sweet peas and other things » the family behind sweet pea photography

… I’m a slacker…. I haven’t posted on here forever, and the grandmothers are getting antsy, and the paleo* -curious are starting to email me directly…  Sorry everyone!  Let’s just start fresh, shall we?

Okay, so it has been ONE WHOLE YEAR since our family started this paleo* adventure (yep, still with an asterisk… we haven’t come up with a catchy one-word name that means “no grains and no sugar”… if you have any suggestions, please share!)  We’re still enjoying our lifestyle change, and as a bit of a celebration (and an update) I’m going to track our meals again this month! I’ve gotten into a bit of a rut in the recipes I make, so this will challenge me to branch out and try some new ones – and maybe even make up some of my own?! We shall see…

For those of you who have emailed me with questions over the past year – and for the brave ones who have actually started to live a more paleo* lifestyle – I hope this month helps you start/refresh/stay on track too!  Each day I’ll post what we ate, a recipe I like, and a picture if I have a chance. Today you get two days’ worth, since it’s already April 2nd!  Here goes…

April 1st (to catch up)

Breakfast: 2-egg omelet with cheese, ham, and avocado; cottage cheese; coffee with sugar-free creamer; fresh fruit salad (grapes, strawberries, pineapple, bananas — thank you TO4M hosts!)

Lunch: leftover chili with cheese and sour cream; snap peas with ranch dip (NOT the kind that comes in the bottle); water

Dinner: paleo pizza; broccoli and ranch dip; water; a few double-chocolate mocha almond-flour cookies

Bedtime snack: greek yogurt with frozen blueberries drizzled with honey

And the recipe for April 1st… a staple at our home every Friday evening, served with a movie…

PALEO PIZZA!

crust:
2 c. almond flour
1/2 c. chopped pecans (“cookie pieces”)
6 egg whites (3/4 c.)

sauce:
6 oz. can tomato paste
1 can warm water
1 tsp. minced garlic
3 Tbsp. Parmesan
3/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. each: oregano, marjoram, basil, pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, salt

toppings:
turkey pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon, tomatoes, olives, avocados, artichokes, cheese, etc.

1) Mix crust ingredients together and spread on a cookie sheet. The dough will be sticky and you’ll need to spread it with a fork or your fingers. It works great to use a Silpat sheet.
2) Bake at 350* for 10 mins.
3) Add sauce and toppings.
4) Bake about 15 minutes longer.

Also… Do NOT use the ranch dip that comes in a bottle. Just take a look at the ingredient list… lots of words you can’t pronounce, and the ones that you can are usually “high fructose corn syrup” or “vegetable oil” or things like that. Here’s a recipe you can make at home (or if you’re not that ambitious, just buy the dry ranch dip packets by Hidden Valley – still some ingredients I can’t pronounce, but at least no sugar!)

RANCH DIP

16 oz. container regular sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. parsley
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. onion powder
1 1/4. tsp. pepper

Mix all ingredients!