It took a few tries for carrot cake to become one of our favorites. I initially served my family the classic version and after the very first bite my children insisted I omit the raisins and nuts the next time. The second time around was better, but was deemed “boring.” Then, after they developed a sudden, and unexpected, obsession with blueberry pancakes I was asked to add berries to their cake to liven it up a little. Finally, with a few adjustments made to the frosting technique, we were set.

These days this newfound variation on carrot cake is very popular in our household. So far we’ve made it “just for fun”, for a dinner party dessert, and for a bake sale. Some may balk at the idea of grating all those carrots but I have a secret trick: I use Cascadian Farm Organic Multicolor Carrots and shred them in the food processor. In fact, the entire batter is made in the food processor, which makes it a very easy one-bowl cake.

It is well-known in grade school land that October is the month of teacher conferences and half-day dismissals which is means that carefully laid routine of September is basically thrown out the window for a couple of weeks. It is an incredible pain in the a** for busy parents and the best way to deal with the food aspect of it, at least in my opinion, is with the slow-cooker. Prep food early in the day, let it cook while you scurry around to early pick-ups and coordinate playdates, and then serve dinner once everyone is finally able to wind down.

Halloween is quickly approaching and the excitement in our house is palpable. Costumes have been selected, trick-or-treating strategies mapped out, pumpkins carved. I’ve even purchased a few bags of candy and stuck them in the basement in preparation for the busy night on our street!

I am all about letting the kids embrace the holiday, they only tricky part for me is making sure they balance the sweet with the healthy. Candy is a fact of the holiday and I don’t want to fight it, but I do want to keep our children somewhat in check with the sugar intake. Here are a few things I do to maintain a balance in our household throughout the month while still enjoying the holiday.

Healthy First: My children always have to eat their chicken and vegetables before they get dessert and that stands true for Halloween candy. Yes, I let them have a little candy after lunch, but not before they’ve eaten their sandwiches and fruit. Even though there are often whines for candy around 4pm, I stay strict on the healthy-dinner-first rule. Negotiations can be difficult – even I crave candy at 4pm – but I stay strong and it all ends well.

Focus on the Fun: There is a lot of talk about candy during the month of October but I also try to focus on the other fun parts of the holiday. We are big fans of decorating mini-pumpkins for our table, carving pumpkins for the doorstep, crafting chains of witches and goblins, and so much more. There is no end to the Halloween fun you can have at home that doesn’t involve candy or sweets at all.

Cool fall days call for warm, chewy cookies. As the temperatures dip I find it easier to turn on the oven and let the kitchen warm up with it. These chewy cranberry oatmeal almond cookies are a new recipe I found in a terrific new cookbook, Scandinavian Gatherings: From Afternoon Fika to Midsummer Feast: 70 Simple Recipes & Crafts for Everyday Celebrations. I am going to showcase the book next week but this recipe simply can’t wait.

Last spring we skipped making our own maple syrup because we had such crazy weather. It warmed up early and the sap started running. But then it suddenly stopped when we had a late spring frost, and never really had a chance to start again since the weather transitioned from winter straight to blistering hot summer. Instead, I invested in a big jug of real maple syrup in Cooperstown and have been doling it out ever since. Last week I used some syrup to make this Pumpkin Maple Yogurt Loaf for some friends. Though we use maple year round, it feels like such a fall flavor to me and with a little added pumpkin it was the perfect cake to kick-off the fall season.

This post is sponsored by Cascadian Farm

The most convenient kind of dinner recipes for any busy household are the ones when the whole meal can be made in one dish. Whether it be an eggy casserole, or a pot of soup, anything that be transferred straight from the heat to the table with ease is bar-none the simplest way to cook. One of my favorite dishes that achieves this is my favorite Parmesan chicken and fries sheet pan dinner.

I thought I’d stop in with a few fall favorites today. It is always fun to share what I’ve been reading and hear what you’ve been up to lately. Here are some of my favorite things from around the web these days!

A fun article about my friend Suzanne from the Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits.

My absolute favorite face treatment lately.

When we went to Napa in 2015 we had some delicious wine and this little winemaker is still a favorite.

This Madewell x Sézane fashion collaboration is my favorite, I love it when a new capsule collection debuts.

Some books I’ve pre-ordered have started arriving and they are fabulous so far.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this Denim Wash is worth every penny, my jeans smell amazing and stay so soft!

Have you ever read any Jo Nesbo mysteries? I highly recommend!

Forever and always, it’s time to break out my favorite Fall Baking Gear.

We are back in the weeknight swing and I’m working on some new dinner recipes to add to my current repertoire. Over the summer we got into two dishes: zoodles, and shakshuka. Both are simple to make and taste delicious. Up until now I’ve been serving them separately, but this week I decided to combine them into one easy dish. My plan was to bake the eggs in the tomatoes and serve them over zoodles for an easy, healthy dinner.

This post is sponsored by Whole Foods Market. The opinions and photographs are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that support The Naptime Chef.

This week I am participating in 5 Affordable Weeknight Dinners from Whole Foods Market with my friends at Whole Foods Market. We were asked to come up with five delicious family meals that we can make with one bag of groceries using Whole Foods’ super fresh ingredients .

This is the perfect challenge for me since I love Whole Foods Market and have long admired their commitment to high quality food and food education. Before I visited the store I also downloaded their new app and looked up my local sales flyer. They are great ways to find everyday deals and coupons at the store. I love it when I find a way to save a little bit on groceries.

Thinking of five easy weeknight dinners was not hard since I have a whole roster of delicious meals on my blog and in my books. To use a wide variety of food from their store I decided to make some of our true favorites, it was fun to make them all again!