The Great Pumpkin Beer Tasting

Back in September, when the first day of Fall hit, Mark and I celebrated in the most delicious way we knew how- with a pumpkin beer tasting! I went to town at Total Wine and built my own 6 pack, making sure to pick mostly new to us beers. Two of the beers we had are old favorites, but I couldn't pass them up and had to include them in our first day of Fall tasting. GIVE ME ALL THE PUMPKIN BEERS. It's like a switch turned on September 22 and I was in full on pumpkin. NO turning back now. 

Pumpkin beer is tricky. Too much squashy taste or too much spice can totally ruin the good vibes. I like a little pumpkin, a little spice and hint of sweet and that warm Fall feeling. I guess you could say I'm particular about my pumpkin beer! 

We didn't go in any particular order, other than saving what we predicted would still be our favorite to the very end. 

My rankings are as follows:

#1 Cottonwood Pumpkin (Foothills Brewing) 
I'm confident this will always be my most favorite of the pumpkin beers. I've loved this one for years and it's the perfect amount of spice and not too much sweet. If you can find this on draft, GET IT! It's so, so good. 

#2 King Don's Pumpkin (Catwaba Brewing)
This was another winner! Mark and I both really liked the flavors in this and it was the first beer of the night. Again, not too sweet and a good amount of fall spices. 

#3 Pumpkin Pie Porter (Deep River Brewing)
Over the past couple of years, I have grown to LOVE dark beers. They are a great way to end a meal or even as a little dessert beverage. This porter is rich and flavorful.

#4 Pumpkin Down (Ballast Point)
This was a little on the strong side but I enjoyed it for the most part! It was a little heavy on the carmel flavor to me and I definitely couldn't drink more than one but it was good.

#5 Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin (New Belgium Brewing) 
I wish I loved this but I just didn't. It was way too spicy for me and the spice overpowered all of the good things it had going. If you like a little spice to your beer, this is definitely for you! 

#6 Jack-O Traveler Pumpkin Shandy (The Traveler Beer Co.)
This was like a combo of pumpkin juice and an Arnold Palmer. I think I have decided that Shandys definitely aren't for me. 

A few other Pumpkin beers we are loving this season- Gordgeous, from Noda Brewing and Sycamore Brewing's Oh My Gourd. Both are great and local to Charlotte! 

Pumpkin Power Cookies

I am normally of the mindset "LONG LIVE SUMMER", but as soon as September 22 rolled around on the calendar I was ready to switch to Fall. Will has been super excited about the seasons changing over, well, since Summer started, and he told me that because Friday was the first day of Fall, all of the leaves were going to fall off of the trees at once. Cutest little kid comment ever. 

The season comes and goes so fast here and even though we are still hovering in temperatures around 80 degrees, I want to soak it up before Christmas is knocking at our door. Which is three months from yesterday. Whoah.

These power cookies are the perfect healthy snack, sweet treat and everything in between. My Paleo Snack Bites are my go-to pre workout snack, but I needed a change this week. The 5:15am wakeup call to hit the gym is never easy, but it's been a little easier this week to crawl out of bed knowing I can eat one of these. My kids LOVE them, too! They are packed with all kinds of good nutrients and filled with the flavors of Fall. They are also grain free and refined sugar free! What more could you want!?

Pumpkin Power Cookies
recipe from Primally Inspired

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup raw honey
1.5 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk pumpkin, coconut oil, honey, pumpkin pie spice, salt and eggs. Mix until combined. Stir in walnuts, pecans, cranberries and chocolate chips.

Using a spoon, drop about a tablespoon or two of the cookie mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes. 

Once they are done and completely cooled, transfer them to an airtight container and store in the fridge.

Mini Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

October is rolling in tomorrow and I will now officially acknowledge pumpkin season. I baked my first pumpkin spiced bites of the season yesterday and to no surprise, they were a huge hit with Will. I don't always have freshly baked treats in my kitchen until Fall arrives and I just can't help myself. GIVE ME ALL THE FALL TREATS. 

I'm convinced that you can really never mess up a recipe made with pumpkin. Almost any pumpkin bread, muffin or cookie tends to stay extra fluffy and never really comes out dry. I have been making these muffins for a few years now and they are still one of my favorites! I lightened up an already healthy recipe even more by swapping in whole wheat flour and omitting some of the sugar. I love that these are bite sized, and perfect for little hands. They are just sweet enough and the mini chocolate chips in every bite make for the perfect toddler treat! 

These mini muffins are totally adult approved, too. 

Mini Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

recipe adapted from Skinny Taste

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup raw turbinado sugar

3/4 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1.5 cups pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted

2 large egg whites

2 tsp. vanilla extract

baking spray

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare mini baking tins with cooking spray or paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, coconut oil, egg whites and vanilla until combined. Add the dry mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix until batter is fully combined. Mix in chocolate chips. 

Pour batter into prepared muffin tin and bake for 22 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. 

