Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday--mostly because of the food--so it was not without a bit of anxiety that I experienced my first Paleo Thanksgiving a few years ago. My mom has always done a fantastic job coming up with Paleo-friendly Thanksgiving alternatives, so this year I used her as inspiration when Relay Foods asked me to make them a Paleo Thanksgiving-themed dish. It's full of sweet potatoes and sausage and love.

Get the full recipe here.

  

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You can read more about it here.

The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Grain Brain.

In my initial post about the Grain Brain Challenge, I told you a little about the book and the premise behind Dr. Perlmutter's research and diet plan. Since then, I've been more intentional about working out every day--even on the weekends, and even if it's just a long walk when I don't feel like doing anything. I would definitely say that I ate well before Grain Brain, but I would still fall prey to the occasional Pad Thai or sugar spiral, which would lead to more cravings that you think only carbs can satisfy. Now I am sure to drink enough water, get enough fat every day, and take fish oil and my other vitamins every night. Fish oil is such a miracle. I feel sharper and less anxious for sure. And my skin is so good! That's pretty awesome.

My biggest concern with the book was that at first, I found myself getting a little obsessive--scared of juice, for example. In juicing, we get rid of the fiber that our body uses, so we're almost getting straight sugar. A twelve-ounce glass of orange juice has nine tablespoons of sugar in it--that's the same as a can of Coke! I get that, but it initially freaked me out in a way that didn't feel productive. But the point of Grain Brain is to empower us to make better choices today and tomorrow, not to leave us wringing our hands over yesterday's breakfast. 

The Grain Brain message is extreme, but it's important--and maybe we need to be a little more extreme about the choices we make and the things we feed ourselves. We live in a world where people are ill all the time, and we have so much more control over our health and wellness than we realize. I might still enjoy Pad Thai from time to time--I'm sorry, it's my favorite--but I'm going to be more informed about the things I eat and strive to make even better choices.

There were so many amazing things laid out for me in this book that I really can't recommend it enough. I know how terrible gluten makes me feel, but there are people who could live their entire lives not realizing that their health issues might be directly related to the things they're putting into their body every day. Give it a read, and then give the Grain Brain Challenge a try! I bet you'll be glad you did.

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I just want to take a moment to really thank you, my readers, for supporting me as I continue to work with sponsors. It really means the world to me and I appreciate you all so much for making this possible.

After we went apple picking the other weekend, we had a bunch of apples in our kitchen. Imagine that. I spent a few days slicing one up and dipping it in almond butter, but I really felt like we couldn't go through fall without a dish that at least somewhat resembled/tasted like an apple pie. So I made this Paleo Apple Pie-ish Crumble. That's the scientific term for it.

It tastes just like apple pie without the sugar or grains. And it makes your house smell like the holidays.

Ingredients:

Four cups sliced apples

One tablespoon agave nectar

One teaspoon vanilla

The juice of half a lemon

One teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl before transferring to a buttered casserole/pie dish.

3. Top with Paleo crumb topping:

2/3 cup almond flour

1/3 cup arrowroot powder

1/3 cup butter, cubed

Two tablespoons honey

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until topping is browned. (You can broil it at the very end if you like.)