August 2014, in pictures

I may have gone blog-silent (intentionally) for the month of August, but it still was an exciting month, filled with food & travels. Part of the reason for my travels was to see some of my family, but I also am under the care of an excellent doctor in Warren, MN. He's the more functional medicine oriented doctor who started me on this new lifestyle (basically a version of the Autoimmune Protocol of paleo) and oversees my supplements etc. Periodically I need to travel back for follow up appointments with him & some additional treatments. I planned this trip to be a little longer than most I've done in the past, specifically because I didn't want to spend the whole time back in the doctors office. Both my sisters were home for the first portion of the trip & my husband came for the Labor Day weekend. In between treatments, we spent some time at the family lake cabin on Tulaby Lake in Minnesota, and drove all the way to Chicago (and back again) to help my youngest sister move.

Here's a few favorite iPhone pictures, some of which have been posted on Instagram and Steller.  Side note: Steller is fast becoming one of my favorite apps! Go check it out if you haven't yet.

I made a couple pavlovas with lemon cream cheese & strawberries for some dear friends' send-off party. Though I couldn't have a taste (dairy, sugar, corn, egg whites etc…), everyone else really enjoyed eating them!  

Recipe can be found here (I just added some lemon juice & zest to the filling). 

An experiment in making grain-free and nightshade-free stuffed cabbage, using "no-mato" sauce. Yum! 

Pretty lingerie decorated cookies for a very special bachelorette party 

(click on the picture if you'd like to see it in a larger size). 

Now that I finally own a spiralizer, I want to spiralize everything! Zoodles for everyone! 

Mollie: Oh, you were planning on doing some yoga? I just thought this pretty pink mat was for me to lie on…. 

Sisters slacklining. I tried it, but I'm not very good (and it hurts my feet).  

Watching my youngest sister water ski.

Jumping into freezing cold water Tulaby Lake.  

Dinner on the screened-in porch at the cabin. The grilled marinated pork, with balsamic stone fruit, mashed butternut squash & sautéed spinach were all delicious (and autoimmune protocol compliant)!  

My mom makes waterskiing look SO easy…  

Our oven at the lake doesn't work, so one afternoon,  I created this no-bake stovetop Blueberry Peach Crisp 

with coconut almond crumble (Autoimmune Protocol compliant, with the reintroduction of almonds). 

Stay tuned for the recipe in the next post!  

We made a version of Mickey Trescott's Sear-Roasted Pork Chops, only we grilled them. 

They were so delicious that I forgot to take a picture after they were cooked!  

Now that I've successfully reintroduced a few foods, 

I'm cautiously venturing into the world of autoimmune protocol/paleo baking. 

This paleo zucchini bread was pretty good, but needs a bit of tweaking before I'd share the recipe. 

Driving to Chicago with my youngest sister & her new roommate.   

Pre-baseball game dinner at Rockit Burger. My bun-less, cheese-less, nightshade-free burger 

with sweet potato fries was a great Autoimmune Protocol option, 

though I did *really* want to try my sister's "breakfast for dinner" burger 

with doughnuts for buns, fried egg & bacon….

 Attending my first ever professional sporting event 

(and I unintentionally dressed in the colors of the home team).

 Fire! Our first experience at a Japanese steak house for Hibachi. I

 thought it would be a cross-contamination nightmare,  since I can't eat gluten, soy,

 dairy, nightshades etc. But thankfully, they cooked my meal of steak & veggies first. 

 Driving through the Twin Cities on the way back to ND. 

Somewhere in Minnesota. 

 Grilled marinated flank steak, roasted green beans & roasted potatoes for dinner at my parents house, 

where I tried unsuccessfully to reintroduce white potatoes.  *sigh, perhaps someday…  

Back to the lake for Labor Day Weekend--this time with husband too!  

Another dinner on the porch at the lake (Autoimmune Protocol compliant, again). 

Shrimp Scampi (Grandpa's favorite) over cauliflower puree.

Perfectly calm water during the golden hour. 

 Another gorgeous sunset. 

Fishing with husband in Grandpa's boat. I did manage to catch a couple fish! 

Though, I still need someone to bait my hook & take the fish off ;) 

Husband's catch: sunfish & crappies.

Husband's catch, cleaned, scaled, stuffed with lemon & herbs, ready to be eaten! 

farm Lake to table at it's finest! 

With the successful reintroduction of eggs (though not in large quantities), I've started making paleo mayo! 

Yay, condiments! This recipe from "The Healthy Foodie" is my favorite (and SO easy). 

Fun way to display vintage fishing lures at an antique store in Dorset, MN. 

Husband ate the most amazing looking churro ice cream cone in Dorset, MN.

I, on the other hand, ate an apple… 

 The end of another perfect lake day. 

Hot cereal for breakfast is a favorite childhood lake memory. 

Since I've successfully reintroduced rice, I splurged on some cream of rice cereal 

with blueberries & coconut milk (though I don't plan to eat rice often).  

The screened in porch just might be my favorite spot at the cabin. Miss Mollie agrees, too.  

Husband swims, while I just dip my feet in and contemplate the merits (or lack thereof) of cold lake water…. 

Goodbye, lovely lake cabin! Until next year! 

Stay tuned for my next post on making stovetop Blueberry Peach Crisp!