Tried & True: Recipes From Pinterest You Need to Make {Pumpkin Edition}

I feel like the love for pumpkin flavoured goodies dies out sooner in Canada than in the States since our Thanksgiving happens so much earlier. When does "all things pumpkin" come to an end? End of November? After Christmas? I really don't know, but in case your still in the mood for some yummy pumpkin infused recipes, I've got you covered. This past month I made over a handful of different pumpkin recipes and today I'm sharing the best of the best with you. (If you want some actual meal recipe ideas, then be sure to check out last month's Pinterest roundup!).

*****

Easy Pumpkin Pie Bites: Pinned over 327 THOUSAND times!

You know what I find interesting (and frustrating) about Pinterest? The fact that a recipe can be pinned hundreds of thousands of times, yet there are no comments on the pin itself, and the blog post sharing said recipe has minimal to no comments on it as well. I for one, like to see what people have to say about a recipe: what worked for them,what substitutes did they make, did they love it...etc. This is why trying recipes on Pinterest are so hit and miss!

Thoughts: Anyway, thankfully, despite the lack of comments on this one, it was a winner. I made these for Thanksgiving dinner, and while my two younger nephews aren't a fan of pumpkin based desserts, it just meant the adults got to indulge in more! I made them the night before and didn't put the whipped cream on them until we were ready to eat them. I would recommend eating them within a day or two of making since the pastry does start to dry out, but they were still delicious!

Verdict: I loved the two-bite, cuteness factor. Although, I'm pretty sure I ate WAY more of these little bites than I would have of regular pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving dinner calories don't count, right?

*****

Healthy One Bowl Pumpkin Banana Muffins: Pinned 715 times

Thoughts:  I wanted something my husband could throw in his lunch for a snack, and something I could grab on my way out the door. These were both delicious and filling. The pumpkin flavour is not strong in them at all - I would probably use pumpkin pie spice next time to amp it up, but otherwise, these would be a great year round muffin to make!

Verdict: These were a big hit with both myself and my husband. Even my toddler, who is funny about muffins, would eat about half of one before declaring "I'm done!". I think the chocolate chips helped.

*****

Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies: Pinned over 103k times

Thoughts: The texture and chewiness was so different than your average cookie, but my husband and I loved that about them!  I'd probably try and cut down the sugar next time I make them, but they were still really yummy. The dough is definitely a bit odd to work with, and make sure you listen and chill your dough for the recommended amount of time! I ended up pressing my chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies before baking as it just seemed easier this way than trying to mix them into the sticky dough. (These got eaten up before I thought to take a photo!)

Verdict: I really, really loved these cookies. And my toddler ate them too, so that's always a win! They reminded me of a nice, chewy molasses cookie, but with a slight pumpkin flavour.

*****

Pumpkin Pie Spice Chex Mix: Pinned 30 times

Thoughts: Okay, this one is a little self-promotion here because this is a recipe I posted the other week, but seriously, if you missed it, you need to make this one! It's the perfect holiday snack, whether it's for Friday movie night or a party. It's easy, delicious and a great way to have your pumpkin pie spice without using any actual pumpkin.

Verdict: Obviously, make it!!



Over to you:

Pumpkin desserts: love 'em or hate 'em?

Favourite pumpkin snack/dessert? Share your recipe in the comments! 

Nourishing My Body With Coconut Oil

I always try to be mindful of what products I'm putting onto my body. I know there's always room for improvement, and I'm definitely not perfect, but when I'm pregnant, nourishing my body and skin with natural, chemical-free products is extremely important to me. I'm no longer only taking care of myself, I also have an unborn child I have to think about as well. So when Skinny & Co. Coconut Oil offered to send me some of their 100% raw, alkaline coconut oil products to test out, it seemed like fate. I was in need of something to help moisturize my body, especially my ever-expanding belly, that was not only safe, but also natural.

Their products all contain five ingredients or less, are non-toxic, and edible. Each oil is made in small batches, and the company is family owned and run, and Skinny & Co. sources 100% of their coconut oil from their own factory, and they hand pick all of their pesticide free coconuts from the jungles of Vietnam. Luke and Matt, the brothers behind Skinny & Co have a pretty inspiring story on how a childhood diagnosis led to a lifestyle of holistic living and later on, travel adventures, which opened their eyes to healthy foods around the world. You can read their story HERE.

