Thanksgiving Pumpkin Recipe Round-up

Thanksgiving is almost here! So what does that mean? To me, it means pumpkin! As I'm sure you're well aware, I love pumpkin! Really and truly. Fall kicks in and I go pumpkin-crazy. (I have 5 cans of pumpkin puree in my pantry right now). Sigh, autumn is wonderful! So here are my pumpkin treats just in time for Thanksgiving:

Paleo Pumpkin Pie

Paleo Pumpkin Brownies

Paleo Pumpkin Mug Cake

Pumpkin Blackberry Pancakes

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Pumpkin Hot Chocolate

Paleo Pumpkin Brownie Swirl

Paleo Pumpkin Pudding

Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Paleo Pumpkin Brownies

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Check out my interview!

I have super exciting news! You can check out an interview with me in Episode 1: No Cake Please of the podcast Health Nuts Anonymous! You've been checking out my blog posts and recipes, now you can hear me share my story of how I got into health and fitness, and some of the crazy things I do/have done/will do for my health.

So why did I get interviewed anyways? Well, two of my Paleo friends here in town, Jay and Jef, recently came up with the idea of starting a podcast. These guys have been into the Paleo/gluten-free thing for a while and they've made some variations like we all do, but one thing has stayed constant of them. They both share a common quest. A quest for health. And they're knowledgeable. Seriously. One of my co-workers is always asking me how I know so much related to health matters - like the formula to calculate how much water you should drink per day, or how the insulin-response works, or what the best workouts are for building certain muscles. But I sometimes feel like I should go home and do some research after hanging out with these guys. That's good. I need more of that. It inspires me to learn more.

Anyways... they started Health Nuts Anonymous, a podcast that highlights the "crazy" or "nutty" things that we do for our health. For me, that includes everything from my stint in high school where I became super focused on eating healthy, organic, whole-grain foods, to my time as a rower at Georgia Tech, during which my breakfast/lunch consisted of one protein shake and my dinner consisted of a salad with low-fat or fat-free dressing, all while squeezing in two or more hours of exercise per day. Each person's journey to achieve "health" is personal. Your definition of healthy may be different from mine, which could be completely different from your co-worker Bob. Jef and Jay want to explore that. And share it. So head over to their website and check out the podcast. Do it. And let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, email me at adventurepaleo@gmail.com, or facebook me at https://www.facebook.com/adventurepaleo.
I'd love to hear from you!

Vegan Cookie Mix Review

Review: Purely Elizabeth - Oatmeal Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

gluten-free, vegan, free of refined sugar

Should you buy this mix? Probably not.

I recommend a pass on this one. If you stick to a strict Paleo diet, definitely skip this one. To make these cookies, you have to add in oil (olive or coconut), applesauce, and vanilla extract. I went with melted coconut oil and organic, sugar-free applesauce. The resulting cookie was incredibly crumbly, to the point that I ended up eating the cookies with a spoon. The oatmeal flavor is a bit overwhelming for me, so eating more than one cookie at a time wasn't gonna happen (that's one way of eating cookies in moderation).

Now to the Paleo discussion. This cookie mix doesn't comply with Paleo, but it's one of the most Paleo-friendly cookie mixes that I've found yet. Yes it contains oats, millet flour, and garbanzo fava bean flour, which definitely makes this cookie mix fall out of the range of Paleo. However... instead of using regular sugar, this mix is made with coconut palm sugar which is rather well known in the Paleo realm. Additionally, part of the flour portion of the mix contains almond flour. Again, another popular Paleo ingredient. This was a cheat meal buy for me. Compared to the other gluten-free mixes out there, which are made with a mix of corn or rice flour, potato starch, and soy, this is a better choice for Paleo... in theory at least. In execution, it lacked a certain flair... or... well... cookie consistency. Maybe I did something wrong. It's quite possible. Maybe I um, accidentally added too much coconut oil? I don't know. Maybe my oven operates differently from others. Anyways, I'm sure this cookie worked for someone else. But not for me. So I vote no. It's got potential, but I think I'll stick with making my own cookies.

Ingredients: organic millet flour, organic coconut palm sugar, organic almond flour, certified gluten-free oats, chocolate chips (evaporated cane juice, chocolate liquor, non-dairy cocoa butter), dried cherries, garbanzo fava bean flour, organic chia seeds, baking soda, sea salt.

Avocado Lime Dressing

Avocado Lime Dressing

1/2 avocado, mashed
1 Tbls olive oil
1 tsp lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
pinch of cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper

1. Mix the ingredients together and toss with a salad. Because this dressing is kind of thick, I found it best to put the salad and dressing in a Ziploc bag, and then shake until evenly covered.

Yeah, it looks kind of like my guacamole recipe, but this has olive oil and more lime juice, so it's a bit more smooth and creamy than a typical guacamole.