I think it’s time to share this recipe with you. I really hate myself for saying it, but pumpkin season is coming to an end!!  It’s time to use up those last couple cans of pumpkin you have in your pantry. I have a few cans left myself and I will definitely be making these delicious pancakes again.

Don’t be intimidated by making homemade Pumpkin Pancakes, they are super simple and come together quickly. They also make for a perfect weekend family breakfast.. and we loved them so much I made it twice in one week.

They also pair nicely with scrambled eggs!

Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients: 

What is your favorite breakfast meal? 

When the docrot finally called, they asked if she had any other symptoms. Besides the fever and being irritable I didn’t notice anything else. She said to just keep an eye on her and giver her Tylenol or Motrin to help the fever and discomfort.

Welllllll it was a long night let me tell you. Ava, my usually wonderful sleeper, would not sleep. She would fuss and cry, and anytime she fell asleep in our arms, the second we put her down, she would wake back up and make it clear that she was not happy. The worst part was she wouldn’t drink anything. I knew she was hungry, but she would not take her bottle.

This coffee was TOTALLY necessary in the morning!

So we took her to the Dr Saturday morning and sure enough she had Coxsackie Virus. While she did not have any visable rashes on her body, the doctor confirmed that her throat had blisters and ulcerations on it. Clearly the reason she was so fussy and in discomfort.

Unfortunately for my poor little girl,  there’s nothing you can do for Coxsackie. As we had already been doing, keeping her as comfortable as possible and time were the only really solutions to our problem. We watched lots of Sesame street, mickey mouse club house, we cuddled on the couch, and we did whatever we could to keep Ava occupied and distracted.

(she did eat some cheerios and other fruit throughout the day)

We watched lots of Sesame street, mickey mouse, we cuddled on the couch, and we did whatever we could to keep Ava occupied and distracted.

This included a LONG walk. We bundled Ava up and put her in the stroller and got ready to head out. Killing 2 birds with 1 stone and getting Cooper some exercise was also an added plus. He was probably more excited to get out of the house than we were. The plan on our walk was simple; walk until  Ava fell asleep. Marc and I walked in silence (something we usually never do) and were hoping for the best. I’ll admit a few times she had us fooled and we thought she was asleep. When she finally fell asleep I was literally fist-pumping the air!

We brought her inside from our walk and I put her down in her crib for her nap. I decided it was a perfect time for me to lay down. The lack of sleep and the day’s events had me exhausted! I think I napped for all of 15 minutes, but it seriously it did wonders for me.

Once she woke up from her nap, we made a quick trip to the store to get ice pops. After wandering up and down the isles, I had a genius idea to get watermelon. I was so determined to get her hydrated as fast as possible and this did the trick. She loved it. She was shoving her face so much that her cheeks looked like a chipmunk! I couldn’t have been happier.

Between the watermelon and the home-made Ice pops that I made, I knew we were on the road to recovery I could just feel it.We all know how important it is to drink lots of fluids when you are sick, it is the ONLY way to get better.

Sunday Ava woke up smiling, and so did I. It was such a better day then Saturday.

Marc was able to get out and play golf in the morning and I hung out with Ava. Once he got home I went for a walk/run with Cooper and then headed to the YMCA to do a little cardio.

It felt great to sweat after not exercising for a couple days.

I even headed to Muse Nail Salon for a pedicure. It felt great to treat myself!

The rest of our weekend was pretty relaxingg Our Sunday night Marc and I took some time to sit down and watch the Grey’s Anatomy episode that we missed Thursday night. Half way through the episode this happened…

Seriously it is 150 calories for the whole pint.

I didn’t eat the whole pint, I had a normal serving but I did add a scoop of peanut butter. I felt that it needed a bit more flavor but it did satisfy my craving for sweets!

Have you or your children ever had Coxsackie virus or something similar? 

Have you ever tried ARCTIC ZERO?

What is something fun you did this weekend?

Friday was a low key night at our house, we had some take out.. I had a delicious grilled chicken salad from Arcuri’s. This salad dressing is so good I could drink it.

I got up early Saturday morning, ate a quick breakfast and then headed to the YMCA to practice Group Power with a co-worker. I like the new workout a lot and I cannot wait to launch it next week! This workout focuses on using heavier weights so I was definitely sore later in the day 

When I got home I refueled quickly with a protein shake, some fruit, and mixed nuts. My afternoon was dedicated to getting ready for my friends Bachelorette party! (Well lets be serious, It doesn’t take me long to get ready… I exaggerated, It may have taken me an hour tops)

My friend Lauren came over around 5pm and then we headed over to The Bachelorette’s parents house for the start of the night.

They had some appetizers and cocktails for everyone to enjoy

We all had fun chatting and taking lots of pictures. Here is a pic of me and my best friend Danielle.. the future Mrs. Murphy

Once the party bus arrived we all hopped on and headed to a Karaoke Bar in NYC

we all had tons of fun singing and dancing.

Have you ever been on a Party Bus?? They are s0 much fun.. I think I can speak for everyone, when I say we had a blast!

When I woke up Sunday morning I realized how much I need my sleep! Do you feel the same way? I slept from 1am until 7:00am Saturday night.. which clearly wasn’t enough sleep. My body was like; “what happened?” Thank goodness I have the best husband ever. He went out and grabbed us some Dunkin Donut Pumpkin Coffees.. (1 pump of pumpkin flavor!) it cuts the sugars by a ton! You should try it.

