Happy Fall - It's Pumpkin Time 2

So now that we are officially in October, I am finding so many more pumpkin items out there. There are so many, that if I would buy them all, I would need a second source of income and a storage locker to house it all. I have found yogurt, bagels, butter, cream cheese, English muffins, granola bars, pancake mix, soup, M&Ms....the list goes on and on. I couldn't buy all of those, but I did get some to try and so far I have been pleasantly surprised.

Pumpkin Pie flavored lip balm. I found this in Spring at Good Harvest Market and it's getting to the end, but I use it right before bed. It's like my form of calming lavender scent that some people use to fall asleep :)

A former co-worker turned me onto this Lean Cuisine meal and started my obsession with butternut squash. The hint of sweet in the meal is perfect to balance the veggies and cream sauce.

I was hoping to find a single container of pumpkin yogurt, but found a 4-pack of mini yogurts. I was pleasantly surprised with the flavor. Start with a vanilla yogurt and add just a hint of pumpkin to it - very delicious and almost could be a dessert! And just 60 calories in 4 oz.

This entire meal is brought to you from O What a Day Cafe. The cubano wrap was heavenly and the fresh fruit was oh so tart. The roasted sweet potato soup (sure it's not pumpkin, but it's fall flavored) was amazing. I added the apple pieces to it, but not the bacon. I didn't want to lose the flavor of the sweet potato and sometimes bacon can do that. I wish I would have gone back and ordered more to take home, yep that good! On a side note, the cafe is moving in 2014 and I'm just hope it doesn't move too far. I don't go here often, but after having amazing soup here now twice and great wraps, it is on my radar. So please don't move far!!!!

This is the muffin from the first post on pumpkin that I did. I don't recommend these. This was my first true disappointment in a pumpkin product. The muffins taste more spiced than actually pumpkin and they are really dry! And they are tiny!!!! For the fat and calorie content, I would chose something better.

Like these!!! The crunchy granola top, paired with the creamy pumpkin frosted bottom makes an excellent snack. Sure they aren't too good for you, but one as a snack will really hit the spot. (2 point plus on WW, as I found on this blog.)

So that is a bit more pumpkin - hope to try a few more things this week and weekend and report back more on my findings. Oh and the beer - well my cousin is having her annual Fall Fest beer tasting at the end of the month, so I think I might save these and buy a few more to take up by her for just that occasion!

Happy Fall - It's Pumpkin Time

Fall has officially begun! It's my favorite season of the year. Sure Summer is warm and such, but because my skin is not friends with the sun, I love Fall - warm days, cool nights and nature's colors are truly fabulous.

And the best part......Pumpkin spiced everything!!!!!

I love that pumpkin is mostly limited to the Fall season for products as I would hate to overwhelm my buds and potentially dislike the flavor. I really, really enjoy it!

I am on the hunt for Pumpkin and Squash flavored items and hope to share with you my opinions of what I have found. Please let me know if you have spotted items at stores and restaurants for me to try.

Here is what I have tried so far:

Iced Chai Tea Latte from Cafe de Arts in Waukesha - Sure this is available year round, but the flavor reminds me of Thanksgiving and pumpkin spice. I will soon transition to hot Chai, but for now - this hits the spot.

I swung through the drive thru at McDonald's to get myself a sausage biscuit for breakfast and saw they have Pumpkin Spice Lattes, so I decided to give it a chance. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, (unless you count gas station cappuccino) but I figured with the pumpkin flavoring, it couldn't be too bad, right? WRONG!!!! It was a sweet pumpkin syrup that was dripping all over the outside of my cup and then the texture was just wrong. For saying that coffee even has texture, you know something is awry. It coated my tongue like liquid cough syrup. I had to dump it. Maybe I'm not ready for lattes, or maybe this one was just bad.

 

Kashi Pumpkin Spice Flax Granola Bars - They come two to a pack and are absolutely pumpkin-licious. They are crumbly and make a mess if you aren't careful, the but the cinnamon flavor comes through nicely. I am a big fan. 

 Next up are items that I'm going to be trying soon.

Found this granola at Woodman's

 Wasn't brave enough to buy this yet unless someone can tell me what I would use this for, for $9.99?

 Wasn't brave enough to buy this either - I am hoping for a smaller container to become available. Has anyone had pumpkin ice cream before to tell me if this is worth it or not?

My pumpkin beer tasting will hopefully ensue in the beginning of October. I am too pressed for time before my trip to Vegas this weekend to sit down and enjoy more than one and I want to have some friends try these with me. And I am trying to really watch calories before Vegas and work out more so that I feel good when I'm on vacation.

 Butternut Squash soup is one of my favorite types of soup and I bought two to see if they compare to this one or this one I made last year. And I hope that O' What A Day Cafe in Waukesha brings this one back again this year.

And pumpkin muffins, although they say they are made with sustainably grown Oregon pumpkin, I see a lot of other ingredients I can't read. Not to mention the fat content is a bit high. I'm sure they will taste great, but definitely not good for me. 

My friend Shauna raves about this tea, so I will take this to work to try tomorrow, and this Pumpkin Bar mix was on sale, so I snatched it up.

My friend posted a picture of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies she just made. I think I will have to try the recipe soon.

Do you love PUMPKIN (and squash) as much as me or am I crazy? Do you know of other unique pumpkin items that I should try in the next few months? I'm definitely up to try anything so please share :)