I'll be honest, I have never used coconut oil for anything other than cooking and oil pulling. I'm well aware that coconut oil can also be used for many other things, I just had never gotten around to utilizing it in other ways. I also wanted to really give these products a chance before reviewing them, so please note that I've now been using the following products from Skinny & Co. every single day for over a month.

In my sample box, I received:

• Body Butter (coconut oil/organic almond oil/essential oils)
• Sugar Scrub (coconut oil/organic coconut sugar/vanilla bean)
• Coconut Oil (100% raw, alkaline coconut)
• Facial Oil (coconut oil/roman chamomile extract/lavender extract/essential oils)
• Oil Pulling (100 % raw, alkaline coconut infused with refreshing peppermint)

I'm a sucker for great packaging so I was delighted when I opened my box. I love the little glass jars, and the helpful cards included to remind you what to use each on. There was even a card included on uses for 'Mommy & Baby'. I never would have thought to use the plain coconut oil as nipple cream during breastfeeding or for a diaper rash. When I was nursing Sully, I would have used this all the time, so I am saving some for when the new baby comes!

I think one of my biggest misconceptions when it comes to using coconut oil on my body is that it's going to be super greasy, but over the past month, I didn't find that at all. There are definitely lotions and creams out there that are way worse for that. I do find that my face is naturally oily enough during pregnancy that I don't need to moisturize it too much, so I used a pea drop size of the facial oil or coconut oil at bedtime after cleansing my face. I am no monogamist when it comes to washing my face though - I like to jump around from different techniques and products (a rotation of Norwex cloths, face wash and disposable wipes - I know, I know - I never said I was perfect!). But, one thing I did do routinely was use the facial oil to remove my eye makeup. You guys - how have I never done this before?! I just applied a small amount of the oil over my eyelids and wiped with a cloth! No burning or itching and it removes mascara so well! 

I keep the sugar scrub jar in the shower and I use it for shaving my legs and my armpits. It smells heavenly and makes shaving so pleasant. Usually, after I shave my legs (without coconut oil), they are tight and it burns when I applied any type of moisturizer. Not with coconut oil though. Sometimes I applied nothing after shaving with the sugar scrub, and other times I applied the body butter, and my legs are so much happier, and smoother! And when I'm not in the mood to shave my legs (which is more often than not lately since bending down to do so while pregnant isn't fun or easy), I just use the  sugar scrub as an exfoliator. 

Hands down though, my favourite product of the bunch is the body butter. I use it every single day, usually twice, on my belly, chest and hips and it alleviates any itchiness and tightness I feel in those areas as my body continues to grow. Plus, it smells wonderful thanks to the addition of the essential oils, but it's not overpowering at all. I also love that a little coconut oil goes a long way so the jars have lasted me well over a month now. 

If you're interested in trying out any of Skinny & Co.'s products (they have many other products not included in this post as well!), you can use code SKINNYCO15 to receive 15% off your order! I think the pedicure kit would make an awesome Christmas gift or stocking stuff! 

*I received the above product in exchange for this post, but as always, all opinions and reviews expressed are my own. Thank you for supporting the companies that continue to make this hobby of mine possible! 

Do you use coconut oil for uses other than cooking?

What's your favourite way to use coconut oil? 

The Books I've Been Reading {#14}

I dedicated October to reading just thrillers/mysteries and now that I have that genre out of my system, I'm ready for some more fun, lighter reads to finish off the year! I read 5 books last month and while two fell a bit short, it was a pretty good reading month. I'm also well on my way to possibly hitting 52 books read this year (has never happened!) which pleases me to no end since my original goal was 30. I know it's not about the number of books you read in a given period of time, but ever since I joined Goodreads back in 2012, it's always been a goal of mine to hit 52 books at least one year! Right now I've read 47 books, so I'm confident I will succeed this year.