Makes 24-28 mini muffins. If you opt for regular sized muffins increase the cooking time to around 25 minutes. 

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Picks!

It's a pumpkin spice world out there and whether you like the seasonal flavor or not, it takes over this time of year. I made a trip to Trader Joe's last week specifically to pick up some of the pumpkin goodies that I have seen popping up in my blog reading and Instagram feed.

Canned Organic Pumpkin- Trader Joe's canned organic pumpkin is a great price ($1.99/can) and I always stock up at this time of year. There are no added ingredients either. Just pure pumpkin! 

Pumpkin Spice Salted Caramels- Oh my! One of these after dinner cures my sweet craving and is the perfect mix of salty sweet. The pumpkin spice is on the stronger side and somewhat of a strange combination when you taste it, but I love it.

Pumpkin Spice Chai- Easily my favorite of the pumpkin spice finds from TJ's! This tea mix is a nice, warm afternoon treat.

Pumpkin Spice Cranberry Crisps- The perfect little crackers to have on hand for Fall! These pair well with many cheeses, dips and the apple cinnamon goat cheese that I also picked up from my friend Joe. 

Pick a peck of pumpkins treats at TJ's before they run out! 

Paleo Pumpkin Spice Granola

I have been experimenting with new Paleo recipes to add to the rotation and I am so excited about this one. Paleo granola has been on my radar for awhile now and I finally carved out some time for this treat. This recipe from Against All Grain (one of my favorite Paleo resources) served as my inspiration. I made some changes based on what I wanted to use and I'm very happy with the results. The nuts and syrup will definitely be serving as my granola recipe base as I experiment with different flavors and add ins. 

This granola skips on the oats and is made up entirely of nuts- making it Paleo, gluten free and super filling! Maple syrup naturally sweetens it and throwing in some dried cranberries at the end gives it extra flavor and color. This recipe makes quite a bit, which makes it perfect to have on hand for a few weeks of breakfasts and snacks. I like it with plain green yogurt but it would even be good eaten as cereal with milk. If you want to get crazy, sprinkle some on top of pumpkin or vanilla ice cream. 


Paleo Pumpkin Granola
recipe adapted from Against All Grain

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw pecans
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup Grade A Dark Maple Syrup
2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
3 Tbsp. pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Place nuts in a large bowl and cover with water. Soak for about 8 hours, or overnight, rinsing and changing the water halfway through. 

Drain nuts, rinse and pour onto paper towels to soak up moisture. Once they have been patted dry, place in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the texture resembles oats. (If you do not have a food processor, coarsely chopping the nuts on a cutting board will work. Because the nuts have been soaked, they are soft and easy to shop. I would probably not recommend using a blender).  

Add in syrup, coconut oil, pumpkin and salt. Pulse until just combined. Fold in shredded coconut with a spoon. 

Lay granola out on two cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. 

Bake for 6 hours on 170 degrees, or until granola is brown and crunchy. Store in an airtight container.

Trick-or-Treat!

This little bowl of Spaghetti and Meatballs had such a fun day yesterday.

We hope you did, too.

Happy, happy Halloween!!!

Roasted Pumpkin Arugula Salad with Apples, Walnuts and Goat Cheese + Blood Orange Cinnamon Pear Vinaigrette

I can't let the month of October pass without sharing a pumpkin recipe and since I have yet to purchase a roasting pumpkin, I'm re-posting this delicious Autumn salad that I made last year. This recipe was also featured last October on Jillian Harris's website as her very first Recipe of the Month Feature. If you know me, you know that this was very exciting!!

I just love the way that all of these flavors work together to create a warm, earthy salad. 

This recipe was originally created for my dear friend's olive oil shop, Pour Olive, located here in Charlotte! If you are local to Charlotte, I highly recommend taking a little trip down to East Boulevard for some Pour Olive goodies! Sophie has an apple balsamic and a walnut oil that are both heavenly!

The original post and recipe can be found in my blog archives, HERE. I also think dried cherries or cranberries would be a great addition to this salad.

Sunflower + Pumpkin Tree Bunch Fall Bouquet

I have said it time and time again, but I love being within minutes of Trader Joe's! I don't do all of my grocery shopping there, but certainly a large chunk of it. It's a great place to pick up specialty items, pantry extras and some of the best wine. The Holidays are my favorite time of year at Trader Joe's because everything is always so festive and cheerful. I picked up these bright, happy sunflowers for $3.99 and the mini pumpkin tree bunches for around $6.99 and quickly put together this seasonal bouquet that has been sitting on my kitchen island for a week and a half now! The sunflowers are huge and these mini pumpkins are actually  My cousin had a similar arrangement on her kitchen counter for a girls lunch date a few weeks ago and I knew our home needed a matching one. If you live near a Trader Joe's, pick up some of these darling pumpkin tree bunches to add some fresh seasonal accents to you home!

Hope everyone enjoyed a lovely weekend!