it was also my post-workout meal, a protein smoothie was in order. I have to eat immediately after my workout to build muscle, so portability is key. I also packed cereal for some carbs to top my smoothie and a water mixed with Amino Energy to drink during and after the workout for energy and recovery.

This is one of my new favorite smoothies. Carrot Cake. I’ve tried it before, but I think this particular combo is the winner. A couple more trials and I’ll post the recipe.

It did get the thumbs up from both trainers who sampled it.

Meal 4:

This is like an afternoon snack. That means I can have a protein source (25g) and a 3/4 C serving of veggies. Hmmmm… a protein-packed nori roll? Is that possible?

Yes, yes it is. I mixed a scoop of protein powder and ~1 tsp of wasabi with water to form a paste.

I slathered my nori rolls with it and filled them with sprouts, beets, raw asparagus, and raw cauliflower. Not too shabby for a snack on the fly!

Meal 5:

Usually I have some sort of dinner in mind, but today I was drawing a blank on where my dinner protein would come from. My protein ended up being partially in the form of beans, and some of the secret was in the sauce.

Note: I know several will comment that I should eat more to beans, quinoa, and lentils for vegetarian/vegan protein sources. The problem with that is that they count as carbs. I am limited to 3/4 C of carbs at meals 1, 3, and 5. 3/4 a cup of beans is about 12g of protein. That leaves 8-13g protein I’d still need for that meal!

For this protein-rich salad, I combined 1/2 cup of fava beans and cannellini beans with 3 oz Greek yogurt, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and lavar flakes. Then I tossed it all with beets, sprouts, green pepper, and onion. Topped with 1/4 C edamame, basil, more nooch, and red pepper flakes.

Sort of like a bean-based chicken salad. Sort of.

Meal 6:

By this time of day I am sick of eating. That’s something I never thought I’d say! Meal 6 was a quick scramble of soy-based ground “beef,” egg whites, and zucchini topped with nooch and radish.

Meal 7:

Last meal. This – I am told – is my “dessert.” I’ve pulled some good ones, but tonight I was just proud of myself for getting in the 7th meal. Typically I’m too stuffed by meal 6 to get anything else in mah belly.

1/2 banana covered in Greek yogurt and frozen with bowl of peanut butter protein pudding (protein powder, peanut flour, almond milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon).

Blueberry Protein Tart

For the Crust:

1/4 C cereal
1 tsp cinnamon
1 T vanilla protein powder
1 tsp chia seeds
2 T unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or liquid of choice)
5-6 drops vanilla liquid stevia (or your favorite sweetener)

For the Cream:

3 oz (1/2 container) Greek yogurt
1 T peanut flour
5-6 drops vanilla liquid stevia

For the Crust:

Place your favorite cereal in a blender and mix until it’s dust. Pour into a small bowl and stir in cinnamon, protein powder, and chia seeds. Stir in stevia and milk. (Note: You may have to adjust liquid amounts depending on the powder and cereal you use.) It should form a sticky ball.

Spread the crust mixture evenly across a small plate (~1/4 in thick). Refrigerate over night, or at least 20 mins.

For the Cream:

In a small bowl combine yogurt, peanut flour (you could sub more protein powder here), and stevia.

Spread evenly atop your crust.
Top with the fruit of your choice and enjoy!

Makes 1 serving.

Approximate nutritionals (without toppings; can vary widely depending on cereal, powder, and yogurt used): 219 calories, 6.9g fat, 22.4g carbohydrates, 6.8g fiber, 4.3g sugar, 23.6g protein

***

In case you’re curious, I managed 154.5 g of protein with these eats. BAM.

How do you refuel post-workout?

What is your favorite 4th of July dish?

A Protein-Filled Wednesday + a Snack Giveaway!

June 27, 2012 By Laura

Snacking is the new name of the game for me.

Yesterday I revealed my new fitness goal to you all – to compete in a figure competition. This means HUGE change in my plant-based diet. Now I have to focus more on protein than plants, and I’m eating constantly… but my goal is to to keep to a vegetarian protein diet.

The Basic Plan:

7 “meals” per day (I eat every 2 hours)
20-25g of protein at each meal
120 oz of water daily
1 serving of fruit for the first 2 meals, and at meal 7 (“dessert”)
1 serving of veggies for meals 3-6
1/2 C carbs at meal 1, 3, 5, and 7 (beans, lentils, and sweet potatoes count as carbs)
Limited fats – flax at meal 1, nuts at meal 2, olive oil at meals 3 and 5

The good parts: no calorie counting or macro tracking; I get a cheat day once a week; I already love protein shakes

The hard parts: only eating 1 serving of veggies at a time is hard; eating that much protein on a veg diet is REALLY hard; eating all the time sounds fun at first, but I am really never hungry (except for when I wake up); eating every two hours take a ton of planning; all of that water has me running to the bathroom every 30 mins.

Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday theme of “Sensible Snacking” this month is just perfect for my new plan. I am snacking all day!

Check out a day in the food life of a wanna-be figure competitor; then click here to hop on to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s day of eats!