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“At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth”
― Rainer Maria Rilke

 

Of all the seasons, I don’t think there is one that smells better than fall.  I love to go for a drive in the country or for a long walk in the woods, smelling the mixed scents of leaves, cornstalks and fresh cold earth.  Then there’s apple cider, spicy pumpkin pie (think cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, mmmm….) wood burning in the fireplace, something sweet baking in the oven …

Just because you’re following a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy life anymore.  Sometimes people can get so consumed with the day-to-day details of their health or the stresses of life that they forget about the little things.  Although I now know that my favorite hazelnut cream coffee candles were spewing out toxins into my house, it doesn’t mean that my house smells sterile and miserable.  I’ve since discovered some WONDERFUL organic candles with non-toxic cotton wicks that smell even better than my old candles.  I enjoy diffusing different spicy essential oils that fill my kitchen full of wonderfulness and instead of being toxic, actually promote health (last week I was infusing cinnamon bark and orange essential oils … yummy).

Eating healthy also doesn’t mean that you have to give up taste; I find that healthy, real food actually has more flavor than the food that we’ve been led to believe is delicious, and it does it without any toxic taste-enhancers.  You can still have all your fall favorites, but now as you eat it, you don’t have to worry about what’s happening inside your body or how you will feel after eating it.

One of my boys’ favorites is this pumpkin fudge recipe.  It is gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, raw, and GAPS legal.  I believe that I found this recipe on the Wellness and Workouts website here.

 

Pumpkin Fudge

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup coconut butter

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup raw honey

1/2 tsp. cinnamon (or more)

1/8 tsp. ginger

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cloves

pinch of sea salt

 

Put all ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into a 8×6 pan (greased with coconut oil and lined with parchment paper).  Place in the fridge for one hour. (We like to stick it in the freezer so that it sets up quicker.  We usually keep it in the freezer as it gets eaten pretty quickly 🙂 )

 

As you can see, the boys already started to dig in before I could get a picture 🙂

 

 

Stop and smell the spices 🙂

~ Alicia