Lisa Lillien is the energizer bunny -- take my word for it. Ever since beginning the food blog era with her brilliant Hungry Girl site, she travels cross-country for bestselling book tours, runs Hungryland (Hungry Girl Headquarters) in Los Angeles and envisions the healthy trends for Cooking Channel, People Magazine, etc. After a lively breakfast and Hungryland tour with Lisa and her Nickelodeon writer husband Dan Schneider in Los Angeles, I decided I needed to share a taste of her vivacious personality with all of you. I hope you, too, view Lisa's ALL CAPS and exclamation points as the perfect illustration of this woman's charismatic energy. Let's converse with Lisa Lillien. . .AKA Hungry Girl!
FAVORITE STOP SO FAR ON THE LATEST BOOK TOUR?
Wow-- good question -- and a hard one. I like them all for different reasons. On this tour, Kansas City may have been the most special. Jack Pullan, who draws the Hungry Girl cartoon character, lives in Kansas City, and he was there sketching little Hungry Girl faces in everyone's books -- so that was totally different and amazing. And the BBQ in in Kansas City is AWESOME!!!! (That definitely didn't hurt.)
GO-TO SUMMER ENTERTAINING RECIPE?
My frozen slushie HG-approved cocktails, of course! I have so many! The margarita may be the most popular... Tequila, sugar free lemonade drink mix, key lime juice, diet lemon lime soda, and LOTS of ice!
YOUR MOST UNFORGETTABLE RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE?
WOW-- another great Q. There are so many! One of the most memorable and impressive meals I ever had was in Carmel, CA at Pacific's Edge. Everything was PERFECT! They had an awesome salad with kale and butternut squash and grapes -- and I ate the BEST scallops on the planet there, too. The view was amazing as well.
Another incredibly memorable experience was at Jack Stack in Kansas City. The BBQ there is so perfect -- sweet and smoky -- it gives you chills (This is a good thing! And I apologize for telling this to a Memphis girl, but it's the best BBQ I've ever had).
And, any time I have a chance to stick a fork into the butter cake at Mastro's in Los Angeles it becomes THE BEST NIGHT EVER...
LET US IN ON YOUR DAILY ROUTINE IN HUNGRY GIRL HQ.
There's always a lot of food tasting at Hungryland. We're constantly testing out and creating new recipes and sampling new food products as well. I'd say we get around 20 boxes of stuff to try each week. . . and we develop about 5-10 new recipes a week as well these days. I am always writing and editing, too -- and meeting with clients, HG staffers, etc. And, I often will have my dog Lolly there with me, so that adds an element of whimsy and also relaxation and to my daily routine.
EVERY HOME COOK NEEDS. . .
A magic bullet. (Sorry to get all "As Seen On TV" on you...)
THOUGHTS ON BEING A FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR (Since you basically started the blogging world?!)
Launching Hungry Girl was the best thing I ever did! I love running my own business and I really enjoy being an entrepreneur. I encourage people to be entrepreneurial if they are truly passionate about something, fully committed to it, and prepared to work nonstop!
HOW DO YOU BEST BALANCE YOUR WORK AND PERSONAL LIVES?
A lot of times they are one and the same. I love what I do, so it doesn't feel like work to me. . .so working is playing and playing is often working. Not sure that even makes sense, but it is true!
image via food network
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WHAT I WORE (in first photo) :: Alberto Fermani Bootie | J Brand Jeans | Nordstrom Lush Tee