After my coffee kicked in and my sleepiness wore off, I was ready to go. I spent some quality time with my little Ava.  We enjoyed the weather outside at the park, watched some football, and chilled.

When Ava took her afternoon nap I went for a long walk/run.. it was such a nice day to be outside!

I had no interest in food prep yesterday.. I was productive but wanted nothing to do with the kitchen! SO I guess our meals and lunches will be on the fly this week. Oh well!

NOW, it’s time to teach Group Power and get my sweat on

PS: How funny is this picture of Ava…. apparently dinner wasn’t good enough, she was searching for something better!

5 Healthy Ways to Enjoy the Fall

1. Get Outside and go for a long walk or hike and enjoy the beautiful scenery and changing leaves.

2. Make a homemade chili and enjoy watching some Sunday football with your significant other or family!

Paleo Lean Beef Chili Recipe

3. Take a day trip to go apple picking. Last Fall Marc and I went when I was pregnant, and I can’t wait to bring Ava this year.

(This picture is from last year when I was 7 months pregnant!!)

4. Make a new healthy Pumpkin recipe. There are tons of great ones out there.

Here ares some of my own quick simple Pumpkin Recipes

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Spice Coffee

Skinny Pumpkin Cookies

Quick Pumpkin Oats

5. Carve Pumpkins with your family and cook the Pumpkin seeds as a treat for later!

What healthy fall traditions do you have? 

Do you like pumpkin flavored everything like me???

I added some frozen butternut squash which added the perfect amount of sweetness! I am a big fan of chili especially with lots of veggies and for those of you who don’t like beans, it’s bean free!

I served my chili with a little cheese and a baked sweet potato on the side.  Believe it or not the chili was quite tasty served over the potato which was not part of my plan!

Ingredients:

1lb ground turkey 93%

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion

1/2 container of sliced baby bella mushrooms

1/3 cup of tomato sauce (I used jarred tomato & basil)

3/4 cup frozen spinach or double if you are using fresh

3/4 cup frozen butternut squash (not pureed, chunked)

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp parika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

In a large saute pan, brown the turkey meat. Remove from the pan and add in oil then the onions and mushrooms an saute veggies until soft. Add the turkey back to the pan, add in tomato sauce and seasonings and mix well. Add in remaining veggies and mix. Cook on low for 20 minutes or until it’s time to serve!

Optional toppings: sliced jalapenos, cheddar cheese, light sour cream or greek yogurt for some creaminess!

Cooper loves the Fall too.. It is very difficult to keep him away from the leaf piles!

I woke up a little later then usual and Marc went to Dunkin Donuts and got us each a pumpkin spice coffee! (we do 1 pump of the pumpkin flavor which is plenty sweetness for me!)

We ran some errands, ate some lunch and quickly put together the baby swing we got from Marc’s sister.

Cooper seemed very entertained by the swinging motion and the music

Our afternoon consisted of a trip to Bruce Park. We went for a long walk (our exercise for the day) and as you can see we got to see lots of beautiful trees that have changed colors.

After our walk we let Cooper chase a soccer ball around the field. Here is a video link of Cooper running with the soccer ball!  IMG_1588  It was so entertaining to watch and who would’ve known that he loved soccer!

Now it’s time to shower and get ready for dinner!

Some of the hills were pretty steep and I could tell that I was breathing heavy at some points! Man I was really feeling the extra weight I am carrying around. We hiked for about 45 minutes which was plenty of time, my legs were tired!

This was one of the nice views we had, it was very peaceful and quiet at the park! After our hike we headed back to our hotel to shower and go to dinner.

On Saturday I woke up at 5:30am and decided to let Marc sleep in a bit. Our hotel had a Dunkin Donuts not too far away so I walked over and grabbed this coffee!!

I indulged in a little pumpkin spiced coffee (I got one pump of the pumpkin spice since the syrup can be overly sweet) After Marc woke up we got breakfast and headed to the hotel gym!! It was basically like a private small gym and we got in a good workout. I did a 20-minute Elliptical Interval and then 20 minutes Upper Body Strength Workout for Triceps, Back, and Chest!

This workout was performed as supersets: meaning I performed the exercises for each muscle group back to back with no rest in between. I did however rest in between body parts.

Triceps- Overhead Extensions & Tricep Dips, Back- One arm rows & reverse flies, Chest- Pushups and Incline Chest press, I did 2 rounds of each of these exercises, and I even threw in a set of bicep curls at the end!

APPLE PICKING… was next on the list of things to do for our Fall weekend

Beardsley’s Orchard in Shelton, CT

We arrived at Beardsley’s Cider Mill & Orchard in Shelton, CT around 10am when they opened. We decided to head there early because the weather wasn’t looking promising and we wanted to make sure to pick some apples before it rained! As you can see it was cloudy!

There were 5 different kinds of apples available to pick: Liberty, Macoun, Cortland, Junagold, & Gala

We sampled a few (shhhh) My favorite was the Macoun but they were all quite tasty. My least favorite was the Junagold, it was a little too dry and not as fruity/sweet as the others. We ended up buying close to 13 lbs of apples which we shared with my family. I am looking forward to making a new apple dessert this week! Overall it was a great weekend.

HAPPY FALL!