REVIEW: October Favorites 

Happy November, friends!! Between Josh’s ever changing schedule (including a handful of overnight shifts) and someone using my personal info to book hotels in Japan, I’d say we had an interesting last month! Haha!! I had to hurry and change both my email address and phone number which is not fun to do…notifying everyone and re-subscribing to my favorite blogs – it’s a lot of work. Other than that, we had a great October! How about you?? 

OH!!! And any Cubs fans out there????!!!! What an amazing time. We’ve been watching the games at my parents house and I’ve been hit with so many wonderful memories. I was born and raised in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago and the Cubs were a big part of my childhood – as a family, we’d go to the games or watch them on tv at my grandparents house. I especially remember my grandfather listening to the games on an old radio in his garage. It’s been fun getting Willow into the games – I told her one day we’ll take her to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs play.

Fingers and toes crossed for tonight’s game!!!!

But now let’s move on to some pics!

We managed to pick the perfect day to make our annual trip to the pumpkin patch:

And Willow even snapped a rare photo of Josh and me!

And here are some fun pics from our snow adventures at Devils Lake (October 22, 2016):

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O C T O B E R  F A V O R I T E S:

I don’t have any new products to share with you this month – we actually did try some new things, but none worth sharing and none that I’ll be buying again.

RECIPES:

Ginger Zucchini Breakfast Soup >> Souffles and Sawdust >> In my quest to change up my breakfast routine, I found this soup recipe and it has become a favorite of mine! It calls for very few ingredients and it’s AIP-friendly. The only thing that was hard for me was chopping all the veggies in the morning while making Willow’s breakfast – I have since learned to prep ahead to make throwing this together a breeze. I did make a couple of adjustments: I used mushroom broth (instead of veggie broth), which made the soup significantly darker than intended, but I absolutely LOVED the flavor! I also omitted the coriander and black pepper. In the photo below, I topped it with chives, but I’ve also cooked up spinach or kale to go with it. Such a great way to start the day during the chillier months!

Cinnamon Plantain Fritters >> Grazed and Enthused >> They had me at cinnamon! Oh, goodness, this recipe was amazing! Even my husband enjoyed these and he’s not following an AIP diet. Mine didn’t turn out as pretty as her photos showed, but who cares when they’re delicious! The only adjustments: I added more cinnamon – to the batter and sprinkled on top…what can I say, I LOVE cinnamon! And I left the maple syrup out of the batter. I loved the crispy exterior and tender center – the flavor was also wonderful! Full of cinnamon and not too sweet thanks to the plantains not being ripe.

Autoimmune Paleo Apple Crisp >> The Curious Coconut >> When the Granny Smith apples you purchase turn out to be not that great, you figure out a way to use them…so my Pinterest search lead me to this recipe. I’ll be honest, I didn’t have high hopes because all of the apple crisps I’ve had in the past had oats, nuts, and/or flour. Not to mention that our all-time favorite (from The Oh She Glows Cookbook) seemed impossible to beat. I’m not saying that this beats it, but it comes really close! The kitchen smelled incredible and while I haven’t been consuming many sweets these days, I was half tempted to skip dinner and dive face first into a bowl of this apple crisp. I was floored at how delicious this was! Such perfect buttery, slightly crispy, sweet topping and tender, cinnamon-y apples…heavenly. And the best part was that I didn’t miss the grains or nuts one bit! Definitely give this recipe a try!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Maple Glaze >> Veggie Inspired Journey >> It’s no secret that I LOVE brussels sprouts and any time a new recipe is created that involves them, I just have to try them! Jenn paired the sprouts with a butternut squash puree, but since I’m avoiding beans at the moment, I decided I still had to try the sprouts….and I am SO glad I did! Roasting them with red onion slices is delicious, BUT drizzling the Balsamic Maple Glaze over them….AMAZING! I absolutely love the simplicity of the recipe and how easy it was to whip up. We’ll definitely make them again…and again!

I tried another recipe of Jenn’s – a dressing, which you can find HERE and loved it! I used it on kale salads. Definitely check out how it’s intended to be used…it looks amazing!

Silky Sweet Vegan Date Caramel Sauce >> Feasting on Fruit >> My friend, Natalie, is on a roll with recipes these days and I have a lengthy list going of ones to try. But when she came out with this caramel recipe, I had to try it asap since it contained ingredients that were AIP friendly. You guys. I am so impressed!! Not only was this insanely easy to make, but it is also the creamiest caramel sauce I’ve had – it actually pours smoothly! And the best part…even after it’s been in the fridge, it holds its pourable consistency! No plopping. No clumps. No crazy thick, hard to work with caramel. Just smooth goodness. The day I made it, Willow had a drizzle on her pancakes and I’m pretty sure she’ll make it a standard pancake topping. I couldn’t stop sneaking bites of it that I gave myself a tummy ache…it’s SO good!! Josh has been eating it with sliced apples and we’ve also paired it with a recipe that is hopefully coming to the blog later this week. Try this caramel sauce!

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BOOKS:

Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss >> I finally finished this book in its entirety…all 1107 pages! Overall, I REALLY enjoyed this and while I didn’t quite love it like the first book in the series, it was still entertaining and I had a difficult time putting it down. However, there were parts in the book that seemed a bit drawn out and slow – small sections I could have done without, but I can see how they played a role in character development. And then there’s the ending. Good grief! When is the third book coming out???? 

In the meantime, I’ve started The Slow Regard of Silent Things – a novella by Patrick Rothfuss (#2.5 in this crazy series)! It’s a book about Auri, one of the characters in the series. 

MOMfulness: Mothering with Mindfulness, Compassion, and Grace by Denise Roy >> My sweet friend, Karina, recommended this book to me so I immediately ordered a copy via Amazon Prime…managed to find a used copy in really good condition for only a few dollars. I am SO happy to have my own copy to refer back to as it’s filled with meditations and thought-provoking quotes. If I had the money, I would gift this book to all of my mom friends. Lots of gentle reminders to be more present in the here and now.

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As always, I’d love to hear from you! Did you try any new products? Recipes? Read any books worth recommending?? Let me know in a comment below!
Thanks for stopping by!

❤️