1. Still Mine by Amy Stuart: This is one of the books that fell short for me. Once again, we have a bit of an unreliable narrator since Clare is running from her past and demons, is a recovering drug and alcohol abuser, and as the reader, we have no idea why she's "on the job" in some small, remote town. But she's there and she's determined to find out what happened to the local girl who has recently gone missing. Overall, this was a pretty "meh" read. I did read it quickly though because there's still an element of "I need to know what happens", but it definitely wasn't suspenseful, at least not until the last few pages. The whole storyline felt weak, and the ending was kind of lame. (2.5/5 stars)

2. Always Watching by Chevy Stevens: This is the story of Nadine, a psychiatrist at a psychiatric hospital, whose past has finally caught up with her. Having spent 8 or so months at the age of 13, living in a spiritual commune (ie. a cult) with her mother and older brother, Nadine has never been able to recall certain events of that time. That is, until she meets patient Heather, a young woman who has recently left the same commune, run by the same man it was back when Nadine was a girl. Treating Heather leads to Nadine finally uncovering truths about her own past on the commune, events she couldn't even recall under intense hypnotherapy sessions years ago. As Nadine starts to put the pieces together, and discovers that the commune has grown larger and more successful, she becomes determined to do anything to stop them from hurting even more innocent victims. 

I was expecting more of a thriller because this IS Chevy Stevens after all, but I'd say this was more of a psychological mystery...still really good and a page turner, just not as intense as her other books I've read. (3.5/5 stars)

3. All is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker: I really liked this book, despite it's graphic content. The premise: what if you could be given a drug immediately following a traumatic event that would erase your memories of it? Would you take it? You'd still know what happened, but you wouldn't be able to remember the actual event. This is the story of a 16 year old girl who is brutally raped in the woods during a party and her parents decide to give her the drug. They feel confident that they don't want their baby girl to have any recollection of this horrible crime and hope by not remembering, she can continue to live her life as a teenager. But maybe not remembering isn't as peaceful as you would hope it would be. How do you get closure then? How do you heal, recover and move on? Does not remembering the actual emotions associated with the event make it easier to accept such a thing happened? And then of course there's the whole question of: if you can't remember what happened, how is that person ever going to be caught and brought to justice? 

This story is told entirely from the perspective of the psychiatrist treating not just the 16 year old girl, but of her parents too. It was a unique point of view and I felt it worked well in this situation since so much of the story was able to be told through the dialogue of the therapy sessions. Also, the "retired" psych nurse in me enjoyed the memory/memory recovery aspect of the book. The topic is tough though, and revisited over and over so fair warning to those who don't want to read about such a topic. (4/5 stars)

4. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: This was the pick for last month's A Slice of Brie Book Club, and while I've been wanting to read it for years now, I was left feeling pretty underwhelmed by it. It's a beautiful book, physically, and well written, but the characters and the story really didn't do much for me. I wanted it to be more creepy - I feel like it had all the elements to be so, but it really wasn't. Parts of the story I found confusing (the time-loops and the hallowgasts) and other parts just boring. I really can't see myself finishing off this series, but I will still see the movie once it's out of theatres! (3/5 stars). 

5. The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain: I really enjoyed this book and I devoured it in a few sittings. 25 year old Riley has always believed that her older sister committed suicide when she was a teenager and Riley was only 2. But when her father dies and she is faced with the task of going through his stuff, she discovers that her sister has been alive all this time and is living under a new identity. Riley, desperate to seek out the whole truth and find her sister, also risks exposing family secrets and putting people at risk. 

What a crazy situation to be in: both your parents are now dead, and your brother wants nothing to do with the past. And then you find out something that will rock your world: just when you feel like you have almost no family left, you find out that your sister is indeed still alive. Why? How? And where is she? Once we know for sure that Riley's sister, Lisa, is still alive, we get periodic chapters from her point of view, dating back to the time she staged her own suicide. I really enjoyed these chapters and getting to know Lisa and what was going on in her life and how she was dealing with everything that was happening. I was often feeling scared for Lisa and while I hoped that Riley could be reunited with her, I also didn't want anything to jeopardize Lisa's life (or Riley's). 

While predictable at times, this was a definite page turner as I needed to know how everything turned out. It wrapped up a bit too neatly, but then again, not everything in life has to be messy, does it? (3.5/5 stars)

*****

December's A Slice of Brie Book Club pick is Wrapped Up in You by Carole Matthews. If you want to join us, we'd love to have you! More details HERE. 

What have you been reading lately? 

Do you read Winter/Christmas themed books around the holidays? Any recommendations?

Linking up with Steph & Jana for Show Us Your Books!