Wrigley the Doodle

I suppose I have taken an unintentional blog hiatus but we have been busy enjoying life and fully embracing my favorite season! Truthfully, it's refreshing to unplug every now and then and spend time away from the noise of blogging and social media. I might even stay in hiding until the election is over. Plus, it's been so beautiful here! Crisp days and nights, clear Carolina blue skies and lots of fall baking. As excited as I am that the holiday season is just around the corner, I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to October. Can't it just stay for a little bit longer?

In other news...say buongiorno to Wrigley!

On Saturday, we added a four legged furry friend to our family and we are so in love! We knew we wanted dog but since we were renting our house in Illinois, we couldn't have one. Clearly, the first order of business once we got settled in Charlotte was to get a pup to call our own. My doodle dreams have finally come true! Wrigley is an 8 week old Labradoodle and truly the sweetest puppy ever. He has been so calm, has the sweetest personality and is just so easy to love.

Wrigley, we love you!

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

This recipe was developed for Pour Olive.

What started out as a simple side of roasted pumpkin took on a whole new meaning last weekend when I whipped up this salad. The crisp Fall air is certainly getting to me because all I can think about are the flavors of Autumn! Cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin...with gingerbread and peppermint peeking around the corner. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

I started out by roasting a sugar pumpkin and the rest just fell into place. I plated up some fresh arugula, sliced fuji apples and walnuts. I crumbled some goat cheese atop the greens and the roasted pumpkin, still slightly warm, made the goat cheese nice and creamy. I added some fall flavors to my Pour Olive pantry stock and the Blood Orange infused olive oil and Cinnamon Pear balsamic were begging to marry together. This made for a delicious pairing and each bite was bursting with the flavors of Fall! Make this for an October dinner party or add it to your Thanks

For a pretty presentation, plate these salads individually with dressing on the side.

For the Salad
Fresh organic baby arugula
Fuji apple, thinly sliced
Walnuts
Goat cheese, crumbled

Roasted Pumpkin
1 sugar pumpkin, sliced into wedges
olive oil for drizzling
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Cut pumpkin half and scoop out seeds until it's clean. Keeping the skin on, cut pumpkin into wedges. Place pumpkin on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil along with a tiny bit of salt and pepper. Bake pumpkin at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until pumpkin is easily pierced with a fork, but not mushy. 

To prepare pumpkin for salads, slice off the skin and chop into large chunks.

Blood Orange + Cinnamon Pear Vinaigrette
1/4 cup Pour Olive Blood Orange infused balsamic
1/8 cup Cinnamon Pear balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper, to taste

Whisk olive oil and balsamic together briskly until emulsified. Season with salt & pepper, then drizzle onto salad. 

For an orange cinnamon vinaigrette with regular olive oil and vinegar, try adding orange zest to your dressing and sauteeing the walnuts in brown sugar and cinnamon.

Project Pinterest: {Glittered} Pumpkin Filled Hurricanes

October really is the most magical month. Some may argue that December is when the magic happens but in my mind, October 1st is the official start of of the time of the year that encompasses all things wonderful in this world. Otherwise named by Mark as the "time of year in which glitter takes over my house". That's right, honey. Glitter makes everything better. 

I'm liking up again this week with my Avocado loving sister for Project Pinterest. It's so much fun to see everyone else's pin-spired creations! To everyone who has linked up with AP- how productive are we!?

Source: bios.weddingbee.com via Nina on Pinterest

These pumpkin and branch filled hurricanes were kind of the starting inspiration for my fall mantle. I like the simplicity, the use of natural elements and bonus points because I didn't even have to go to the store to recreate my own.

I picked up these tiny pumpkins from Hobby Lobby last year. I kept half of them as they were and the other half? I added some bling. I mod podged the pumpkins and sprinkled generously with Martha Stewart glitters. These branches also came from Hobby Lobby last year. 

I'm really happy with how these look sitting on our mantle! Our fall mantle is still a work in progress but here are some details....

A glass pumpkin from my mom filled with moss for some added texture.

White pumpkins are everywhere this year! I needed some for my mantle. I also grabbed a spare mirror I picked up several years ago at Marshalls and my favorite photo of all time to kind of lean up on the mantle. We may eventually re-do this fireplace, add in some built ins, mount our TV...the list is endless! I was actually 100% convinced that I wanted to paint the brick but the longer we live with it, the more we love this antique part of our house. Most of our home has been re-done and updated but along with the original hardwoods, this "reclaimed brick" fireplace is one of the few original pieces of the house.

Again, you can never have too many pumpkins. Galvanized flower bucket, again, courtesy of my mom! Pumpkins are from Trader Joe's and the Hob.

Head over to I Love You More Than Carrots to see everyone else's fabulous pins put into action! Better yet, LINK UP!

