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take a peek at the family behind Sweet Pea Photography...

Most of the time when I look through my viewfinder, I see someone else's family...  so this blog gives me a new reason/excuse/opportunity to pick up my camera and see the people I love most in this world... my family!  Thanks for joining me here - isn't the view beautiful?!

50 day challenge : day 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17… (recipe: Tasty Spinach Salad)

Can you tell that I’m trying to get outside more and on the computer less this summer??

Day 11 :

The girls and I (and Averhy’s friend Lizzie) spent most of the afternoon at Pontious Berry Farm in White Heath – a gorgeous day, just perfect for blueberry picking!! The girls did a great job staying focused for a while (Lizzie counted as she picked, and got up to 404 berries!) and then had fun playing on the little playset there while I finished filling our pails.  We ended up with exactly 6 pounds of berries — about 18 cups!  Then the girls enjoyed feeding the ponies and horses before we headed home.

Breakfast : orange juice and blueberry-pomegranate juice; yogurt with 1 banana, blueberries, and flax seed; coffee with half and half and creamer

Lunch : ham and egg salad (1 egg, 1/2 c. cottage cheese, 1/4 c. chopped ham); leftover sweet potato fries; a handful of Aunt Helen’s New Ginger Cookies; water

Snack : fresh-picked blueberries!

Dinner : jalapeno polish sausage with guacamole; leftover broccoli salad; a handful of Aunt Helen’s New Ginger Cookies; water

Bedtime snack : milk; a few more ginger cookies

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Day 12 :

A hot one today… another great day for a visit to the pool I think!

Breakfast : scrambled eggs with ham, cheese, and guacamole; blueberry-pomegranate juice; coffee with creamer and half & half

Lunch : um…. I can’t remember!

Dinner : Paleo Pizza with avocado, garden tomato, sausage, olives

Bedtime cheat : ice cream with natural peanut butter

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Day 13 :

We had a great evening with our friends from small group, enjoying a hot and muggy evening and loud fireworks at the Tolono Fun Days!

Breakfast : omelet with avocado, ham, cheese, onion; blueberry-pomegranate juice; coffee

Snack : a delicious peach from the Farmer’s Market!

Lunch : a big bowl of peaches, strawberries, blueberries, and bananas

Dinner : bunless cheeseburger; spinach salad; grapes; strawberries; water; white zinfandel

Tasty Spinach Salad

2 (10 ounce) packages baby spinach, rinsed and dried
1 1/2 cups toasted, chopped pecans
8 ounces crumbled blue cheese
1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons molasses
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 cup olive oil

Arrange spinach, pecans, and blue cheese in a bowl. In a small saucepan, warm the garlic in the olive oil to allow its flavor to diffuse into the oil. Then add molasses, vinegar and pepper. Whisking constantly, bring almost to a boil, remove from heat and cool until just warm. Pour into a shakeable container, shake and pour over salad. Serve immediately.

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Day 14 :

Breakfast : 1 breakfast bar; coffee

Lunch : 1 jalapeno brat; corn on the cob (nope, not paleo); spinach salad; fruit salad (peaches and blueberries); milk

Snack : 1 apple with natural peanut butter

Dinner : a delicious steak filet and sweet potato fries prepared by Sky… yum!

Bedtime cheat : ice cream with natural peanut butter and milk

Day 15 :

The girls and I took a quick trip up to the Chicago area today to visit my parents, and I also visited a good friend and her new son – such a cutie! In the afternoon, the girls had fun playing with their cousins Ethan and Kendall, while I picked some yummy black raspberries at Aunt Di’s house.

Breakfast : 2 breakfast bars; a handful of dried apricots and cashews; coffee

Lunch : a ham & swiss on rye (not paleo, I know); grapes; water

Dinner : Yummy Cakes; boiled zucchini (which was surprisingly good!! Reminds me of corn on the cob…); milk

Bedtime snack : yogurt with blueberries and black raspberries

Day 16 :

At 3:38am, I got the phone call that I’ve been waiting for… for about 2 weeks now… that Megan’s water broke and she was headed to the hospital!  So I loaded up the (sleeping) girls into the van and headed north to the Morris Hospital to meet Megan, Rob, and Vicky (after enjoying the sunrise as we drove, and then dropping off the girls at Julie’s house to play for the day).  It was a long day of waiting, but finally a bouncing baby boy entered the world at 3:39pm!!

Breakfast : 2 cups of coffee, an apple, 2 breakfast bars, green tea

Lunch : salad with chicken, cucumber, pepperoncini, onion, tomato; water

Dinner : pizza (yup, cheated.)

