I've been hanging onto summer as long as I possibly could, but seeing as how it's officially October in a couple days, I figured it was time to start whipping up some festive Fall recipes, starting with the ultimate October treat -- pumpkin muffins! But these aren't just any pumpkin muffins, they're Chocolate Chip Paleo Protein Pumpkin Muffins made with super healthy ingredients like almond flour, flaxseeds, nut butter, and vanilla collagen. If you've made my Paleo Banana Protein Muffins (one of my favorite recipes ever) lately, then you'll likely have 99% of the ingredients ready to go for these muffins and you'll just need a can of pure pumpkin to make these come together! I love that these are filling and healthy but still satisfy the sweet tooth. They'll definitely be one of my go-to recipes this Fall and I can't wait for you to make them in you're kitchen, too!

There's so much excitement, planning, and preparation that happens when you're pregnant. I spent so much time nesting and getting Noah's room perfectly decorated and ready, organizing his clothes by size, and looking into mommy-and-me classes, but one thing I didn't spend much time was preparing what I'd need once I came home from the hospital with a newborn. I think part of that is, you don't really know until you're going through it (and then frantically placing Amazon orders at 3am), but once you've been there, you're a pro and can help prep your sister or besties with everything that will help their transitions into new motherhood those first couple weeks. Part of that is essentials for mama's physical recovery (you can find all of my tips for that in this post) and another big part of that is... food!

There are specific foods that are extra nourishing for a new mama, and there are also certain necessities to have on hand for nursing moms who are famished at all hours of the day and night. When my sister came home from the hospital with her baby two weeks ago and I saw her emergency stash of Nature Valley bars and random cookies on her nightstand, I knew she needed some help. So I put together all of the essentials for her, and seeing the response I got via DM on instagram, I knew I should put it all in a blog post to share with you, your pregnant sisters, and your mom-to-be friends, too!

When I lived in LA, California Chicken Cafe was one of my weekly spots to pick up a healthy dinner. It was like the healthy West LA cafeteria where I always run into someone we knew picking up their favorite salad, cabbage slaw, and a quart of broccoli soup (#IYKYK). Their salads are huge and loaded with so many delicious toppings, which always include a very generous portion of avocado and their juicy chicken straight off the rotisserie (no dried-out salad bar chicken allowed). I seriously miss my go-to California Chicken Salad so much. and rather than resist the craving until my next LA trip, I decided it was time to make my own version. I'm so excited to say that it turned out just as good as the original... dare I say, maybe even better than the CCC salad that inspired it!