Big Autumn Energy: Fall Flavor for Every Day Treats
Yeah we cannot talk fall without talking food, that would be ridiculous. As I was meditating on the best content for a fall food post, I realized it didn’t need to be anything fancy, and that I’ll probably have multiple as a try new recipes throughout this season. Here at Into-It, I love giving you guys the tips + tricks to create everyday magic out of the ordinary, so why would I give you crazy new recipes you may not have the time or money to reproduce?
I also believe in fueling the body with delicious and nutritionally beneficial foods—because food can really influence our mindset and our well-being, a topic I touched on a few weeks ago here on the blog. All the treats I’m giving you are packed with just the right autumnal spices + flavors, and come dairy + artificial sugar free, excluding an insane cookie recipe from Short Girl Tall Order—hey, sugar is totally cool in moderation! You deserve a delicious vegan cookie, that’s for the soul.
Although I’m a sucker for pinning + saving beautiful pumpkin spice / apple cider / vegan organic / wildly beautiful desserts—for real, my instagram discovery page looks like an Autumn + Mountain + Food Heaven moodboard—I wouldn’t necessarily try out those recipes for myself. Everyday magic is simple, and I’m a simple gal as well. So this week, I’m serving up a few simple + quick + delicious recipes that will add the perfect amount of fall flavor to your usual grocery haul. No time to waste, let’s get cookin.
#1 Peanut Butter + Banana + Pumpkin Spice Smoothie
I freaking love smoothies. No kidding, I’ve had a smoothie every single day since April 1st, I don’t even want to know how many smoothies that is (if you do the math, let me know, or maybe don’t). I had quite the existential crisis at the start of September when I realized that smoothies are a particularly Spring + Summer oriented treat, and it may feel dissociative to be chowing down on something so fruity and cold when the temp starts to drop. I mean, I still will, but I started to wonder how I could add a little fall flavor to my typical PB banana + blueberry smoothie. After experimenting, I found THE perfect early autumn smoothie.
My first instinct was to add pumpkin. Banana and pumpkin are like the Mario and Luigi of flavor combos, in my opinion. Pumpkin and peanut butter? Even better! Add in some honey, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla nut milk? You’re on FIRE—like a bonfire, a sexy fall bonfire. This smoothie is thick, creamy, and good for you? It’s too good to be true. I’ll definitely be indulging in this every day of the season.
Here’s my “eyeball” as you go recipe, since blenders + personal preferences range in size + palette:
1 frozen banana (frozen is key for the thickness)
2 big tablespoons of pumpkin puree
Your choice in amount + type of nut milk—I had around half a cup of vanilla unsweetened almond milk
A few shakes (mine were pretty hefty) of pumpkin pie spice
A spoon of creamy peanut butter
A little bit of honey (in the mix + on top)
Cinnamon on top (for fun)
If you like an icy smoothie and your blender can handle it, add some ice. I prefer borderline milkshake consistency for my smoothies, so I don’t personally add it.
Blend all that ish together, and you’ve got a creamy + mildly addictive autumn smoothie. Play with the ratios a few times to nail your perfect final product, I know I prefer a lot of spice and a lot of PB in this one, but you may opt for a different nut butter or less spice, totally up to you.
#2 Cinnamon + Herb Roasted Potatoes
I’ll roast any potato in any spice and have a good time, but I wanted to try out something more autumnal for this batch. This recipe is so simple, but the minute those potatoes started roasting, I was instantly transported to Thanksgiving day—you know the smell that envelopes you when you’re lingering around the kitchen waiting for the green light to start plating up? That’s magic.
All you need for everyday Thanksgiving magic:
1 sweet potato
2 baby red potatoes
Olive oil
Parsley
Cinnamon
Salt + Pepper
Preheat your oven to 425, and cube up the potatoes (I like mine to get crispy, so I cube them pretty small myself) while you’re waiting on the oven. Throw the cubes in a bowl, eyeball pouring the olive oil, and use a spoon (or your hand honestly) to evenly coat the potatoes in the oil. Dump the oiled up potatoes onto a non-stick cookie sheet, and level them out so they all get good contact with the pan. This next step is all eyeballing as well, depending on your taste for spices. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, parsley, and finish off with a generous helping of cinnamon.
For crispy guys, I set an alarm for 20 minutes at 425. I’d say check after 16, depending on your potato-crisp pleasure scale (you may even roast longer, who knows!). You’ll want to keep a safe eye on the sweet potato chunks, as they’ll burn quicker than a red potato, they’re a solid metric for how long to keep these guys in the oven. It’ll smell too good to wait, for real.
And that’s it! You can munch on these at any meal, as a crispy-sweet-savory side to any dish. I personally rocked mine as a breakfast for dinner situation: on the side with some scrambled egg + spinach, avocado, and a tortilla. They’re also delicious solo, if you just want a crunchy festive snack between meals. Don’t sleep on the cinnamon potato game, it’s unreal and the perfect comfort food as the temps start to drop.
#3 Vegan S’mores Cookies from Short Girl Tall Order
Of course you have to bake, it’s the perfect season for a warm / gooey / sweet indulgence. My favorite way to bond with a friend or a family member is to bake together, an intentional and loving ritual that ends with a prize. That’s the best part of baking (maybe second best to eating all the chocolate chips from the bag before adding them to the dough), sharing it with the people you care about most. But these vegan s’mores cookies are so unbelievably addictive that you might just devour the first batch on your own. I encourage that, as long as you share at least 1 from the next batch—you’ll want to bake these over and over again during the holiday season.
I’ve linked the Short Girl Tall Order recipe for you here, which we followed step by step (but halved the recipe, and still got quite a bit of dough + cookies from the batch). What’s great about this recipe is you can bake a few cookies, and freeze the rest of the dough for late night treats. Wouldn’t it be nice to quench a sugar craving with the best cookie of all time? Yeah, it would be the best. I’ll personally have to practice the willpower not to munch on the frozen dough a little at a time, only to find it’s all gone before I can bake another tray.
As I said before, we followed the recipe exactly. Our only variation was, when the cookies were a few minutes from golden perfection, we placed marshmallow halves on the tops, moved the rack up, and turned on the broiler. This genius idea from my baking buddy added an extra gooey layer on top of each cookie, and the broiler roasted the marshmallow tops for a toasty campfire finish. Let those guys cool for just a few minutes, and dig in!
Be sure to leave a comment below or drop me a DM on instagram if you try any of these recipes, and tag me on instagram if you share the delicious content. I’ve had a lot of fun testing out different fall themed recipes and I’m pumped to share more as the season moves forward.
Indulge this week, and I’ll be back next Saturday to share more Big Autumn Energy with you guys!
Thank you for all of your support, everyday magic is best when it is shared, and I’m glad I get to share it with you. Cheers!