Simple Fall Favorites

Shruti Adusumilli
Sep 24, 2016
3 min read

It’s fall again! The beginning of the holiday season, filled with sweaters, tea, and school breaks has officially begun. Although fall seems way more glamorous in beauty guru videos, where they can afford to spend $75 and up on a “gold leaf acorn centerpiece” for their bedrooms, it can still be pretty fun in the real world.

Here are my some of my favorite ways to get into the autumn spirit and relax, that require next to no effort.

1. Warmth. Now this sounds weird, because it is. But in the midst of stress from school, work and other responsibilities, something as simple as wrapping yourself up in a fuzzy blanket to taking a hot shower can make you feel a lot better.

2. Baking. I’ve always loved baking and cooking, but with health in the back of my mind, I can’t help but feel a little guilty when clogging my arteries with butter. On a lighter note, I have a solution! This relatively healthy peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe uses oats rather than flour, brown sugar, and no butter. It’s been my go to lately and only takes 15 minutes, including baking time. Not to mention, they’re absolutely delicious.

(Link: http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/oatmeal-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies)

3. Snacking. To continue on with the topic of food, during the fall seasons I’m always prone to craving snacks. Although candy corn seems like the obvious answer and I hate eating healthy, I also want to live long and prosper. To fulfill this wish, I’ve resorted to pumpkin seeds. I eat the raw ones so they don’t have much flavor, but they also don’t taste bad. Plus, I’m sure you can find salted or roasted ones if you want something a little more exciting. They’re also super fitting for the season because you know, pumpkins. You can buy them in bulk at stores like Whole Foods and Sprouts! I also love snacking on nuts during the fall months and I recently tried salt and pepper pistachios. They were absolutely delicious and a great substitute for chips.

4. Tea. For the past few years I’ve been getting more and more into tea. Although personally I think nothing can replace the genius that is Indian chai, there are a few other decaffeinated teas that I love. My favorite has been chamomile tea recently, especially in the Tazo and Bigelow brands. I usually just heat up some water in a microwave safe mug for about a minute and a half, but that really depends on your heat preference and microwave brand. I then add some honey, my favorite brand is, Nature Nate's 100% Pure Raw & Unfiltered Honey, and sometimes a little lemon juice. There's nothing like a hot cup of tea and a good romantic comedy to help you relax.

5. Music. Fall is my favorite time to listen to music that is slow, has a good beat, and is easy to work to. Basically, any song from Troye Sivan’s WILD EP or his album Blue Neighborhood fit right in. You can find all of his songs on Spotify, YouTube, and iTunes. Another fall favorite is a song from an episode of Parks and Rec, when April and Andy go to the Grand Canyon. It’s called "All Will Be Well" by The Gabe Dixon Band. It’s a super “feel good” song and I really recommend it to anybody looking for some new music!

Thankfully, all of these favorites are usually done in the comfort and security of my own home, where I don’t have to socialize with anybody. But fall is also a great time to spend time with your friends! Go to your local harvest festival or even a Haunted House if you get the chance. Between freezing winters, burning summers, and allergy filled springs, fall is the best time to do some fun activities with the people you love.

Here are some pictures of the cookies I mentioned, plus a little a tea date that I had with one of my friends this month. Courtesy of my Snapchat story.