A Taste of Fall

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I love coffee. Lattes, especially.

They are so creamy and warm. And just….perfect.

When I shared my post about Whole30 Lattes, I was just messing around trying to make creamy, delicious coffee.

But as I got to searching on the Internet and Pinterest, I ran across Against All Grain’s Pumpkin Spiced Latte.

And I can honestly say it is a dream come true.

Warm and frothy with a light pumpkin flavor. It is heaven in a coffee mug.

I added a little MCT oil to my mixture and left out the maple syrup for now because of Whole30.

But it is a decadent treat. And I will be keeping a the pumpkin base mixture in the fridge and add it to my coffee to welcome the cooler fall weather.

What are your favorite ways to enjoy pumpkin?

My Favorite Farmers Market

Since we moved to the country, I’ve struggled with grocery shopping. The nearest grocery store is 20-25 minutes away.

Thankfully early this spring, I stumbled across Me and McGee Market off Highway 70 in North Little Rock.

Via

It is a gorgeous little farm stand full of pretty flowers, fruits, veggies, local cheeses, jams and jellies, pickles, salsa, homemade breads and grassfed meats.

As a foodie, it is my happy place. I visit the market every Saturday morning. I have grown to adore the Me and McGee Family, and I look forward to seeing them every weekend.

Neva, the owner, takes care of me. While we’ve been on Whole30, she’s held back dozens of eggs for me. She knows me. Remembers my name. Ask me about my week. She and her daughter, son, mom and husband are what make this little market so magical.

They are real people. They are my kind of people. They value good food, real food. They value community. They are invested in our little rural community. Constantly trying to make it better. Bringing people together.

It’s a truly beautiful sight.

We need more Me and McGee’s in this world. Little mom and pop shops and markets geared towards getting people better foods. It’s important. And I’m passionate about sharing what Neva and her family is doing because it will change the world for the better.

If you are in the Central Arkansas area, I highly suggest you visit Me and McGee Market. You will fall in love with it.

Find the nearest farmers market near you.

What are your Saturday morning traditions?

Taco Tuesday

My love of tacos runs deep. I think I could eat them for every meal. While Brad would pick pizza or salsa and chips to live off of forever, I would pick tacos.

Tacos are life. I love the variety you can make, but a classic taco is hard to beat. Whole30 can make Taco Night a little challenging, but I love getting to enjoy extra veggies and eating more of the good stuff since I’m not filling up on chips and tortillas.

This time around I went with a romaine lettuce boat for my taco shell. But I stuffed it full of cauliflower rice, grassfed ground beef, salsa, guacamole and hot sauce.

Brad ate his with a Siete cassava flour and coconut flour wrap. And we both enjoyed a little cauliflower rice taco bowl for round two.

We left the dinner table full and happy. It was one of my favorite meals during this round of Whole30.

We have some big celebrations coming up this month. It’s Brad’s mom’s birthday this weekend, and Brad and I are celebrating our Two Year Anniversary the following week.

I’ve got grand ideas to celebrate his sweet mom’s birthday. I’m thinking roasted chicken with root veggies and some sort of sweet treat. It will be such a pretty presentation. I can’t wait.

But our anniversary has me stumped. I usually like to go out to eat so we can have a date night. But it falls on a Wednesday, and Little Rock isn’t the most paleo-friendly city. And Whole30 makes things extra complicated. So I’m open to ideas.

Any Whole30 fancy pants meal ideas for anniversaries?

Whole30 Eggless Breakfast Hash

This could be my favorite breakfast creation ever. Eggs or no eggs. It’s delicious.

So much of Whole30 breakfasts are centered around eggs. And after ten days of nothing but eggs for breakfast, I just couldn’t do it. Not another egg. (I’ll go back to eggs tomorrow.)
IMG_4891
The beauty of this dish is the variety of veggies. It is truly a rainbow.

What you need:

  • 2 apple chicken sausages, cut into half-moons
  • 1 small yellow squash, cut into half-moons
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 large handful of spinach
  • 1 sweet potato, mashed
  • salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions:

Bake your potato the night before and put in fridge.

Heat a medium skillet with avocado oil to medium-high heat. Add in the onion, squash and bell pepper. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add in the garlic, red pepper flakes and sausage. Stir well to combine. Make sure the mixture evenly covers the pan. Cook on medium-high heat without stirring for about 5-6 minutes. This will give your meat and veggies a nice crust on the one side. Stir in spinach until it starts to wilt. Remove from heat and set aside.

Take your sweet potato from the fridge. Remove skin. Mash with a fork, and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Top with breakfast hash.

Enjoy.

 

Nashville, The Ryman and Judah & the Lion

I cashed in a major Christmas present this weekend. Brad got me tickets to see Judah & the Lion at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. And it was the best concert I’ve been to in a long time.

First, it was the Ryman. Formerly known as the Grand Ole Opry. The birthplace of bluegrass. The mother church of music. An icon. A bucket list venue of mine.

Being the good boyfriend that he is, he made sure we got meet-and-greet tickets so we saw them play a couple of acoustic songs and answer some questions. And get a photo.
Judah and the Lion
As you can see, I was super happy. My eyes were all squinty. They are one of the funnest bands to watch live. So much energy. So down-to-earth. We loved every single minute of it.

While we waited for the night’s festivities to start, we explored Nashville. We had Whole30 approved salads at the Famous Bar. We visited the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, and I totally geeked out on all the music memorabilia.

What you see here: Garth Brooks’ very well-used acoustic guitar, Elton John’s baby grand and grand pianos, and Jimi Hendrix’s electric guitar.

But there was so much to see. So many iconic items. Walls of silver, gold and platinum records. It was a super fun way to spend some time waiting for the show to start.

Would I go back to Nashville? Absolutely. The Ryman is THE place to see live music. I can’t wait to go back.

We rounded out the weekend with a drive around the farm before heading home.

It was absolutely perfect.