Day 17 :

Knew that today was going to be another day of waiting… this time waiting for Gary to arrive from London so we could get some family pics… so the girls and I decided to head over to the Brookfield Zoo with Mema, where we met Melanie and the cute kiddos she babysits (Gigi and Theo).  It was a gorgeous day and the kids had fun walking around and seeing the animals – especially the seals, gorillas, and elephant.  In the gorilla exhibit, we read about an incident back in 1996 when a little boy fell into the gorilla pen and was “rescued” by a gorilla — and that was on Averhy’s mind the rest of the day. Literally ALL DAY – it was the first thing she told Sky about when we got home around 7:30pm!  Hopefully she won’t have nightmares about it tonight… we just kept reminding her that it was a happy ending!

Breakfast : 1 breakfast bar, strawberries, yogurt, orange juice

Lunch : tuna salad, strawberries, pineapple, cheese, green tea

Dinner : feta-olive burgers topped with avocado on a coconut-flour bun, broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas, milk

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50 day challenge : day 7, 8, 9, 10 (recipe: Aunt Helent’s NEW Ginger Cookies)

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Day 7:

Breakfast : 2 breakfast bars; strawberries; milk

Lunch : summer sausage and cheddar cheese; strawberries; pineapple; black raspberries; grapes; green tea

Dinner : (went out to eat – cheat night for Father’s Day!) 3 grilled chicken sliders (chicken, avocado, cheese, tomato, tried to eat only 1/2 the buns); steamed broccoli with butter; tossed salad with caesar dressing; water; vanilla ice cream and chocolate cake

Snack : green tea

Day 8 :

Breakfast : omelet (2 eggs, 1/4 tomato, ham, cheese, green onion, cilantro); coffee

Lunch : leftover chicken salad; cottage cheese; water

Dinner : Broiled Tilapia Parmesan; sweet potato fries; broccoli salad (broccoli, dried apricots, apples, blueberry yogurt); milk

Day 9 :

Breakfast : yogurt with strawberries, bananas, blueberries, almonds, and flax seed; coffee; orange juice

Lunch : baked catfish; strawberries; water

Dinner : an apple with natural peanut butter; water; handful of Aunt Helen’s (New) Ginger Cookies; milk

WOD : 9 rounds of Cindy (AMRAP 20 mins: 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats)

Day 10 :

Breakfast : an awesome birthday omelet (2 eggs, 1/2 tomato, 1/2 avocado, 1 green onion, ham, provolone, cilantro); coffee; blueberry-pomegranate juice

Lunch : leftover Tilapia Parmesan and sweet potato fries; milk; ginger cookies

Snack : strawberries

Dinner : Birthday dinner at El Toro… shrimp and white fish with sauteed veggies, black beans, a little rice; water; ice cream with milk and peanut butter (my attempt at a paleo angel food cake was a disaster…)

Great Aunt Helen’s (NEW) Ginger Cookies

1/3 c. coconut oil
1/3 c. butter
2/3 c. agave nectar
1 egg
1/4 c. yacon syrup
2 c. almond flour, packed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cloves

Cream oil, butter, and agave. Add egg and yacon. Beat well. Sift dry ingredients together, and add to wet ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Spoon onto cookie sheet in SMALL 1″ balls — the dough will spread and flatten to about 2x the size while baking. Bake at 350* for 6 minutes. Makes about 6 dozen thin cookies!

50 day challenge : day 6

We’re up at my parents’ house this weekend because Sky (and Mitch and Brit) are running the Warrior Dash in Joliet, while I have several photo shoots with some fun families… but since my parents are very much NOT paleo eaters (my dad’s favorite breakfast is a big bowl of Cookie Crisp. Seriously.), we might have to get a little creative this weekend! I brought along the ingredients for breakfast bars (with flax seed in it this time… mmmm…) so we baked that up, and luckily my mom is sympathetic to our cause, so the fridge was well-stocked with fruit. But once we get up to the sailboat tomorrow, where the cabinets are usually full of Twinkies and StarCrunch… ooh, temptation!

Breakfast : 2 scrambled eggs with cheese; 1/2 banana; 1/2 c. strawberries; 1 breakfast bar; milk

Lunch : 2 breakfast bars; 1 c. raw carrots; 1 cheese stick; 1 c. strawberries; 1 small apple; water

Dinner : grilled pork chop; 1 c. strawberries; 1 breakfast bar; water

Bedtime snack : a bowl full of more strawberries!

WOD : 5 hours of family photo sessions… I’m wiped out!

June 22, 2010 - 12:13 pm mema - I keep meaning to try a breakfast bar. And thanks for the talapia last night. I need to get the recipe.