Peace & Pinterest love to all. Make it a wonderful week!

Fitness Friday: The Paleo Plate

If you know me in real life, or if you have been reading this blog for any amout of time, you have seen or heard the word Paleo pop up here and there. I have written this post in my head time and time again but have never actually taken the time to turn my thoughts into words, and those words into a blog post. Fitness Friday (hosted by my dear friend Jen from A Daily Dose of Davis) seems like as good of a time as any to dive right in and get to business.

Let me first start out by saying that I am not a professional. While I do not have a background in nutrition, health or fitness, I am very passionate about all three. I will also add that I strongly dislike the word "diet". If you are dieting, it's more than likely that you are making drastic changes to the way that you eat, in hopes of losing a large amount of weight in a short period of time. Compare this to making healthy lifestyle changes, slowly incorporating new and smarter ways of eating and fueling your body. These are the changes that made that tend to stick. So, instead of diet, I prefer to call it a lifestyle. Makes a lot of sense, right?

A little over two years ago, shortly after Mark and I got married, we started going to a CrossFit gym in Bloomington, Illinois, where we were living. This is where we were introduced to Paleo. I will admit, at first I was skeptical, and did a whole lot of judging. When lost those 45 pounds in college, I really cut back on starchy carbs and sugar so I didn't need to be convinced of that, but this whole fueling your body like a caveman would was something foreign and frankly scary to me. I heard a lot of the Crossfitters complaining about how boring eating Paleo was and how nothing they made tasted good. Boiled chicken and steamed broccoli every day? This is when I frowned. I am Italian. And as for me and my family? We are food people. Food is meant to be enjoyed, savored and enjoyed around a giant table with hours of conversation. However, being open minded and already in favor of a lot of the Paleo minded thinking, I decided it didn't sound so bad. 

The basic idea behind The Paleo Diet is to stick to eating anything that our Paleolithic ancestors would have had access to many moons ago. If they could kill it with a bow and arrow, fish it out of the sea, or pick it off of a bush, shrub, or tree, they ate it! Meat, fish, plants and nuts. This is the backbone of the Paleo Diet. I will not get into all of the scientific research and background because frankly, I'm not qualified. At the end of this post, I will add a list of recommended reading from my well- read other half, Mark, who has read several books on Paleo. There are also a few blogs that are my go-to for all things Paleo that I will add to the list as well. 

At first glance, the Paleo Diet may look like a complicated list of food rules, but the important thing to remember is you can only do what works best for you and for your family. Many of the Paleo blogs and books talk about an 80-85% rule. This means keeping 85% of your daily intake Paleo while leaving about 15% for a little wiggle room- this is what we try to stick to. For example, strict Paleo Dieters do not eat dairy or legumes. 

My thoughts on dairy...
I happen to love Greek yogurt for breakfast a few mornings a week and we also enjoy goat cheese and fresh mozzarella for salads. And Laughing Cow cheese wedges! I try to stick to one serving of dairy a day. A quick note about dairy- be careful of anything that is labeled as fat-free. Most of the time "fat-free" equals added sugar. Read your labels! I rarely, if ever, buy fat free dairy. While my family and I were in Italy in 2007, there were no fat-free foods in sight. That's good enough incentive for me!

and Legumes... 
are another item that are seen as kind of a no-no in Paleo eating. This is largely due to the fact that our bodies don't digest beans and peanuts easily. I don't think that hummus as a snack or black beans on fish taco lettuce wraps are the worst thing you can cheat with. I prefer almond butter to peanut butter but there is nothing like peanut butter on a banana!

The thing to remember is that this is not for everyone. I will always encourage everyone to eat whole foods and cut out processed junk, fake foods and artificial sweeteners from their life, but as far as going totally Paleo, it's not for everyone- even we make some exceptions around here! (ahem, dark chocolate, red wine, pumpkin beer) Remember the 85% rule. 

Instead of getting scientific and wordy, I thought it would be fun (and helpful) to highlight my Paleo Plate- what a day eating Paleo might look like. Mark can attest to everyone reading that we eat some very delicious meals. Sticking to healthy foods doesn't have to be boring. I'm fortunate in that I grew up in a house where good, healthy food was enjoyed around the dinner table every night, so I was exposed to fresh cooking from a young age. To some, it may seem impossible to cut our breads, pastas and grains, but I am here to tell you that it's not hard to eat like this! 

Since adopting a lot of the Paleo ways a few years ago, I can tell a huge difference in my energy level and I just feel better about what I'm putting into my body. The biggest difference I noticed was how clear my skin became! I have battled with my skin since I was a young teenager and for the first time in my life, I felt like my skin was truly healthy from the inside out, and it had nothing to do with what I was washing my face with at night! In fact, I stopped using medicated face washes and went back to a mild foaming cleanser. I also never feel like I am depriving myself of delicious food. We enjoy homemade pizza nights and build in "cheat meals" that we appreciate so much more now. Moderation, moderation, moderation!

