Happy Monday everyone! It officially feels like fall in NYC, and I couldn't be happier. We had an overwhelmingly balmy September, so this rush of cool air feels amazing. I love the changing seasons. It's a reminder to me that life is not stagnant. Fall always feels like a time for new beginnings – it's the time I feel most motivated and alive. (Maybe it's just the cold air...not sure!) But I also love fall for the traditions it represents: that first cup of hot apple cider at Union Square Greenmarket, pumpkin doughnuts from Balthazar Bakery (and pretty much everything pumpkin for that matter), apple-picking, pie-making, bundling up in boots and sweaters... Fall is just the coziest time of year.

This October, Brandon and I are doing something a little different. Remember #marchwellness? Well this year we're doing #octoberwellness. Once again, we are eliminating inflammatory foods to try and help Brandon's chronic Lyme disease – and I'm using the opportunity to test out some new healthy, delicious recipes. (For the basic rules, check out this cool infographic designed by Brandon and our friend Megan Gilger.) Essentially, we're eating LOTS of vegetables, lean proteins, nuts, and some fruit. (And a little dark chocolate, obvi.) We're cutting out processed foods, refined sugar, and almost all gluten and dairy. I'm limiting my coffee to one cup a day and just having wine once or twice a week. It's SO hard for me to make dramatic changes in my diet, but after the craziness of the past few months (and stress-eating a lot of carbs and sweets), we both realized that we needed to focus on health. And in general we eat pretty well, so this isn't TOO much of a stretch.

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And...drumroll please...I joined a gym! For the first time since I think 2010 I have an actual gym membership. And I actually went to a class yesterday. Watch out world: I'm getting back in shape! And it feels really good.

If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably noticed me testing out a bunch of gluten-free, no-sugar pumpkin recipes. (Because I'm not about to let October pass me by without baking pumpkin treats!!) So stay tuned this month for lots of grain-free goodies, as well as loads of vegetable-centric dishes.

To kick off your week, I wanted to share with you my new favorite fall salad, inspired by a big bunch of Tuscan kale in my Quinciple box last week. I thinly sliced it, along with some beautiful radicchio treviso (the longer, narrower version of radicchio), and tossed it with some crisp, diced apples, toasted pecans, shaved aged Gouda, and a simple red wine vinaigrette. I can't stop eating this! I've mixed it up and added pears instead of apples, and put white cheddar instead of gouda once. I've added roasted chicken for some extra protein. And to top it off, it's as pretty as it is delicious. I hope you enjoy – the recipe is below!

OFTuscan-Kale-Small

And...I have to give a shout-out to my awesome new intern Olivia Funk who shot the beautiful pictures in this post! She'll be working with me this fall, and I'm excited to share some of her photography in the coming months. We're also drumming up some fun videos, so stay tuned!

[recipe:best-fall-tuscan-kale-salad-recipe]