Pumpkin Muffins... Gluten Free & Vegan!

In preschool this week we learned how awesome pumpkins are!  We cut one open and got to see what it looked, felt, smelled, and even tasted like!


A mommy of one of my little food allergy buddies shared this recipe with me... and the kids all loved eating pumpkins because of it!

Making our pumpkin guts craft!

Pumpkin Muffins

2 C all-purpose GF flour

1 T baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1 C sugar

1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t allspice
1 1/4 C puréed pumpkin
1/2 C nondairy milk (I use coconut milk)
1/3 C coconut oil
2 T maple syrup


• Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease a muffin pan.  • In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and spices.  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, nondairy milk, oil, and maple syrup.  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix.  • Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup three-forths full.  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  • Remove from the oven. When they’ve cooled to room temperature, devour!

This recipe makes 12 muffins.  When I do it for the kiddos I do it in my "muffin barge" (that's what Mr. Kat calls it) and make 40+ mini muffins at a time.  Doing it this way I cut the baking time down to about 16-18 minutes.

It's Teal Pumpkin Time!

Halloween is right around the corner!  This is just a friendly reminder that that means it's Teal Pumpkin Time!

We are ready here at the Red Roof Inn, and at my Mama and Papa's house too!

Get all the info and downloads you need to get yourselves ready

at http://www.foodallergy.org/teal-pumpkin-project.

My nutrition kiddos are learning about healthy Halloween treat options this week in nutrition, and that includes non food options too!



They get to color their own teal pumpkin poster too!

Click here for all the downloads.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Squash & Meatballs... Gluten & Dairy Free!

My friends, if you have never tried spaghetti squash let me be the one to tell you..... YOU ARE MISSING OUT!

No carbs and tastes just like spaghetti!  What's not to love.  The squash cooks perfectly in the slow cooker and these meatballs are fantastic.

Quick, easy, and healthy!  Yes, please!

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Squash & Meatballs

• 1/4 C unsweetened almond milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 lb ground beef/turkey
• 1 lb pork sausage
• 1 C rice chex crumbs
• 1/4 C nutritional yeast
• 1/2 t pepper
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1 spaghetti squash- you don't want one so big it won't fit in your crockpot!
• 6 C marinara sauce (or use 2 (24 oz) jars)

1. In a large bowl, whisk together milk and eggs until combined. Add meats, crumbs, and seasonings.  Mix with your fingers until well combined.
2. Heat broiler to high; place an oven rack about 4 to 5 inches from the broiler. Lightly grease a large baking sheet with cooking spray or oil. Using your hands, shape (about 40) 1 to 2-inch meatballs from the mixture; place on prepared baking sheets.
3. Broil meatballs for 6 - 8 minutes, flipping halfway through, until browned.
4. Clean your spaghetti squash and cut it in half.  Scoop the strings and seeds out and place the cut side down in your slow cooker.  Surround with the meatballs and pour the sauce over top.
5. Cover and cook on low 4 to 5 hours in the slow cooker until meatballs are cooked through.

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This makes A LOT of meatballs, which is exactly what I wanted.  They make for amazing leftovers!


Original recipe here.

Halloween Night Oil Blend

I have been busy making our home all sorts of spooky!

Among all my fun Halloween décor there is this one candle that I put out every year because it's cute, yet I never burn because, well, it's fake crap.  It inspired me to mix up an oil blend that got the house feeling even more festive!

Halloween Night Oil Blend

3 drops sweet orange oil
2 drops nutmeg
2 drops ginger
2 drops frankincense
1 drop vanilla

Put everything in your diffuser and enjoy!

This has an awesome spice aroma to it, yet the vanilla and orange sweeten it up to make it reminiscent of some Halloween treats!

Don't you love my cute vintage jack-o-lanters!?
They belonged to my Grandma's twin sister!

"Chemisting" with Essential Oils!

My degree says I'm a biologist, and I honestly despised chemistry (that could have been less to do with the actual subject and more to do with one certain professor).  However, essential oils actually make me want to play chemist!

I've never posted about my love (borderline obsession!) of oils because I hate to be the one doing what everyone else is doing.  When I finally got the courage to start this blog essential oils were just starting to gain mainstream popularity and now, well they are just "all the rage". I had been "chemisting" for years and didn't want to seem like I was trying to be too trendy now that it was the "in" thing to do.  I think wwwwaaaayyyy too much into things, I know!

In my effort to give less fucks about what people think of me I decided to just share my knowledge and talk about what I love.  So simple... Why overthink?!

So I'm going to be including some of the ways I use essential oils in my daily life in my upcoming posts.  

Now important reminder: I'm not an actually chemist (or oil expert)! Use my info at your own discretion.  Essential oils are real and natural and super beneficial for a lot of reasons, but they are still chemicals.  It is important to be using them safely and in the right amounts.  Some oils that are ok for me might not be ok for you, or you might have pets in your house that shouldn't be around certain oils, or your children might not tolerate some oils well.  So keep that in mind and do your own research using a reliable source (Wikipedia and Google don't count here).  Ask your doctor if you need to, although I can't guarantee how receptive/knowledgeable he/she might be about this.

Either way just have fun with it.  Play around (safely) and find what you like and what works for you!  And feel free to share when you find a super cool way to use oils or stumble upon an amazing blend!  

Enjoy "chemisting"!

"Really, you need more oils?!"