sweet potatoes & apples & pumpkins... oh my!

The title of this blog post is a nod to my favorite movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” because the “Wicked” movie is coming out this weekend! I remember going to see the Broadway production at the beautiful Orpheum Theater in Omaha, Nebraska with some girlfriends back in 2012. “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!”

Speaking of Omaha and “The Wizard of Oz,” here is a fun fact for you; The wizard’s hot air balloon in the movie says “State Fair Omaha” on it. You’re welcome for that future trivia answer!

Let’s follow the yellow brick road to the land of delicious fall food, where the weather is cooler but the fare is warm and cozy, and matches the colors of the leaves on the trees outside. A few of my personal most-loved autumn classics are chicken pot pie, chili, apple crisp and s’mores… all of which can be made cleaner and healthier with a few swaps and/or intentional ingredient choices. As an example of that, I want to share a couple of my go-to recipes during this season, which utilize some of the fruit and vegetable bounty that we have available to us in the fall!

Chicken sausage, apple and sweet potato skillet

This recipe is quick, healthy, flavorful and uses minimal ingredients! What’s not to love?

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive, avocado or coconut oil
2 organic chicken apple sausage or regular chicken sausage links
1 medium sized organic sweet potato
1 organic apple
1/2 tbsp water
2 pasture-raised eggs
salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Chop chicken sausage, apple and sweet potato into bite size pieces.

**I like to leave the skin on my potatoes when cooking them for added nutritional benefit!

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and then add sausage and sweet potatoes. Let brown for 1-2 minutes and then flip and let brown on other side for another 1-2 minutes.

3. Add apples and water and stir.

4. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Once potatoes are fork-tender, remove from heat and keep covered.

6. Meanwhile, prepare eggs as desired.

**I did scrambled this time, but it is also good with fried eggs!

7. Plate everything and then slowly savor!

Pumpkin chocolate chip bread

Here is the original recipe I used for years from a Taste of Home cookbook. It is so scrumptious and something I look forward to whipping up each fall, and our friends look forward to receiving! Nowadays I make some swaps to upgrade the quality & nutrition, but it is still a sweet & satisfying treat.

Ingredients

3 cups organic all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 large pasture-raised eggs, room temperature
1 cup organic sugar
1 cup allulose (natural sugar substitute found it fruit like figs, raisins and kiwi)
2 cups organic canned pumpkin
1-1/2 cups coconut oil
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.

2. In another bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, allulose, pumpkin and oil with a mixer. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

3. Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Pour into 2 greased 8×4-in. loaf pans or 5 greased mini loaf pans.

**I like to use coconut oil spray or ghee spray for baking!

5. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes or 30-40 minutes for mini loaves, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

**Don’t skip this step! I just eyeballed it this time and mine ended up a touch under-baked… and collapsed in the middle a little bit when it cooled. Oops! Allulose might brown more quickly than sugar, so you may need to tent with foil if it is browning too much before finished. It is good to stay humble and never stop learning! The fact that I still gave these to my friends and am posting it on here rather than re-doing them is a true sign of growth for me. If you are here for perfection, thankfully you aren’t going to find it! I’m learning it is good to admit to others and ourselves that we don’t have it all together and figured out. Still not easy for me, but good.

6. Let cool before removing from pans to wire racks.

7. Best shared with loved ones, but make sure to enjoy some yourself, too.

I hope you have a very blessed Thanksgiving! We are heading north, and I’m really looking forward to hanging out with family. I’m thankful to be excited to go to Nebraska, and also to get to come back to our life that I love in Arkansas, too. Like Dorothy says, “There’s no place like home!” And I feel that way about both places.