June 22, 2010 - 9:40 am Mom - make that tempt, as in temptation, not degrees of enjoyment :)....

June 22, 2010 - 9:37 am Mom - ...and I hope you took note that there were NO Twinkies or Star Crunch at the boat to temp you! (I will not mention the bags of plain and peanut M&M's) :)

50 day challenge : day 5 (recipe: Grilled Chicken salad)

Breakfast : Activia yogurt with a handful of blueberries, almonds, and roasted flax seed; coffee

Snack : 1 c. cottage cheese; dried apples

Lunch : jalapeno brat (w/o a bun); cottage cheese; dried apricots; cashews; water

Dinner : grilled chicken salad (without cherries/craisins or grapes this time); garden green beans; deviled egg; water

Grilled Chicken Salad

3-4 grilled chicken breasts, chopped
1-2 apples, chopped
1 c. grapes, halved
handful of raisins
handful of sugar-free dried cranberries or cherries
3 T. mayo
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all up and eat it all up!

50 day challenge : day 4

Breakfast : 1 egg omelet with ham and parmesan cheese; 1 glass of orange juice; 1/2 c. cottage cheese; 1 cup of coffee with half & half and sugar-free creamer

Lunch : another picnic at the pool… leftover apple-avocado salad with leftover baked pork; 1 cheese stick; 1 almond-flour cookie; water

Snack : a tasty berry yogurt smoothie (blueberries, blackberries, yogurt, whole milk, ice)

Dinner : 1 large grilled chicken breast topped with 2 slices provolone cheese; 1 c. raw broccoli with sugar free ranch dip; water

Bedtime snack : 1 breakfast bar

WOD : playing with the girls at the pool for about 3 hours

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June 18, 2010 - 12:42 pm Sky - Not only sugar or corn syrup, but usually corn or soybean oil (i.e. bad fats) are the primary ingredients.

June 18, 2010 - 9:40 am Allyson - Yep, if you just buy the bottled kind sugar (corn syrup) is one of the ingredients listed. So I buy a tub of sour cream and powdered ranch dip mix that doesn't contain sugar.

June 18, 2010 - 9:16 am Holly - So, does Ranch dip normally have sugar in it?

50 day challenge : day 3 (recipes: Focaccia; Crackers; Choc. Chip Cookies)

Breakfast : yep, you guessed it… Activia yogurt with blueberries and almonds; a cup of coffee with half & half and sugar-free creamer

Lunch : a perfect day for a picnic at the pool… 1 breakfast bar, 1 cheese stick, 1/3 of a large apple, a small peanut butter and honey sandwich on Flax Focaccia bread, water

Snack : water, 1/2 apple,  3 tasty almond-flour double-chocolate mocha cookies (when cookies are healthy, snacktime is so much more fun…)

Dinner : taco salad (beef with fajita seasoning, tomatoes, avocados, green onions, spinach, cheese); sugar snap peas; almond flour Rosemary Crackers (recipe from elanaspantry.com); water; 3 almond-flour chocolate chip cookies (my recipe is adapted from one at elanaspantry.com)

WOD : 10 mins. running + AMRAP mini-Cindy (as many rounds as possible: 3 pull-ups, 6 push-ups, 9 squats) : I got 9 rounds of running, 7 rounds + 3 pull-ups of mini-Cindy using the red band for pull-ups, and knee pushups

Flax Focaccia Bread

2 cups flax meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 tablespoon agave nectar
5 eggs, whisked
½ cup water
1/3 cup olive oil

1. In a large bowl combine flax meal, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
2. In a smaller bowl, mix together agave, eggs, water and olive oil.
3. Stir wet ingredients into dry, mixing well, then allow to stand for 2-3 minutes so that batter thickens.
4. Pour batter into an 8×8 pyrex baking dish.
5. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or so until a knife comes out clean.
6. Remove from oven and cool.

Rosemary Crackers

1 ¾ cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg

1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt and rosemary
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil and egg
3. Stir wet ingredients into almond flour mixture until thoroughly combined
4. Roll the dough into a ball and press between 2 sheets of parchment paper to ? inch thickness
5. Remove top piece of parchment paper
6. Transfer the bottom piece with rolled out dough onto baking sheet
7. Cut dough into 2-inch squares with a knife or pizza cutter
8. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes, until lightly golden
9. Let crackers cool on baking sheet for 30 minutes, then serve

Almond flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup honey
1 cup shaved unsweetened chocolate

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
2. Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry
4. Form 1¨ balls and press onto a baking sheet
5. Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes
6. Cool and serve