All in all, incorporating Paleo eating into our everyday lives has been a rewarding challenge. I love coming up with new and healthy recipes so that we can still enjoy the same flavors but using cleaned up, healthier versions of what our tastebuds love! Soon, I'm hoping to archive all of my Paleo friendly recipes in one place

If you have any questions, please send them my way. I'm happy to share what I know and if I don't know, hopefully I can point you in the right direction of the appropriate resource. If you are thinking about incorporating Paleo eating into your life, here are some resources to get you started with a good knowledge base.

Mark's Paleo Must Reads:

The Primal Blueprint

The Paleo Solution

Why We Get Fat and What to do About it

Paleo Blogs:

Mark's Daily Apple

Everyday Paleo

PaleOMG

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

Bottoms Up: My Favorite Fall Brew

Every year, when Fall rolls around, I set out to try every single pumpkin ale available. I love to sip the rich flavors of autumnal spices like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg hugging the main flavor among them all- pumpkin. Harris Teeter, Total Wine and Whole Foods seem to have a great variety but what I really love is pumpkin ale fresh from the tap. Cottonwood Pumpkin to be exact. 

I have sipped on many a pumpkin ales, but none seem to compare to my beloved Cottonwood. The flavors are warm and comforting, but not too sweet or overbearing. I may love Cottonwood Pumpkin so much because it was my official tailgate beer of the fall, and that goes back to Boone life, which goes back to all things wonderful. Call me crazy, but I swear there's something special in that mountain air. Any AppState grad will express the same sentiments. 

Three cheers for Pumpkin beer! And an extra cheer to Cottonwood since it's a semi-local product and brewed right up 77-North in Winston-Salem. 

Also? This may be the year I add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and make a Pumpkin Ale float. 

I purchased a 6-pack of Cottonwood Pumpkin Ale at Harris Teeter for $8.99 

You Can Never Have Too Many Pumpkins

Fall is slowly making its way into our home and I'm enjoying adding festive touches here and there. One of my favorite fall decorations is my Williams Sonoma inspired pumpkin + moss wreath that I made last year when Crystal came to visit! I finally hung my wreath yesterday and it looks just as good as it did last season. I posted a photo on Twitter and Instagram yesterday and I received some requests to post the tutorial. Well, you're in luck!   I posted the pumpkin + moss wreath tutorial in September of last year. You can find it HERE. 

I purchased these mini pumpkins on wire sticks last year at Hobby Lobby for around $0.75 cents a piece. I have not been to Hobby Lobby to check out the Fall inventory, but if they no longer have the same pumpkins this year, I'm sure you can find something similar. 

Rosemary + Basil Mashed Cauliflower

When the crisp, fall-like feeling enters the air, I feel like the whole world presses the reset button. I always say that Spring is my favorite season, but when Fall rolls around, I seem to change my mind. Fall is definitely my favorite. This is the time of year that my body also seems to crave warm and cozy comfort foods. Why is it that our bodies tend to work this way!?

Ever since Mark and I started to make the Paleo Diet a blueprint of how we eat, I have discovered a new love of taking favorite comfort foods and trying to make them healthier (and Paleo friendly!) The first time I made mashed cauliflower, I boiled the cauliflower and mashed it with a potato masher. YUCK! It just wasn't the best and the consistency was off. But, after I made Paleo Farmer's Pie, I discovered that sticking the cauliflower in my food processor resulted in a much creamier and richer texture. I made this rosemary and basil mashed cauliflower last week to enjoy with our chicken picatta. This is a great substitute for mashed potatoes! I still love a giant pile of mashed potatoes with gravy on Thanksgiving, but for weeknight cooking, I think I'll stick with the cauliflower. With a drizzle of good olive oil and a handful of fresh herbs, you may not even be able to tell the difference!

Rosemary + Basil Mashed Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, washed and cut
1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
Drizzle of good olive oil
Salt + pepper to season
Fresh shaved parmesan (optional)

Place washed and cut cauliflower in a medium-large heavy bottom pan. Fill with water until the the water just covers the tops of the cauliflower. Boil/steam cauliflower on medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes, until it can be easily pierced with a fork. 

Drain cauliflower in a colander and let cool for 5-10 minutes. In a food processor, add cauliflower and drizzle with good olive oil. Pulse until the cauliflower is the right consistency for you. 

Place mashed cauliflower in a bowl and season with herbs, salt, pepper and if desired, garnish with a small sprinkle of freshly shaved parmesan.